TKVARCHELI COAL MINES TRUST

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000200130010-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 1, 2009
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: November 5, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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S1 CRET'
SECURITY INFORMATION REPORT
COUNTRY USSR (Georgian SSR)
SUBJECT Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE L_
ACQUIRED BY
DATE OF INFORMATION
25X1
DATE DISTI'.,r
NO. OF PAGES
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
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SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
1. The Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust (Trest tkvarchel'skikh ugol'nykh shakht
Tkvarchelugol') was organized about 1941 to exploit the Stalin Coal
Mine #1, which was located in the settlement Akarmara, which is a part
of Tkvarcheli. Prior to that time, the administration of the Stalin
Coal Mine #1 was the responsibilit I of the Mintz
hakhto 1
25X1
When the T vare a Coal Mines Trust was
organized, is seat was. located in the settlement Dzhantukha gee
Sketc7. At that time several more coal mines in theTkvarcheli gorge
were ,either under construction or in the planning stage.
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2.I Ithe Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust
was responsible solely for' the exploitation of mines already in opera-
tion. Construction of mines was the responsibility of another agency,
the Georgian Mine Construction Administration (Gruzinekoe
shakhtostroitel'noye upravleniye - GruzShakhtoStroy) whose
seat was in Tbilisi, Spusk Elbakidze. The regional office o 25X1
GruzShakhtoStroy responsible for construction of all Tkkvarcheli Coal
Mines was called the Tkvarcheli Coal Mine Construction Trust
(Tkvarche'l'skiy stroitel'nyy Crest ugol'nykh shakht - Trest Tkvarchel'
ShakhtoStroy) which was located in the Dzhantukha settlement.
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3. When all mines now under construction or in the planning stage are put
into operation, which-is--expected by 1956, the Tkvarcheli Coal Mines
Trust will have under its control seven coal mines f?-ee Sketch .
Mine #1 was opened sometime in the thirties; #2 in 1946; #4 in 1949;
#5 at the end of 1950; #3 should have been opened ina1951; #6 notthe
until 1955; and, #7 probably in 1956.
results of geological exploration, the resources o the Tkvarcheli 25X1
Coal Mines Trust under full exploitation should last for at least
50 years.
The head of the Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust since 1949, was Arkhip
MironOvich LABAKHUA. LABAKHUA had four deputies: one was Chief
Engineer /name unknown7; the second was Deputy for Administration
(zamestitee ' po obshc ekhozyaystvennym voprosam).; the third was
Deputy for Capital Construction (kapital'noye stroitel'stvo) whose
name was CHKHETIA; and the fourth was Deputy for Financial Matters
game unknown7.
5. The organization of the Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust L'Nee Charg was
as follows:
a. In addition to the four deputies, directly subordinate to the
Trust's head were:
(1) Planning Section (planovyy otdel) Lead unknownJ.. This
section had five employees and was responsible for
planning, preparation, and financing of annual., quarterly,
Trust
th
t
e
.
o
and monthly xilans for all mines subordinate
un i1 1950 when it had only two 25X1
mines #1 and #2), the total daily production of coal was up to
700 tn. The annual production plan at that time called
for production of 250,000 tn., and the financial plan,
approximately 30 million rublesa Later, in January 1952,
when five mines (#1, #2, #39 #4, and #5) were in operation,
the daily production was up to approximately 2,000 tn. At
that time the annual production plan of the Trust called
for production of 720,000 tn., and the financial plan
specified about 72 million rubles. before 25X1
Mine #4 and. Mine #5 started their operation., the Tkvarcheli
Coal Mines Trust operated at a loss; that is the selling
price of Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust coal per ton was at
that time 110 rubles, and-the production costs per ton were
115 to 120 rubles. Later, when Mines #4 and #5 started
production, the production price had dropped below 110
rubles, and the Trust was able to make some profit. The
sale of Tkvarcheli Coal Mines-Trust coal was effected
through a special agency called "UgleSbyt" 25X1
(2) Personnel. Section (otdel kadrov). The head of this section
gas TODUA; it hid we employees.: and was responsible .for
hiring labor for the mines subordinate to the Trust and for
all personnel problems.
(3.) Secret Documents and Executive Personnel Section (spetsotdel
i otdel rukovodyashchikh kadrov). The head of this section
was Mrs. TOIOROVSKAYA; it had several employees and was
responsible for classified correspondence, military
registration of employees, and personal matters of employees
in executive positions.
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(4) Workers, Consumer Goods and Food Supply Section (otdel
rabochego snabzheniya - ORS)
The head of this section was a -ere were
approximately 300 employees working in this section and
its subsidiaries. It was responsible for procurement
of consumer goods and food, and for supply of miners and
Trust employees with these articles. Although because
of the stabilization of economic conditions in the USSR3
the ORS sections in the USSR had lately lost much of
their importance, large industrial enterprises and
especially mines and metallurgical plants still maintained
them; this was because--these enterprises,, using special
subsidies given them by the government, were able to pro-
cure for their Boni ters better quality goods at relatively
cheap prices.
(5) Technical Supply Section (otdel tekhnicheskogo snabzheniya).
