THE CITY OF RUSE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000500260009-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 30, 2001
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: October 5, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

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INFORMATION REPORT INFORMATION REPORT
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.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
C O N F I D E N T I A L
COUNTRY Bulgaria
251ATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
DATE ACQUIRED
The City of Ruse
LIBRARY SUBJECT AND AREA CODES (30)
3-02-0404 10/55
850.01
855.2
761.5
REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR. 5 October 1955
NO. OF PAGES 6
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
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20M
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C O N F I D E N T I A L
STATE #x ARMY #x NAVY AIR FBI AEC
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COUNTRY Bulgaria
SUBJECT City of Ruse
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PLACE ACQUIRED
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
DATE DISTR. 23 Augur
NO.OF PAGES 5
1. Following is the legend for the sketch on page 5 . All of the scree
below were
i
approx
mately six meters wide.
1. Stalin Street, cobblestoned.
2. Vasil Kolarov Street, cobblestoned.
3. Vozrazhdane Allee, crushed stone.
4. Silistra Street, crushed stone.
5. Medzhydiya Street, crushed stone.
Tutrakan (N 44-02, E 26-36)-Silistra (N 44-08, E 27-17) Highway,
crushed stone.
7. Highway to Lipnik, crushed stone.
8. Shipka Street, crushed stone.
9. Mostrova Street, crushed stone.
10. Voyevodova Street, crushed stone.
11. Ouben Karavelov Street, crushed stone.
12. Veliko Ternovo Street, crushed stone.
13. Dimiter Blagoev Street, cobblestoned.
CONjj E JAL
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14. Pirot Street, cobblestoned.
15. Tsar Kaloyan Street, cobblestoned.
16. 18th of February Street, crushed stone.
17. Vezhen Street, crushed stone.
18. 9th of September Square, concrete.
19. Highway to Byala (N 43-27, E 25-44), oobblestoned.
20. Maxim Gorkiy Street, crushed store.
21. Tsar Shishman Street, crushed stone.
22. Dondukov Koreakov Street, crushed stone.
23,,Bozveli Street, crushed stone.
24. Tyla Street, orushed stone.
25. Paniot Hitov Street, crushed stone.
26. General Skobilev Street, oobblestoned,
27. Ivan Vazov Street, oobbleetoned.
28. Kniaz Asperukh Street, oobblestoned.
29. Ivan Dimitrov,Street, oobblestoned.
30. Yanko Sakyzov Street, oobblestoned.
31. Cherno More Street, crushed stone.
32. Red Square, concrete.
33. Pedko D. Petkov Street, cobblestoned.
34. Angel Kynchev Street, crushed stone.
35. Dimiter Anastasov Street, crushed stone.
36. Ana Ventura Street, crushed stone.
37. Georgi Dimitrov Street, cobblestoned.
38. Peter Beron Street, crushed stone.
39. Tsarigrad Street, crushed stone.
40. 6th of September Street, crushed stone.
41. Stanko Dimitrov Street, crushed stone.
42. Tsar Osvoboditel (Liberator) Boulevard, partly crushed stone and partly
cobblestoned,
43. Union (Soyedineniye) Boulevard, cobblestoned.
44. Vardar Street, crushed stone.
45. Arda Street, crushed stone.
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Fire Fighting Facilities
2. There was only one fire station in Ruse; it was located on Stalin Street
(Point l on page 5). This station housed about 10 fire trucks which had
motor pumps; the trucks carried 2,000-lit,water tanks.
3. Only the central part of Ruse had water conduits which could be tapped for
fire fighting emergencies. The conventional type of fire hydrant, as found
in the US, was unknown in Bulgarian cities. The fire station in Ruse also
had a few outmoded horse-drawn, hand-pump fire trucks but they were to be
replaced by more modern equipment. There were no fire reporting boxes
anywhere on the streets of Ruse; fires were reported to the fire station
by telephone. Industrial enterprises in Ruse had internal fire fighting
equipment, usually glass-encased water hoses on reels, which could be
connected to water pipes in case of fire.
