LEAVE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR SOVIET ARMY OFFICERS IN GERMANY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A002600230008-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 4, 2001
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: November 24, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
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DATE OF INFO.
SECURITY INFORMATION
USSR/Germany (Soviet Zone)
Leave Policies and Procedures for
Soviet Army Officers in Germany
This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of. Title 18. Sections 793 and 794. of the U.B. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited.
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REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR. 24+ November 1953
NO. OF PAGES 7
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
In winter 1951, the commander of GSOV (Group of Soviet Occupation Forces) issued
an order regulating leaves for officer personnel. Source does not remember the
number of this order nor its'date. This order was issued to all unit commanders
to set up and implement a leave. schedule for officer personnel. The commander
directed in this order that leaves to the USSR be granted to 75 percent of officer
personnel, chiefly to combat units during the period January to August. The order
indicated t'h t leaves would not be granted to officers in combat units during the
period August to October because at this time every army unit would be undergoing
tactical maneuvers and inspection which necessitated the presence of combat officers
in their units. The order stated that the remaining part of combat unit officers
(25 percent) would be obliged to take their leaves in the USSR during the period
November to December, when tactical maneuvers and inspections were completed. The
order also permitted leaves from August to October to officers of local units of
MVD (frontier troops), MGB, and workers at headquarters of the General Staff, who
do not participate in tactical maneuvers and inspections. The GSOV in Germany
has a regulation which permits the commander of a military unit to forbid an
officer undergoing punishment to take leave in-',the USSR, but such an officer may be
granted leave provided he remains near his unit.. In accordance with this regulation,
the officer is obliged to pass the night with the military unit in which he serves.
Those officers who receive letters or telegrams from home (USSR) with notifications
of illness or death of close relatives are granted leaves without'conj'ormiing to this
schedule.
Oficers,when permanently leaving their units upon being replaced, leave Germany
under the command of a senior officer of the group, who escorts the group of de-
parting officers to the Brest station. This officer is responsible for delivering
the entire. military group (10 to 15 persons), and in Brest transmits to the frontier
wca?nination-post,(KPP) '.the -accompanying
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note in which it is ed that the group has crossed the state border
of the USSR. Every 6fficer has his personal documents with him. The
escorting senior officer has in his possession the groups one-time
passes for crossing over the state border.
3. A few days before his leave begins, the officer scheduled to depart
fo ? the USSR goes to the secret unit of headquarters and presents, his
photographs for the further processing of a one-time pass (razovoy
propusk), valid for crossing the border of the USSR. The chief of the
secret unit fills out a special form which includes the date ot'.the
officer's comtemplated departure. This form is signed and forwarded
with the photographs (two copies) to the higher headquarters staff, for
example - to the divisional staff.
4. The above staff,, in this case the divisional staff (chief of staff),
examines the filled-out form and if he grants approval for leave to
this officer on the set date, he forwards the photographs and the form
with his endorsement to the higher placed staff, the army staff. It
should be noted that the chief of staff of the higher unit has the right
to change leave dates, or to cancel the leave, if he finds it necessary in the
best interests of the service. The divisional staff also verifies the
correct number of days marked on the form, which are necessary for the
army man on leave to go to the USSR and return. Usually the number of
days rangesfrom 8-12-16. Source does not know the exact number of days.
5. Following this procedure, all documents (photographs and the form
necessary for obtaining a one-time pass across the border), are for-
warded to the appropriate staff of the army. It is not necessary for
the officer to appear personally for`the pass to cross the border. The
approved onetime pass is forwarded to the military unit, which prepared
the leave form and which forwarded the photographs of the army man going
on leave'' The pass for crossing the border is sent by secret post. There
have been instances when officers being dispatched to the divisional staff.
dropped by the secret section located at the political section of the
division and personally obtained one-time passes,, which were ready for
transmittal to the regiment. However, they were obliged to present their
identification papers. The one-time pass indicates that the officer in
question is permitted to cross the border of the USSR. Moreover, a post-
script is added which indicates that the pass is valid between certain
specified days.
6 As soon as the one-time pass is received, the unit's staff orders the leave
ticket (otpusknoy bilet), which indicates the length of period the officer
will be sway from his unit and the date he is scheduled to return. For
reasons of security the number of officers taking leave is considered a
military secret.
After the leave ticket is signed it is sent to the officerYs unit where
a'rmember of the unit's headquarters requests travel documents as follows:
"Request railroad transportation and coupons for receiving tickets for
reserved seats." The request for railroad transportation (trebovaniye)
may be signed by the chief of the staff of the unit or bythe chief of
the finance section. A request, therefore, for railroad transportation
entitles an individual to receive a free travel ticket. The number of
coupons (talony) for obtaining reserved seats depends upon the number
of train changes necessary. For example, for travel from Frankfurt/Oiler
to Rostov, coupons for reserved seats are allotted as follows: first coupon
from Frankfurt/Oder to Brest station; second coupon from Brest station to
Moscow; third coupon from Moscow station to Rostov station; fourth coupon
from Rostov station to Moscow station; fifth coupon from Moscow station to
Brest station, and sixth coupon from Brest station to Frankfurt/Oder station.