The head was TSIPURIYAO Approximately 400 employees worked
in this section and its warehouses; it was responsible for
procurement of machinery, equipment,, and all technical
supplies necessary for the operation of the mines.. Main
supplier for this section was the Technical Supply Sectio
of the Georgian'Coal Combine (Gruzugol'Kombin.
which in turn received supplies from various plan-
factories throughout the USSR as scheduled by the All-Union
f the Coal Mining Industry.
all technical equipment used by the Tkvarcheli
Coal Mines Trust was of Soviet manufacture.
b. 'Under the Deputy for Administration were the following sections:
(1) Transportation Section rh-ead unknown. There were 300
employees and workers in this section, which was
responsible for requesting and dispatching railroad flat
cars for coal transport and the administration of the
Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust motor pool. From the mines
to the Kvezani railroad station,, coal was transported by
cable cars, The Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust motor pool
had approximately 150 trucks which were used mainly for
transporting lumber and timber to the mines (the cable
car lines were also used for this purpose) as well as
for transport of machines , equipment., and all other
bulky supplies. Until 1949 the predominant make of
trucks in this motor pool was US Studebaker. Later they
were run down to such an extent that they had to be re-
placed with Soviet ZIS-150 vehicles. The POL supplies
for the motor pool were received from some NefteSbyt
agency in Batumi.
(2) Housing and Community Services Section (zhilishchno
kommunallnyy otdel). The Tkvarcheli Coal Mines.Trust.
had a very small.section serviced by three employees
which was responsible solely for the housing of Trust
.employees. However, every mine had its own housing
and community services section of approximately 50
employees charged with housing of mining employees and
workers. Every mine had its own housing project built
by the Main Construction Administration (ShakhtoStroy)
upon request of the Capital Construction Section (UKS .
These housing projects had 6, 8, 12,p and 18 apartment
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units. Each apartment consisted of 2-3-4 rooms, kitchen,
bathroom and toilet. There were also quite a number of
so-called Finnish houses (prefabricated, frame houses of
one to two apartments) where an.apartment consisted of a
combined living-dining room and a kitchen. No bathroom
or other facilities were available in these houses..
Housing projects also had several rooming houses for
single miners. the monthly rent for an 25X1
apartment of three rooms, kitchen, and bathroom with
heating, electricity and all community services inclusive
was 100 rubles. The monthly rent for a room for a single
miner was 10-15 rubles depending on the size of the room.
c'. Under the Deputy for Financial Matters were:
(1)' Finance Section fh-ead unknow 7. Two employees worked in
this section. Securing and providing mines with financial
means for their operation was the main reponsibility of
the section. The largest part of Trust financial means
was obtained through the sale of coal. However, since the
loss heli Coal Mines Trust ancertain0ahmountpofafinancial
loss
help was al ece. ve the form of government 25X1
subsidies. in case of need, the 25X1
Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust was au .orized through its
Finance Section to effect the transfer of profits from
one mine to another. All financial transactions were
carried on through the Kvezani City Branch of the State
Bank where the Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust and every mine
subordinate to it had its own account.
(2) Accounting Office (Bukhgalteriya); Chief Accountant was
Nikolay Isidorovich SEREDA. There were 12 employees in
this section, which was rather loosely subordinate to
the Deputy for Financial Matters, often taking direct
orders from the Trust's head. Normal accounting functions
and control of accounts of subordinate mines were conducted
by this office.
d. Under the Deputy for Capital Construction wasp only one section,
namely, the Capital Construction Section ( p,avleniye
kapital nog: stroitel?stva - UKS). Deputy for Capital
Construction CHKHETIA was at the same time Chief. of the UKS.
There were about 15 employees working in this section. This
section, whose title was a bit misleading, was not only
responsible for decisions made with respect to any construction
for the Trust and subordinate mines (construction of new mines,
expansion of existing mines, construction of roads, cable car
lines, housing projects,. etc.) but also for decisions pertaining
to the acquisition of new machinery and equipment insofar as
this was not done with financial means realized by the.
Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust. In other words, all financial means
obtained by the Trust through governmental subsidies were at the
disposal of the UKS, which was free to use them according to the
detailed budget plan by which these subsidies were allocated and
instructions received to this effect from the head of the Trust.
I remember that government subsidies to the Tkvarcheli Coal Mines
Trust in the period 1947 to 1950 ran annually to 40,000,000 -
50,000,000 rubles. It was expected that the governmental subsidies
would become much lower by 1952, when five mines were expected to
be in operation, and would become quite insignificant by 1956, when
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all seven mines were to be working at full speed. Construction of
new mines was accomplished by GruzShakhtoStroy. Expansion, main-
tenance, and repair of existing mines was the responsibility of the
UKS section,.
e. Under the Chief Engineer was the Technical Section (Tekhnicheskiy
otdel), head of which was Vadim Dimitriyevich KALANDARISHVILI.
Four employees worked in this section, which was responsible for
all technical matters concerning mining methods, proper use of
machinery and equipment, work safety regulations, fire prevention,
and ventilation.
Sketch of Location or ?i vai?c 1C.L1 t?11tac.~, ?=~. r~ a .-- 25X1
for the Tkvarcheli Coal Mines Trust, Georgian SSRJ
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SKETCH T
Location of Tkvarcheli Mines
Setts. Lev" Bereg
mine # 4
Akhiblara
~ppr. Scale 11125,000
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Mine # 6
Yerkbniye Istochniki
$heligvara
Mines# 2.and # 3
Shakhta Pyat'
Mine # 5
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Organizational Chart for the
Deputy
for
Administratio
Transportation
Section
Housing and
Community
Tkrarcheli Coal Mine Trust, Georgian SSR
HEAD
Deputy
for
Financial
Matters
Finance
Section
Accounting
Office
Deputy
for
Capital.
Construction
Capital
Construction
Section
Chief
Engineer
Section
Plang
S.
Personnel
S.
Spet$
otdel
Tachnicat
Supply
Section
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