TBILISI YARN-SPINNING AND KNITTING COMBINE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A048800030001-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 24, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 28, 1959
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.B.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
COUNTRY USSR (Georgian SSR)
SUBJECT Tbilisi Yarn-Spinning and
Knitting Combine
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE ACQ.
REPORT
DATE DISTR.
NO. PAGES 1
REFERENCES
report, including a legend and sketch, of the TbiXisi fN- 41-4+2, E 14i4._1.57
yarn-spinning and knitting combine. The legend contains descriptions of the
thirteen buildings, and locations and operations of the various sections and
shops within each 'wilding. The report also includes information on
Lran poi-at-L n, working conditions, security, and personnel/
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`ENCLOSURE ATTACHED
PLEASE ROM
STATE I X ARMY I X NAVY X A
I(Note: Washington distribution indicated by "X"; Field distribution by "#".)
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TBILISI YARN-SPINNING AND KNITTING COMBINB
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General Description
1. The Tbilisi Yarn-Spinning and Knitting Combine (Tbiliskiy Pryadilno-Triko
tazhnyy Kaabinat),in operation since 1932, was located on Trikotazbaaya
ulitsa about three hundred aeter$ from Sovetskaiya ulitsa, the main street
in the Leninskiy rayon. This combine was subordinate to the Ministry of
Light Industry. Cotton-yarn of various yarn counts, nylon, and "sapron"
(a synthetic German fiber-wade of :a, petroleum and coal base) stockings
were manufactured in this combine. These products were narked with the
WX trademark. T3te mill, which -contained thirteen buildings, was enclo-
sed by a 2.3 meter high concrete wall with six entrances. On the north
side of the .plant was a 200-square-meter area where new plant installations
were being constructed. The 13 plant buildings described' below areshown
on sketch on page 11. 50X1-HUM
Building No. 1
2. Yarn-spinning and Knitting hopsa As the building was built on uneven
terrain, one fourth of the floor space contained three stories and the
other three quarters contained two stories. This was a fireproof "tuft"
stone (Armenian stone, not further identified) building with structural.
concrete columns .ith a flat concrete roof with.concrete beams. The
following sections were found on the first. floor:
as Ttepalnnyy (Scutebing) Section. This section received the cotton
in 100-kilograms bales. The cotton was scutabed and divided into
12-kilogram rolls wld.ch were then delivered to the various asnu-
facturing sections on the first and second floors. This section
e11oyed 60 workers, and had one automatic Soviet-sake machine in
good state of repair?
be Chesa1nyy (Combing) Section No. 2. This section contained_a combing
aachaine which combed the cotton, removed the impurities, transformed
it into 200 to 300-aster slivers which were led to the $a ng Section.
The aaahine was manufactured in the "Volean" Plant in Leningrad. Six
or seven women were employed in this section.
c. Rovnichgyy'(Roving) Section No. 2. This section contained-machines
which pied the cotton through a machine with elastic rubber rollers
and onto-.300-gram size wooden spools: Eighteen aachines, manufactured
in Leningrad in about 1950, accomplished this step with great efficiency;
two older machines took twice an long to perform the same process.
Twenty female specialists worked in this section.
d. Krutilno-Montazbnyy (Spinning-Winding) Section No. 2. This was the final
process in the manufacture of yarn. The am passed through a
Krutilnyy Vatemyy (ring spinning machine) whithen wound the yarn
on 50-gram size conical shaped spools. Yarn weights varied from a
maximum of 20 to a wAnjone of 80.
s section con ied 32 machines in good50X1-HUM
condition which en manufactured in Leningrad in about 1932.
Ninety women were employed in this section.
C W"MIT4 AL
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as Chesalnyy Section No. 2. It supplied cotton to the various sections
on the second floor. This section contained about 78 machines, manufactured
in Leningrad in about 1932, which did not produce very efficiently as
they were in poor condition. Thirty women worked in this section.