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8. Should the officer take a pistol with him (in the Soviet Zone of Germany
most officers have pistols), then a postscript is made at the foot of
the leave ticket as follows: the designated officer has with him his
personal arms, model TT No. ......, delivered by the chief of artillery
equipment of the military unit, Field Post No.... It is signed by the
chief of staff of the unit, or its commander.
9. Officers in the Soviet Zone of Germany usually keep their bank deposit
books (vkladnaya knizhka) at the financial section of the military unit.
Before taking leave, the officer takes his bank deposit book from finance
section and goes to the local field office of the state bank. There
the officer must declare what sum of money he wishes and in what city
in the USSR he desires to receive his deposit. On a special check of
the deposit book, the clerk of the field office of the state bank
records the sum of money which the man on leave is to receive in the
USSR, including name and location of the state bank's office where the
man on leave will receive his money. He also marks the remaining
balance in the deposit book.
10. Source remarked that the officer might leave for the USSR without his
bank deposit book because he may transfer money from his deposit
account to his relatives beforehand, in Ithich case, the sum of money
is not limited; or the finance section of the unit may issue him a
check-order (chekovoye trebovaniye) prior to his departure for the
payment section of the state bank. There are two payment sections in the
USSR, one in Brest and one in Moscow. An officer leaving',the Soviet
Zone of Germany receives his salary and money to cover his leave
period from the payment section. The reason for receiving a check-order
is that no officer is permitted to have Soviet money in cash while he
is in the Soviet Zone of Germany. However, when an officer arrives
in the USSR territory, money will be needed for the purchase of a few
things during his trip. A check-order consists of two parts: one,
the larger part, remains at the payment section; the second, the smaller
part, is forwarded to that military unit where it is delivered to the
officer.
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11. Source confirms the fact that an officer who has a 60 day leave (including
travel time), will be paid the salary for his position, a supplementary
payment for his rank, and also a ration allowance at the rate
rubles per day for 60 days. In 1950, 25X1X
a check-order broken down as follows:
Wages for position of battery commander .................. 800 rubles
Supplementary payment for lieutenant rank per month ..... _LOO rubles
per month..... 1300 rubles -Total
per 2 months.. 2600 rubles
Supplementary payment for food in lieu of rations
received in Germany ( 55,days )., ....................... .440 rubles
Approx.Total.. 3000 rubles
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3000 rubles, money due officer before departure
-360 rubles, deducted repayment on loan
0 rubles, Total approximate amount.actually received.
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ney was to
e receive in cash on Soviet territory. Theoretically, an officer on
leave arrives in the USSR territory (city of Brest) without money
because no military man receives money in cash while in the Soviet Zone
of Germany. Every officer on leave may receive his money with his bank
deposit book only in the bank at the place where he spends his leave.
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Therefore almost every officer going on leave from Germany to the USSR
obtains a check-order from the finance section of his unit. With
this document each person arriving in the USSR (city of Brest) may
receive cash in the amount of two months salary from the state bank.
12. The payment section is situated in Brest. Source does not remember
the exact location of the payment section. The officer must show his
identification papers (udostovereniye lichnosti) and account book
(raschetnaya knizhka) at the payment section. Under the heading of
'special remarks" a note is made that money was delivered by check-order.
13. As mentioned above, the officer has practically no Soviet money in
his possession when he arrives in the USSR from abroad. Soviet military
authorities do not permit Soviet money to go abroad. The exportation of
this money, even in small quantities, is categorically forbidden. However,
it is generally known that most Soviet officers who return from their USSR
leaves bring back Soviet money with them,, Therefore many men going on leave
borrow this money from their friends and thus it is possible for them to
go to their country without stopping at the payment section, since they
now have sufficient money to purchase tickets for their destination. For
this reason, the officer does not always request a check-order, but if
the authorities are alert they may take an interest in the circumstances
which caused the officer to fail to request a check-.order and they may accuse
him of violating Soviet laws. However, this happens rarely..
The Leave-Trip to the USSR
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Dresden to Frankfurt/Oder has several passenger-cars especially reserved
for military personnel of the Soviet Army. Upon arriving in Frankfurt/
Oder, the officer goes to the Frontier Inspection Post (KPP), which is
located at the station, The KPP is a small wooden guardhouse in the station
building, where a senior lieutenant is stationed as a border guard. The
officer on leave presents his documets to the border guard on duty.
15. Approximately a half hour from the Frankfurt/Oder station there is a
stop not far from a railroad bridge which crosses the Oder River. There
Polish frontier guards enter the cars and make superficial inspections
of passenger documents. The train makes two stops in Polish territory;
however, the names of the stations and the time needed for crossing Polish
territory is not known, Travel time from Frankfurt/Oder station to Brest
is 36 hours. The frontier begins approximately 10 to 20 kilometers
vest of Brest. The train stops at the frontier, where:
Soviet. border guards make an exterior inspection of the locomotive -and cars.
