LIVING CONDITIONS IN BUCHAREST

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A008400370003-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 23, 2008
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: November 16, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2008/01/23: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA008400370003-9
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains Information affecting the rational Defense of the United Mates within the meaning of the rpionage Laws, Title
1$. U./.C. Sees. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which In any manner to an unauthorised person is prohibited by law.
SUBJECT Living Conditions in Bucharest
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
DATE ACQUIRED
REPORT
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
16 Novenber 1955
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
This is UNEVALUATED Information
1. The supply of food and other cauwdities has improved considerably since
rationing was abolished, although goverment shops and markets are well-
stocked with all types of merchandise, including imported luxury items,
the purchasing power of residents of Bucharest is still a tremely low.
Wages have not kept abreast of prices, and the majoritlr of salaried workers
and mployess earn lose than the minisaR needed for subsistence,
2. A monthly income of 1,000 to 1,200 lei is necessary to provide a family
of two with the bare necessities of life. While this sma will provide
two people with food, rent, water, and electricity, it will not provide
them with clothing and shoes. Only engineers, architects, and certain
high officials, such as chief accountants in important enterprises, earn
salaries of 1,000 lei and over, Average monthly salaries are as follows:
office worker, 500 to 600 lei; experienced pharmacist, 800 lei;
doctor, 800 to 900 lei; skilled worker, 500 to 700 lei; and unskilled
worker, 250 to 300 lei. Doctors are now allowed to treat private patients,
and their earning power is improved over that of other professional men.
Prices
3. The following prices apply to oanwodities which are available in
goverrsROnt shops:
Black bread
2.00 lei per kilogram
Butter
27.00
Sugar
10.00
Oil
11.00
sausage
12.00 to 2
7.00
Pork cutlets
30.00
Other seat
13.00 to 1
5.00
S-34-R-B?T
STATE r ARMY
AIR FBI AEC
I MR it X1 - I I
(Notes Washington distribution indicated by "X"i Field distribution by "#".)
25X1
Approved For Release 2008/01/23: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA008400370003-9
 Approved For Release 2008/01/23: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA008400370003-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Fish
White flour
Potatoes
Rice
Grapes (poorest quality
Apples (poorest quality
Milk
Wine (poorest quality)
Spirits
Alcohol (96%)
Kerosene
White bread
Eggs
Rolls
Lemons
Oranges
Cloth for men's suits (imported)
Cloth for winter overcoat (" )
Women's shoes (imported)
5.00 to 9.00
11.00
1.00 to 1.50
9.00
5.00 to 6.00
2.00 to 2.50
1.20 per liter
6.00
15.00
50.00
1,30
3.20 lei per loaf (less than 1 kg.)
.65 (summer) to 1.00 (winter)
.33
20.00
20.00
100.00 per meter
700.00
400.00 to 500.00 per pair
4. Milk is in short supply and is usually bought on the free market at 3.00 to
4.00 lei per liter. Good quality fruit mast be bought on the free market
at 5.00 to 6.00 lei per kilogram for apples and 8.00 to 10.00 lei for
grapes. Ordinary red table wine costs 18.00 lei per liter, Although
textiles of local production are considerably cheaper than those imported,
they are very poor in quality. Women's shoes made of local materials are
only half the price of imported shoes, but they have rubber soles or
leather soles of poor quality. Cheese made from cows' milk is available
only on the free market at 15.00 lei per kilogram.
Relaxation of Controls
5. The former unceasing inquiries as to whether a person is working (Incadrat)
have became infrequent, and the fact that a person is supported by relatives
or receives food parcels from abroad has become an acceptable answer. The
so-called voluntary work (Munca Voluntara) has also decreased in frequency,
and the meetings of employees after work hours have declined considerably.
6. Independent craftsmen have been allowed to re-open their workshops, and
licenses for new workshops can be obtained readily upon condition that no
hired labor is utilized. Doctors have also been encouraged by tax
decreases to treat private patients in addition to their official work.
7. Residents are no longer required to identify themselves on all occasions,
and document checks on the streets, in restaurants, and in public places
has ceased. Questioning by police in private homes has become comparatively
rare.
8. The house or block warden (Responsabil), who is charged with the maintenance
of the residents' register (Carte de Imobil) plays an important role in
supervising the individual resident of Bucharest, and police inquiries about
residents are generally directed to him, and police precinct stations
maintain contact with him through one of their officers (sectorist)
appointed for this duty. Wardens are not necessarily chosen for their
loyalty to the Party; the landlord is the warden for private homes, and
anyone with a good civil record may qualify as warden for large blocks of
apartments owned by the state.
Approved For Release 2008/01/23: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA008400370003-9
 Approved For Release 2008/01/23: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA008400370003-9
-3-
Registration
9. It is extremely difficult to obtain an apartment or even a single rood in
Bucharest. The official allotment of living space is eight square meters,
and no family without adolescent children is permitted the use of more
than two rooms. A non-resident of Bucharest can obtain permission to move
to Bucharest only upon proof that he has found housing in the capital.
10. A person who wishes to rent or exchange housing must register with the
Raion housing agency (Spatiul Locativ), but his chance of success is quite
limited; there is almost no new residential construction, and the few
apartments which become vacant are allotted to persons with Party or police
connections. It is also difficult to obtain a room in a hotel, since they
are generally filled with youth delegations or non-residents on official
business. The most effective method of obtaining housing is to pay "key
money" (File-Dorma) either to an official of the Raion housing agency or
to a person who earns his living by acting as an intermediary.
U. Any change of address, either temporary or permanent, must be registered
within 24 hours of the change. The house warden enters personal data of
the new tenant, obtained from the identity card (Buletinul de Ideantitate),
in his register and sends both the register and identity card to the
police precinct station. The identity card is then stamped and signed,
and the stamp certifies that the change of address has been registered
in accordance with the lat.
S-E-C-R-E-T
Approved For Release 2008/01/23: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA008400370003-9