Rovnichnyy (Roving) Section No. 1. This section did the same work as
Rovnichnyy Section No. 2 on the first floor. This section contained
27 spinning machines, ten of these spun coarse.yarn and 17 spun fine
yarn. Some of the machinery was t the majority was of Soviet
make manufactured in 1932. The machines were in poor condition and did
not work efficiently. 50X1-HUM
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3?
Co Vaternyy (Ring spinning) Section No. 1. This section produced spools
of yarn from-20 to 80-weight as well as yarn for the hose-knitting. This
section contained 113 "Karl Marx" ring spinning machines. The majority
of the machines were made in 1932 and five were constructed in 1954.
All the machines were in good condition and produced great quantities of
yarn. one hundred and fifty women worked in this section.
d. Krutilno Montazhnyy (Spinning-Winding) Section No. 1. This section did
the same work as Section No. 2 on the first floor but on a smaller scale
and supplied the shops on the floor above. This section contained 20
old Soviet take machines which had been manufactured in Leningrad in
1932. These machines were in good condition. Sixty women were employed
in this section.
e. Kottonizatsiya (Sic) Section. This section produced stockings using
nylon and capron as well as cotton yarn. This section contained 30
Krasnyy Proletariy machines which were in good condition. This section
also contained ten German "Guelser" machines in good condition which
had been installed after the war. These machines worked efficiently.
One hundred and sixty workers, the majority of then women, were employed
in this section.
f. Ketelnyy (not further identified) Section. This section handled the
final process in the manufacture of stockings. The section contained
ten late-model German "Guelser"machines installed in 1953, replacing
the obsolete machinery. Seventy-five workers were employed here.
g. Vaternyy (Ring Spinning) Section No. 2. This section did the same work
M Ring- Spinning Section No. I but had, greater output as the machinery
was more modern. The seventy 'Yulkan" machines were constructed in
Leningrad in 1953 and installed in the plant in 1954. The machines
were kept in good condition. This section employed 150 workers.
h. Tinting and Shaping Section. This section performed two operations
in the manufacture of stockings. One process was to shape the stockings
and the other was to tint then different shades. This section contained
the following equi meent& six concrete vats, sixty stocking forms made
of bard aluminum on which the stockings were steam-pressed, two iron
centrifugal spinners for drying stockings. Each 1 x 2-meter spinner
had a capacity for 500 to 600 pairs of stockings. The section employed
sixty workers.
4. The third floor contained the following sections:
a. Offices: Director's office, Chief Engineer of the Party commaittee,
drafting,office (15 employees ), supply office (15 to 20 employees).,
accounting office (30 employees), Labor Union office (a chief, a
liaison officer and two clerks), Workers' Protection office known by
the initials RKKA, and the Personnel Recnrds' office.
The following sections were found on the second floor of Building No. 1:
a. ChesalrW (Combing) Section No. 1. This section did the same work
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b. Library. This library was available for the use of all plant personnel
and contained several types of technical books and a Soviet encyclopedia.
A woman was in charge of signing out books.
co Laboratory. The quality of the finished products and raw materials was
checked here. A 50X1-HUM
female textile engineer with 25 chemical technicians and assistants who
were not specialists were employed here.
d. Polyclinic. This was a small hospital which employed six doctors in-
cluding a general practitioner, a lung specialisty,a-dentist, and a
venereal disease specialist. Each doctor was assisted by a nurse.
The hospital contained radiotherapy equipment. Patients were attended
by doctors only in the morning; in the afternoon and at night they
were cared for by a nurse. 7K s was considered to be an emergency
clinic and patients who bad long illnesses were sent to one of the
hospitals in Tbilisi.
