RIGA - POPULATION, LIVING CONDITIONS, MILITARY AND NAVAL OBSERVATIONS, DEGREE AND METHODS OF SOVIET CONTROL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-01026R000100030002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 15, 2002
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: April 29, 1947
• Content Type: IR

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE GROUP
INTELLIGENCE REPORT
SUBJECT Riga - population, living conditions, military
and naval observations, degree and methods
of Soviet control.
AWL-
ORE D_2
70955
DATE:
INFO. 21-27 March 1947
DIST. 29 April 1947
PAGES 8
SUPPLEMENT
SOURCE US Naval Officer known to be completely reliable.
PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS
On 17 March 1947, 1 visited the Transportation Bureau of Intourist and requested
that a journey be arranged to visit Riga and thence return to Moscow via Tallin and
Leningrad, The director of the Transportation Bureau stated that such a journey could
be arranged and requested that I let him know two days before my intended date of de-
parture. He did not request any documents or passport but accepted my word that I
was attached to the American delegation of the Council of Foreign Ministers. I was
dressed in civilian clothes at the time.
On the following day I appeared at the Transportation Bureau and stated that I
wished to depart by air on Thursday, 20 March, He replied that depending on weather
I could obtain a ticket on the day before. The weather turned out to be unfavorable, and
on Friday afternoon, 21 March, I obtained a ticket for Riga on the train departing that
night. A member of the Swedish Legation, Mr. Carl Reinius, whom I have known for a
period of six years, received permission from his Minister to accompany me on the
trip. He also obtained a ticket.
The only documents required were our passports, in which no entry was made
as to our destination or reasons for the journey. The director advised that upon ar-
rival in Riga arrangements could be made for further travel to Tallin and Leningrad.
The director asked whether we had received permission from the Foreign Office to
make this journey and was satisfied with our reply that according to the Soviet press
of several months back there were no restrictions on travel in the Soviet Union, and
for that reason we considered such permission unnecessary.
JOURNEY TO RIGA
The train left from Rjevski Station at 2350. We occupied a two-person com-
partment in the one sleeping car which was attai" to the train. There was no din-
ing car, nor were there any freight or troop cars attar.
ONI review(s)
completed.
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On 22 March we passed through the devasted area between the towns of Rjev
and Velikie-Luki, both of which towns had been almost completely wiped out but in
which a slight amount of rebuilding was in progress. From the town of Rjev to the
Latvian border there were vendors of food at each station. The mein items available
were meat, black bread, rolls and milk, with more butter as we proceeded westward.
During this period of our trip about 200 passengers without tickets occupied places
on top of and between the cars, clinging very precariously to their perches, some as
far as Riga itself, a distance of about 400 kilometers. Conversations with these riders
evinced the information that they were in search of food of any description and that
they had heard that Latvia had quantities of potatoes and bread available. Among these
riders were a great percentage of women and elderly men who showed signs of malnu-
trition and general debilitation.
We reached the Latvian border well after dark, and there was no attempt made
to check our documents, nor were there any other border formalities.
We arrived in Riga early on the morning of the 23rd and proceeded to the In-
tourist hotel, the "Metropole, ' which we found to be an efficient, clean, small hotel.
No military movement was seen en route, and only small quantities of German
goods were sighted. There was little material along the right-of-way except for sal-
vaged.steel and other metals.
Having lived in Riga for a period of two years, from 1936 to 1938, 1 was fairly
conversant with the physical aspects of the city at that time. War damage in the city
was restricted mostly to the old part of town. The permanent pedestrian and vehicle
L longer exists, but the railway bridge over the Daugava River, which paral-
aforementioned bridge, is intact. The pontoon bridge likewise is intact but
process of being removed prior to the spring ice spate. There is a new pedes-
trian and vehicle bridge, completed by the Russians in 1946, spanning the Daugava
River about a mile north of the pontoon bridge. This bridge is of the supported arch
type, about 800 meters long and 15 meters wide, carrying a sin le trolley car track,
consisting of eight spans supported on rock-filled sunken c The bridge is
constructed very ingeniously, entirely of laminated wood, s impregnated with tar
and unpainted. That it is recognized as a fire hazard is evidenced by the many "No
Smoking" signs. This bridge could not be opened for big ship traffic.