The frontier guards place themselves on the car steps and in this manner
escort the train to the Brest station. At the Brest station, border guards
encircle the train from all sides and custom house officers enter the
cars to inquire how much luggage and how may East German marks each
passenger has in his possession. Notes are made in pencil on each passenger's
leave ticket. Following this, passengers are permitted to leave their cars.
They go to the custom room where luggage is inspected. From here on it
is assumed that the individual is on USSR territory. He may move about
freely at the Brest station and may go to the city.
16. The officer on leave then goes to the payment section (vyplatnoy punkt)
in Brest to secure money with his check-order, then to the office of
the military commandant (voyennyy komendant) of the Brest station, where
he presents his coupons for a seat reservation ticket.(platskarty) and a
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ticket which he previously obtained at the station in Frankfurt/Oiler.
A stamp is placed on the seat reservation coupon which indicates the train, car,
and seat numbers to be assigned. Then the officer goes to the booking
office with his seat reservation coupon (talon diya polucheniya platskarty)
which he presents and receives in turn a seating ticket (platskarty). His
ticket (bilet) is punched for travel on a corresponding train.
17. At the station in Brest, an officer returning from his leave gives back
all his documents (razovoy propusk, otpusknoy bilet, and udostovereniye
lichnosti) at one of the windows of the EPP room marked: "Departure
from USSR". Then the returning officer brings all his luggage to the
custom section. Upon completion of the inspection at the custom house,
a stamp is placed on the leave ticket with the notation that the luggage
has been inspected by custom house-Brest. In about half an hour the officer goes
to the X FP window marked with tlesign "Departure from USSR" and asks if
his documents are ready. Sometimes, however, it takes an hour to inspect
the documents. The border guard behind the window returns the documents,
and the one-time pass. The border guard does not ask any special questions
of the individual on leave. Following this the officer goes to the office
of the military commander of Brest station and hands in a coupon for a
seat reservation. A notation is made on this coupon and the same procedure
as that for leaving Germany is followed. The procedure for obtaining a
reserved seat on the train out does not differ in any way from that of
obtaining a reserved seat when going to the USSR.
18. Prior to the departure of the train from Brest to Frankfurt/Oder, the train
is encircled by border guards. There is a border guard stationed at the
entrance of each car, who inspects documents of passengers ei'itering the car.
The border guard takes the one-time pass and inspects stamps. Once
passengers enter the car, they are not permitted to leave. Border guards
station themselves on the car steps and accompany the train to the Soviet-
Polish border. From Brest, the train proceeds to the polish
Soviet border''- (15 to 20 kilometers from Brest), where Soviet border guards
turn the train over to Polish border guards. Polish border guards superficially
inspect passenger documents and,,when the train arrives at the station in
Frankfurt/Oder, documents are-not inspected.
19. Under existing regulations.,officers and soldiers on leave must register
themselves with the military commander of the garrison of their place
of leave. In the event there is no military commander at the place of
leave the man on leave must register with the local military commissariat.
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where it is wrapped into different things (underwear, paper, etc.). Some
officers transport film legally. In this case, the box with the film is
wrapped in-'!c: paper and a sealing-wax stamp of the officer's unit is placed
"It has been
t
22. Regulations Governing Officers' Conduct while on Leave in the USSR.
a. An officer must be polite, greeting all senior officers and responding
to greetings of junior officers as well as ordinary soldiers and
sergeants.
b. An officer on leave has the right to wear civilian clothes; however, he
must be dressed in uniform while appearing at military establishments.
c. In accordance with regulations, an officer is not permitted to carry
things in his hands such as: suitcases, bags, or baskets; an officer
is permitted to carry a small parcel under his left arm (books,
newspapers).
d. An officer must give way to other officers senior by rank, in passing.
23. One of source's acquaintances, a senior lieutenant, got drunk and became
very rowdy while on leave. He was taken to a military command (the city
is not known). The military commandant decided not to punish him al-
though he had the right to arrest him for 10 to 15 days. After the latter
slept off the effects at the guard hou e, the commandant noted on his
leave ticket that he was placed under arrest for 10 days for drinking and
debauching while on leave. Source states that for insignificant violations
of regulations such as uniform regulations and not greeting senior officers,
the punishment may be a reprimand or two days in prison.
24. An officer going on leave may take, in addition to his everyday uniform,
the following items: dark blue uniform, riding breeches with piping,
khaki colored blouse, leather boots (not shoes), pair of underwear (drawers,
shorts, undershirts), socks, soap, toothbrush, cigarette lighter, cigarette
case (may be of Soviet-German production), penknife, fountain pen, watches
of foreign make, writing pad, field bag, which is carried in left hand, or
on the left side of'the body with the strap hanging over the right shoulder.
Many officers going on leave from Germany also take cameras of German origin.
Those officers. who are seriously interested in photography, bring such
equipment as telephoto lens and universal viewfinders. As a rule, all this
equipment is packed in suitcases because it is heavy. Some officers take
along film for their cameras, despite the fact that transportation of film
across the border is prohibited. Officers place boxes of film in suitcases,
es.
on it. Near the stamu, the commander of the unit wri
inspected."
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