e. Apprentice School. This school contained two classrooms and employed
four professors.' Each classrona had a capacity of 50 students. Workers
were given courses in order that they might receive a higher category
in the textile field or become specialists such as electricians,
mechanics, or fitters. Since workers studied outside of work hours, class
hours were ndent upon the shift hours. Classes lasted two hours
with a half ur recess. During the summer months, these classes were
substituted classes on political subjects such as the History of
the Bole hervih Party or Stalin's autobiograpr which were taught by a
Party represeitative who might also have been a worker. Attendance
to these classes was not obligatory 50X1-HUM
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Building No. 2
Women's residence and nursery. This was a two-story L-shaped 'duff 14 stone
fireproof building with a shed-type sheet metal roof. On the first floor
was the women's residence and on the second floor was the day nursery which
had a capacity for about 100 children between the ages of two months and three
years. The nursery employed a doctor, a nurse, various nursemaids, and ten
other employees.
Building No.
6. Laundry. This was a 10 x 5 x 3-meter red brick, one-story, slant-roofed
structure with a cement-covered wood framework. This section contained five
"Leese" 1 kilowatt washing machines, which had been manufactured in Moscow
in 1955 and installed in this mill during the summer of the same 50X1 -HU M
year. These washing machines were very powerful. This section also contained
a '7.epse" electric sterilizer (made in 1955) with "Nicron" resistors.
No.
7. Transformer substation. This was a 30 x 8 x 5-meter dark, red brick fireproof
building with a sheet metal roof. It contained five transformers which supplied
electricity to the whole plant. These transformers were described as follows:
One 100 kilovolt ampere, two 1,000 kilovolt-ampere, one 540 kilovolt-ampere,
and one 320,kilovolt-ampere transformers. The 540 kilovolt-ampere transformer
was marked and was made :=:= the other were marked'iO" and were
made in Kharkov. The current entered the mill at 600 volts andwas stepped 50X1-HUM
down to 380 volts by the 100 and 320 kilovolt-ampere transformers and was
stepped up to 500 volts by the 1,000 and 54o kilovolt-supere transformers.
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These transformers which had been installed in the will when it was opened
in 1932, were in perfect condition. Four electricians were in charge of
the maintenance of this installation.
Building No. 5
8. Warehouse. This was a 50 x 10 x 6-meter one-story, brick structure with
a wooden framework. and a tiled roof. This building, which was not fire-
proof, was uspd for storing cotton and other raw materials. The structure
had a 25 tometric-ton capacity. Twenty workers, with three supervisors
in charge, loaded and unloaded merchandise.
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Building No. 6
Central heating plant. This was a 25 x 20 x 5-meter, brick and reinforced
concrete, fireproof, one-story structure with a basement where the ashes
were kept. This plant not only supplied the beat to the entire mill in
the winter but in sum?er it supplied hot water and steam to the Tinting
and Shaping Section. This structure contained the following Soviet-make
machinery: two 80 kilogram pressure ssem boilers, one of which was in-
stalled in 1932 and the-other in 1955,"and three %epee" 40 kilowatt cen-
trifugal water pumps, two of which were! installed. in 1932 and the other in
1955? All the machinery was in good condition. This section also contained
a two-metric-ton capacity crane. Four workers were employed on each of
the two daily shuts.
Building No.
10. Carpentry shop. This was a 30 x 15 x 6-meter one-story brick structure
with a wooden framework and a tar-paper shed roof. This shop produced
various item which were used in the mill such as work benches, clothes,
closets, doors, windows, wooden bodies for trucks, and other item which
were essential to the mill. The carpentry shop contained the following
machinery: two standard lathes, four circular saws, two band saws, four
old Krasnyy Oktyabr drills, made in Moscow, which were in poor condition,
one Soviet-aake planer which had been installed in approximately 1953 and
was in good condition. Thirty workers were employed on the one eight-hour
day shift.
Building No. 8
11. Machine and electric shops and offices. This was a two-story "tuff" stone
construction building with a tar-paper-covered sheet-metal roof. This
building contained the machine shop and electric shop on the first floor
and various offices on the second floor. These sections were described
as follows:
as Machine shop. This shop, which employed from 75 to 80 workers, pro-
duced such item as spare parts, gears, and screws which were used
in the mill. It contained the following machinery:
2 Krasnyy Proletariy lathes, type DIP-200, in good condition.
1 DIP-300 lathe manufactured in the Kirov Plant in Tbilisi.
This was a 1945 model in good condition.