The eastern bank of the Daugava in Riga has been almost completely demolished
and is now in the process of reconstruction, the work being carried on by German
prisoners of war, of which about 200 were seen working. A high board fence runs along
the entire water front but is apparently intended only to safeguard the German prison-
ers, since the work under progress can easily be observed from the bridges. In the
central part of Riga the important buildings which were destroyed were the telegraph
building, the War Ministry and the famous Rome Hotel. The ex-American Legation
building is intact, as are most of the big apartment buildings. The streets are in fair
shape, although there was no sign of recent repair work. A single high radio mast
dominates the city.
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7095 f
Based on conversations with carriage drivers, workmen, waitresses, musi-
cians? and others who had been in Riga during the entire war, and also based on
personal observations, between 60% and 75% of the city's population is now Russian.
The Latvian language is rarely heard within the city but is still in evidence in the
form of street signs, book stores, newspapers, and in radio broadcasts. Housing is
less difficult than in Moscow, although the better apartments and quarters have been
taken over by Russians. There is a sufficiency of water and little restriction on the
use of electricity.
A visit to the gigantic food market, which was formerly housed in five Zeppelin
showed that while there is still food of most sorts available, the prices are
but a little lower than the Moscow market prices for the same items. Items which
were available and average prices therefor were:
Meat ................................... 70 s per kilo
Potatoes
...... . . ... ... . . .. I .... ... . . .
Beets ...................................
Carrots ............................
Black bread .... . . . .... ....... ... ? ...... . .. ' . _ t io
White bread (little available) .... ................ * S per kilo
Butter ..... . ............. .
.
kilo
~
25 ru
Oranges ............................ . ...
each
Cabbage . ........... .......... . ..... . . . . .. Price unknown
Fancy cakes, with butter frosting ... . ...... ....... . 1.2 rubles per portion
Sugar .... . . ... ............ _ ..... . .. ? 90 rubles per kilo
Sugar was very scarce and there were long queues waiting to purchase the limit
of 200 grams.
No white flour visible; no cooking oils and no United States products except for
Libby's canned pineapple.
In the one big commercial food store there was obtainable practically anything
in the food line at prices very little higher than the market prices, There were many
complaints heard in the market about the high prices of things and about the short-
comings of the market regarding cleanliness and distribution.
There were a few stalls fringing the markets which bore signs stating that they
were rrivate enterprises, but these stalls sold only notions such as pencils, razor
blades, rubber goods, etc., most of which were of German origin.
The average wage of a store clerk apreared to be 600 rubles on paper, but only
480 actually received. The rationed food was not sufficient for sustaining life and the
remaining rubles available for food were insufficient to purchase the required
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709s
differential. As a result, black market sales of personal effects and bartering were
active and doubtless pilferage from factories and shops served as additional income.
TEMPER OF THE PEOPLE
The impression was received that the Letts, who now form a very small part of
the city's population, were despondent and with no hope for the future except for a
"gentle" war of liberation as a last remaining hope. The same feeling also applied
to Russians who had lived in Riga before the Russian occupation and had returned there
after spending an educational period in the USSR. Most of the Latvian population which
remains appears to be in the factories and on the farms, where collectivization is being
carried out very cautiously.
We were treated as spies during our entire stay in Riga dnd surveillance was
carried on in a very clumsy manner. I was unable to detect the presence of dicta-
phone or similar device in the room, but I twice caught maids listening at the door.
We were passed along from shadow to shadow. We were photographed four times to
my knowledge by a camera concealed in a carefully wrapped package, The opening of
the shutter was actually witnessed both by myself and by Mr, Reinius, after I had
25X1X6?called his attention to the clumsy maneuver,
After two days of negotiations for airplane tickets to Tallin, we were told that
there was something wrong with our passports and were invited to visit the office of
the NKVD. The particularly obnoxious NKVD captain in charge of the visa division
was cbviouhly Russian and not Latvian. He informed us that since we had no evidence
of permission to visit Tallin or Leningrad we could not go to those places but must
return to Moscow. I then asked him if he refused to permit our further travel, and
after much beating about the bush he came out flatly with such a statement, He stressed
all during our conversation that he was speaking for the Latvian Republic and not for the
USSR, He made no comment when I expressed the hope that the Latvian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs was conversant with this interruption in our original itinerary except
to state that it was entirely within his responsibility and that he doubted whether the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs would or could effect any change.