Telephone Facilities
4, Only government buildings, CP members,, certain doctors, engineers, ete.?
had telephones. Most of the population used the telephones which were
usually located in railroad and bus terminals.
5. The central telephone exchange was located on 9th of September Square
(Point 18 on page ). The building was stuccoed and measured 8Ox6OxlOOm.
Source believes that fewer persona in Bulgaria have telephones today a
before the Communist regime because of the widespread poverty; the cost
for a telephone was prohibitive..
Eleotricity for Homes and Streets
Although the majority of the homes in Ruse had electricity, very few persans
could afford to pay the cost oO using more than one 40-watt bulb. Individu&I
rooms rarely had more than one bulb burning. Those homes which had no meter
were charged a flat monthly rate per bulb; homed which.had meters paid a~,,corr"k-
ing to the consumption of electricity.
7. Only the major streets in Ruse were illuminated at night. Source estimated
that there were only 10 such streets in the city. After midnight, all
street illumination was out off.
Radio and Television
8. Only five per cent of the population owned radios. The cheaper radios cost
about 900 leva and were th-refore unattainable by the average worker who
earned 500 leva per month; radios were taxed 50 leva a year. Most of the
radios source had seen were four-tube sets which were capable of receiving
Western broadcasts" When asked about the possibility of building a radio,
in view of the eachorbitant price, source claimed that it would be a dangerous
adventure and would invite arrest; all radios were registered with the
government.
4:a. As far as source knows, no one owned a television set in Bulgaria; he had
never even seen'anything printed about television in the newspapers.
Housing Conditions and Health
10. The possibility for procuring living quarters in any Bulgarian city was
out of the question. Most families were quartered in only a single room
which had to serve as a bedroom, kitchen, and living room. An increase
in a family was not sufficient grounds to compel the government housing
administration to intervene. Hundreds of persons unsuccessfully crowded
the housing offices with applications for housing. Village and farm
populations tended to migrate to the large cities where life, even under
crowded living conditions, was much better than working on farms for a
pittance. Following the end of the war, large mass migrations flooded
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Bulgarian cities; those who came stayed but others who came later were not
so fortunate because the housing situation had become so critical.
11. Although the Bulgarian Government constructed housing projects, there were
not enough to keep up with the migration of the rural population to the
cities. To make the situation worse, newly-constructed housing was usually
earmarked for Party functionaries and their families, much to the bitterness _
of the worker. Although the Bulgarian Government realized the great need
for additional living space, it was apparently unable to do anything about it.
These cramped, unsanitary living conditions were beginning to push the
mortality rate higher, particularly through tuberculosis.
12. Source was convinced that tuberculosis was higher in Bulgaria today than at
any other time in the past 50 years. Poor living conditions, hard work, and
moral. and physical depression were taking their toll on the health of the
Bulgarian worker. Although medicine was socialized, hospitalization was
theoretically free; but there were only four hospitals and polyolinics in
Ruse, with a total of about 500 beds, to administer to a population of
70,000. Doctors were slipshod in diagnosing sicknesses and were not con-
scientious about their professions. Doctors earned little more than an
average laborer, 600 lava per month.
tree: loment_and Compensation
13. The labor office on Dimiter Blagoev Street (Point 13 on page 5 ) was
always crowded with 50 to 60 persons looking for work. Source estimated
that 10% of the able-bodied labor force of Ruse-was unemployed. These
persons received no unemployment funds from the government and since the
government could not admit to unemployment, there was no talk of unemploy-
ment compensation.
14. Source believes that the industrial expansion did not keep_paoe.with the
increase in the cosmopolitan population. Those who had no work were left
to shift for themselves. "No bark, no eat" seemed to be the government.,, 10
attitude.
15. Workers who became incapacitated through an accident, i.e., loss of arm
or leg, were more fortunate; they received about 120 to 150 lava every
three months for a short period of,.time. Soldier-invalids received a maxi-
mum of 200 lava every three months. Source never heard of old age pensions.
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Overlay on USTCM-Series 25,
Giurgiu, 0322-9997-o-25M
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