2 old Komsomol lathes manufactured in Odessa which were in very
poor condition.
3 planers; two Proletariy planers and one "Krasnyy Oktyabr" planer
made in Moscow. All were in good condition.
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2 large drills.
1 small drill in poor condition*
b. Electric shop. This employed from 75 to 80 workers and was charged
with repairing electric equipsent such as the spinning machines.
This shop contained the following equipment:
2 small old lathes in poor condition.
1 large drill.
c. The accounting office, draftsmen's office, electrical and mechanical
engineers' office were located on the second floor and had the following
personnel:
3-accountants.
4 draftsmen.
1 mechanical engineer.
1 electrical engineer.
Building Noe 2
12. Warehouse. This was a 30 x 15 x 4-meter one-story red brick building with
a wood framework and a tar-paper-covered roof. This structure was not fire-
proof. The following materials were stored here: all types of electrical
equipment and machinery, spare parts, cables, engines, motors, tires, paint,
"capron", nylon viscose fiber, screws, wool, linen, and clothing 50X1-HUM
for the workers. One chief, one accountant, and one laborer who loaded and
unloaded materials were employed here.
Building No. 10
13. Garage. This was a 30 x 30 x 10-meter one-story "tt*T" stone, fireproof
building with a slate-covered concrete roof. The.vehicles here were in
good condition: the trucks were used to transport plant supplies, the
buses were used to transport workers, and the passenger cars were used by
the administrative officials. The following vehicles were housed in the
garage:
1 three metric-ton ZIS-5 truck.
1 four and a half metric-ton ZIS-150 truck.
3 two and a half metric-ton GAS-55 trucks.
1 truck carrying a crane of unknown make.
1 GAS-55 bus with a capacity for 22 persons.
1 ZIS-5 bus with a capacity for 42 persons.
1 POBEDA passenger car which had been manufactured in Gorkiy.
1 MOSKOVICH passenger car.
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Building No. 2.1
1i. Workers' quarters. These were in a 30 x 10 x 5-meter two-story "tuff" stone
structure with a wooden framework and a sheet metal roof. This building
was not fireproof. Each floor contained twenty 16 x 18-meter rotas; one
room was assigned to a family.
Building No. 12
15. Dining room, library and club. This structure which contained the dining
mom, library, and club was a two-story L-shaped structure with a wooden
framework and a tile roof. Half of the size of the floorspace contained
a two-meter deep reinforced concrete baicaeent where foodstuffs were stored.
This building was not fireproof. TI*Ldining room, library, and club were
described as follows:
a. Dining Roam. This was located on the first floor and had a 300 per-
son capacity.
be Library. This was located on the second floor. In addition to the
books it subscribed to the following newspapers, Zarya Vostoka,
Pravda, Izves a and gomscmolskaya Pravda. A worker was in charge
of signing out books and newspaperso
co Club. This was a theater which was located also on the second floor.
The theater contained two movie projectors of unknown make; movies
were shown about three times a week and the t}aater had a 500 person
capacity. Conferences on international affairs, given by Tbilisi
Party officials, were held here frequently.
Building No. 13
16. Apprentice school. This was an old two-story 40 x 15 x 12 meter "t4T"
stone structure with a wooden framework and a tile roof. A basement which
was the size of half of the floor space was referred to as the "Control
Station" KP ; entrance was for- 50X1-HUM
bidden lieved it was an air raid shelter. first floor contained
the living quarters for the 100 apprentices between the ages of 16 and 18
who were studying a three-year course which included practical study of the
machinery used in the textile industry. The second floor contained the
classrooms where subjects pertaining to the textile industry were taught.