Upon arrival at the Metropole Hotel, we made inquiries regarding permission
to take photographs around the town, and were told that we might take photographs
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freely. Consequently, over a period of two days both Mr, Reinius and I, carrying
our cameras quite openly, took various pictures of war damage, churches, and
street scenes. On Tuesday, 25 March, having crossed to the opposite side of the
Daugava River, I took several pictures of the Riga waterfront.. At that moment I
was appro a lieutenant of the militia who requested to see my photography
permit, I r that inasmuch as we had been given permission by Intourist and
that we had peen taking pictures openly for the past two days, apparently no written
permission was necessary. I produced my diplomatic passport and suggested that
he advise his superior of the occurrence. The lieutenant, however, requested that
I deliver the film to him for exposure to the light. This I refused to do, and when
he suggested that Igo to the militia headquarters with him I told him that I was not
obligated to do so but in view of his lack of knowledge concerning diplomatic status
I would gladly accompany him there, since it was very close to the hotel. (I con-
sidered this an excellent opportunity to visit the militia headquarters)
Upon arrival at that place, the chief being absent, I refused to wait for his re-
appearance but left the entire film with the lieutenant, receiving therefor a receipt.
On the following morning, about one hour prior to departure of our train for Moscow,
a captain of the militia together with the aforementioned lieutenant appeared at the
hotel and the following took place in my room, in the presence of the hotel director,
the Intourist interpreter, Mr. Reinius, and the two militia officers. The captain apolo-
gized for the actions of the lieutenant, stating that the latter was not familiar with
diplomatic privileges, and returned the empty film cartridge case to me, He then
produced the developed negative, on which I had made eleven exposures, also enlarge-
ments of certain portions of the film. These enlargements showed views around town
and a panorama of the Riga waterfront. On the latter enlargements were shown the
three bridges which cross the Daugava River. The captain than informed me that
while there was nothing of a serious nature in the pictures I had taken yet the fact
that bridges were included would make it necessary for him to obtain permission
from his superior to deliver the negative to me. He further added that he thought
this could be arranged possibly prior to our departure or, if not, that the film ,77ould
be forwarded to me within a few days. I told the captain that inasmuch as by the ac-
tion of his lieutenant I had been forced to waste approximately twenty exposures still
remaining on my film.I would take the film and the enlargements they had made as
compensation. He replied that such a request was reasonable and again repeated that
I would undoubtedly receive this material shortly. An "Act" was then drawn up cover-
ing the episode and signed by all witnesses.
I made it quite clear that if the local authorities objected to any of the pictures
I had taken because of any military information, they had my permission to remove
from the film such sections as they considered inappropriate to deliver to me. I
also pointed out and showed to the captain pictures which I had purchased in a govern-
ment book store in Riga showing approximately the same shoreline details as were
contained in my negative. To date I have received neither the negatives nor the en-
largements.
Mr. Reinius, who had not taken any pictures at the time of my entanglement with
the militia, was not questioned as to whether or not he had engaged in like photography.
At no other time during our stay were we approached for documents of any sort.
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Riga appeared to be a navy town, although no naval installations were seen ex-
cept one large building on the waterfront which was apparently the naval headquarters.
In the area around this building were domiciled a number of officers, enlisted per-
sonnel and their families, ranging from a Rear Admiral (sighted) to seamen. Their
insignia carried no other mark than the Russian abbreviation for Baltic Fleet. In
addition to Red Fleet personnel in naval uniform there were many men clothed in
army uniforms but bearing on their shoulder boards the Russian mark for Baltic
Fleet.
Surrounded by a wooden fence was a group of buildings on the waterfront. In
the compound I observed a formation of Soviet naval personnel bearing the aviation
insignia. Included in the formation and seen strolling about were younger officers
and cadets. My estimate of the number probably attending this school is about 200,
were the of st naval shipyards in operation, However, the naval base is prob-
ably located at the mouth of the Daugava, from which the Latvian navy formerly opera-
ted. Several references were overheard as to the naval work going on in the port of
Libau.
There were comparatively few Army personnel seen around town, none of
whom bore insignia designating their units except for one shoulder board sighted
from a distance which read "47 D." Howevet, some of the personnel bore a tank
insignia and others an aviation insignia.