The classrooms had a capacity for 100 students; 50X1-HUM
Raw Materials and Storage
17. The raw materials used in the textile mill were cotton which was shipped
in in 100 kilogram bales, "eapron", and nylon which were supplied in one
kilogram packages, coal by.the metric ton and small quantities of oil,
gasoline, wood6, and caustic soda. Materials stored in warehouses No. 5
and No. 9 were in good condition. The workers were not permitted to smoke,
the electric installations were airtight and fire extinguishers were located
every 10 to 15 meters along the walls of each warehouse.
Electric Power and Water Supply
18. The plant received its electric power by means of two underground cables
which came from Malaya Didube, a high tension substation located in the
8talinskiy rayon of Tbilisi, and another underground cable which came from
the Elektro Depo which was an electric locomotive repair plant which was
located approximately 300 meters south of the textile mill. The textile
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mill used about 1,200 kilowatt hours of electricity every 24 hours.
elee c ty supply was s e eat; only one 1 ine . was used and 50X1-HUM
the other two were kept as an emergency supply. The mill had a 48-hour
emergency water supply and two 240 horsepower centrifugal pumps. The water
was supplied from the Natakhta'r spring located about 15 kilometers from
Tbilisi. This spring was carefully guarded.
DEMM
19. The stockings were packed in cardboard boxes, ten pairs to a box; the boxes
were marked with the initials TPTS, the stocking size, and the number of
pairs in the box. The thread was packed in bags or one cubic-meter wooden
crates and marked with the initials TPTK and the thread number.
Transportation
20. A railroad siding, which entered on the north side of the mill grounds, con-
nected with the Soviet standard gauge Severo Kavkaztaya zbeleznaya Doroga
(North Caucasian*. railroac~ line.) Concrete loading platforms which measured
50 x 2 x 1.5 meters werecated in front of the warehouse No. 5.
three or four fret cars loaded with 50X1-HUM
coal and cotton entered mill each night. 80 per-
cent of the finished produpets were shipped by rail. Thee textile mill
trucks used the TrikotazhWa ulitsa which joined the.SOVetskaya ulitsa;
these were asphalt, 14-meter wide, all-season roads. Bases left the mill
at 0630 hours each morning to pick up workers and retur*ed,to the mill at
0755 hours; the same buses left again to pick up the office personnel at
0755 hours and returned to the mill at 0830 hours.
Working Conditions
21. The actual manufacturing sections worked three shifts, an eight-hour morning
and afternoon shift and a seven-hour night shift. The other sections worked
two shifts, from 0800 to 1700 hours and from 1700 to 0100 hours. Holidays
were May 1 and 2, November 7 and 8, Octoboer 5, January 1, March 8, and
Sundays. Workers were given 12 to 18-day vacations and technicians were
given 18 to 2k-day vacations which were staggered throughout the year.
Electricians earned from 440 to 750 rubles a month.
A worker who produced more than two
norms or over 200 percent was rewarded with a 250 to 500 ruble bonus and sometimes with an honorary diplomia.
Security and Fire Prevention
22. The textile mill security staff was made up of 20 old or physiea3.;17 disabled
workers who were armed with-'Pyati-Lineynaya?weapons. The guards were stationed
at the warehouses, the garage, and the electric substation. Workers were
required to present a musk which was signed by the Deputy Director, as
they entered the mdll. The fire brigade was made up of ten men who were
in charge of cleaning hydrants loading fire extinguishers and holding
practices and drills. Each shop in Building No. 1 contained 27 hydrants;
the other buildings were provided with one or two hydrants.
Personnel
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whom were specialists. Each section was bossed by a shop chief, a master,
and a work brigade chief*
the mill employed about 2,000 workers, the majority of 50X1-HUM
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Avelina Zakharovna Tavadze - Plant Director
Mikhail Ivanovich Shcberbakoy - Chief" engineer
Dzhano Platonovich Gurgenidze - Electrical engineer]
Tigran Iosifoyich Dilonyan - Chief of electric shopf
Shalya Gorbisheli - Guard and fire brigade cbief~
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