There are no vestiges left of the old Latvian 73 or trimmings, and I could
not detect the presence (A any pure Letts in uniform.
Ostensibly because of weather conditions, air transportation was not available
for the return trip and we departed from Riga at 1130, 26 March, traversing most of
Latvia during daylight hours.
At the stations there was considerably more food avails (;]4an in Russia pro-
per and the prices were lower; for example, a hamburger 4W rubles and a kilo
We shared a four-passenger coupe with a demobilized major of the Soviet artil-
lery, who is now employed in a Riga bicycle factory, and with a rather shy Jewish girl
who was proceeding to Moscow to take examinations, the successful culmination of
which would permit her to teach in the Riga secondary schools. Neither of these pas-
sengers had any written permission allowing them to travel. The ex-major had ob-
tained his ticket by means of a special card given to recipients of higher battle awards,
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and the girl by bribing the ticket seller at the station. The latter practice is quite
customary, since otherwise it is almost impossible for a Soviet citizen not having
high connections to obtain reservations in the sleeping cars. The ex-major, in the
course of conversation, told me that his particular bicycle factory plans to produce
100,000 vehicles during the coming year and that they would probably put into pro-
duction a small one-and-one-half horsepower gasoline motor for use on the heavier
type of bicycle.
Prior to crossing the frontier, the same phenomenon took place as on the out-
bound journey, i.e., the clambering of non-ticket-holding passengers to occupy spaces
between the cars and on top of the cars. Among these was a small girl who appeared
to be about eight but later stated that she was ten. This girl had taken her father
from Pustoshka, in Russia proper, to a hospital in Rezekne, Latvia, a distance of
about 120 kilometers, and was now returning home unaccompanied. Fearing that she
might fall off, we smuggled her into the car and bribed the conductor to let her stay.
After thawing out and being fed by us, she said that the Rezekne hospital was the
nearest one available to the ordinary citizens and that what she had done was not un-
common.
As we proceeded towards Moscow. the outside passengers left the train and
by the following morning there were none left.
As on the outbound trip, no movement of troops was witnessed and only small
quantities of freight were seen Moscow-bound. In the latter category were two rail-
way trains carrying trucks of Russian and American makes, plus some very fine
German passenger cars.
We arrived in Moscow on schedule, 31 hours after leaving Riga.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION AND IMPRESSIONS
The railroad line shows no vestiges of the double tracking having been replaced
and is now almost entirely single tracked,
The extra heavy snow cover is melting very rapidly and will undoubtedly result
in flooding of fields during the spring.
attitude is resented by the Letts, who very properly point out that the standard of liv-
ing had been considerably reduced since the arrival of Sovietism, The latter were
quite open In expressing their resentment and hatred of the Russians, affirming that
they fared better under the German regime.
In addition to an inordinately great number of militia, roving patrols of army
and naval personnel were seen.
A ghetto was established in Riga during the German regime having a barbed
wire encircled perimeter of about five kilometers.
Increased bureaucracy over that which existed in 1936-1938 was much in evi-
dence; small shops employ many workers in excess of the actual requirements..
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Various organizations, such as the Baltic Fleet and the merchant fleet, maintain
shops open to the public, all of which had standard prices.
The Daugava River was being prepared for the spring ice spate by almost con-
tinuous blasting of ice in the narrow stretches of the river.
No air activity was noticed during our entire stay, but this may have been due
to the poor weather conditions.
No icebreakers were operating in the river, and the channel for moving the
segments of the pontoon bridge was being broken by prisoners of war,
There were no reports or rumors of any organized resistance to Soviet authori-
ty except rumors about such occurrences in both Lithuania and Esthonia.
The Latvian Republic is now completely a Soviet republic in every sense of
the word, with only a few vestiges, rapidly disappearing, of the state as it formerly
was. The political, military, commercial, propaganr,, press,and educational sys-
tems all have the undeniable Moscow pattern.
The Latvian Republic is controlled by fear, by population penetration,and by
MVD activities. It is extremely unlikely that the remnants of the original Latvian
population would start a spontaneous revolt on even a small scale, nor could they
give much support to any outside forces which might be brought to bear.
This document contains information
affecting the national defense of the
United States within the meaning of
the Espionage act 50 L.S.C. 31 and 32,
as amended. Its transmission or the
revelation of its contents in any manner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law..