EDUCATION, PROPAGANDA MEDIA, AND SPORT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00415R012600010011-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 10, 2006
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: December 18, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION
USSR (Lithuanian SSR)
INFORMATION REPORT REPORT
CD NO.
COUNTRY
SUBJECT Education, Propaganda Media, and Sport
25X1 DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE
ACQUIRED
LATION OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS
PROHIBITED BY LAW. THE REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM fS PROHIBITED.
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SECURITY INFORMATION
FOR CRITICAL SEri;RITYIEASUtIU
IuRIS RWRT 1^ 11r:IT i4 i kfli1R
r'' CE~Z
AT' S, 0 f t,51, I, i
Tilt UI IH71 SIA I ,S, W141;1tIr1I ;
,ESS ?'cWiSi; 93 Of fl OEME $}*
OFFICE.
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES, WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLE 18, SECTIONS 793
AND 794, OF THE U.S. CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR REVE-
y., The main weight of the Bolshevik effort in the ideological field is
J
1 It- V__2
U 2116
directed. toward. the education of the masses on Communist lines, For
the construction and maintenance of schools of (arious types, the Bolsheviks
appropriate one-third of the Republic 'budget, In other circumstances,
such i=r manifestation would be welcome to every true Lithuanian, who
Qould only applaud government efforts in the educational sphere, At
present, however,, under Bolshevik conditions, such Bolshevik interest
in the education of the Lithuanians is unwelcome, The Soviets endeavor,
from the most elementary swages of ..earning, to inoculate the youth
with Communist ideas and are guided 'ov the old proverb of the Lithu-
anian peoples "Bend the tree while it is ye ung" , With the help of
the :school system,, they endeavor to educate the youth in a Con nunist
Npi.rit. Any teacher- who dares to instruct in the old-fashioned way is
soon arrmed9 and if this is of no a;?ail he is dismissed from his
posi.tion., Dar'wirii,scn9 political edu.cati_on9 Bolshevized histories of
the USSR and Lithe ania9 eta:,, are the basis for education, The 3n,, 000
members of the Communist Youth and 150,000 Pioneers, the propagandist, s
giv ,,, &nt party schools for adults, are tL fundamental organizational
ba. , e of the C ommoalst educational system,
The Education network
2. At the present time there are in operation in Lithuania..-
a, 12 schools of higher education with 12,000 students,
schools (11-class type).
191 secondary
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1952
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c, 702. seven-year schools.
d, 2672 elementaryschools (four-class type),
e, 202 evening schools for adults.
f. Various courses for illiterates and semi-illiterates.
Nine teachers' seminaries,.
h, Maritime school in Klaipeda.
9
i. Secondary commercial institute in Kaunas,
J., Six FGA schools (schools for training in factory production),
k. Ten agricultural technical schools,
1. Four schools for railway personnel,
m. Schools for accoucheurs in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Panevevzys,
3, At present there are about 5009000 people pursuing studies of various
kinds, Education is free in all se*,gen-_year and special secondary
schools, On entering the eighthcl.ass9 which conforms to the fifth
class of prewar schools, it is necessary to pay for education; in
secondary schools of a general tyre the fee is 200 Re per annum. and
in high schools 150 Rs per annum,
4, Each student receiving four or five marks (sic) at examination re-
ceives a monthly stipend of 250 rubles- the marking system, as in
most continental countries, Is 0 a, 5 marks. Students receiving five
marks in subjects, tha so-called. Stalin Stipendists, receive 350
rubles monthly and do not pay either for education or for board in the
students? hostels,
5. All elementary, seven-year, and general educational secondary schools
are the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, All special
schools are the responsibility of the ministry concerned with the
subjects taught, e,g,,the agricultural technical schools are the
responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, Schools of higher
education, including uni..versities9 institutes, and academies, are
the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education of the USSR,
6, Teachers for the secondary schools are f'--'fined at the Pedagogic: Insti-
tute in Vilnius and in the teacher&9 institutes of KOAipeda9 Siauliai,
and Kaunas, The number of students -in . heae four institutes is about
49600- all of these establishments have wie status .)I schools of higher
educattiono Elementary and seven-year school. teachers are trained in
nine teachers9 seminaries. Physical training instructors are. trained
in the Physical Culture Institute in Kaunas nrd in the two-year tral..ners9
schools in Kaunas, The Physical Culture Institute has the privileges
of a school of higher learning,
7. In the period between 1947 and 19519 362 new elementary schools with
facilities for 46,000 students were constructed, according 'to official
statistics, The number of teachers in Lithuania now reaches approxi-
mately 1$9000, Teachers, salaries vary from 6001,200 rubles monthly,
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The tea.nnnIli _ng of It1litera.tes and semi,-illitemte;c is the responsibility
of village teach e,: s.. In some cases work is done voluntarily,
?hut9 generally ereakngn It is obligatory. In this connection, the
Kaunas region i best organized and, according to official statistics.,
90 nerccent of t e illiterates in this region are receiving instruction,
The Soviets clam that, in all', 15,000 illiterates have been given
school.ir_g, The teachling nr?ogram for illiterates and semi-illiterates
Is very simple.- reading and writing in the Lithuanian language and
'has'-1c arithmetic.
r" cademv of Scier see of the Lithuanian SSR
structure of the Academy of Sciences is as f.ollowsa
a, x .r st Br arch g ?'hyr i co.-?mathe ma.ti cal, natural,, and a-qwnlied
instit_:rtaat, Chemistry and chemical technolog~'Y r geology and
geogra.rhy, biology, experimental medi cine q agri-
"c i tura.l sciences, land i, prove-ent., forestry.
I.n:stituttea Lithuanian language and literature, Lithuanian.
history, economies, law.
The -'resident of the Academy of Sciences of the Lithuanian ''oviet
enubli.c i. Professor Mattll.is, Vise-President is Ziugzda. (fnu),., the
Academic Secretary is Professor K. Beiliukas, Full members are Pro-
fessors, I a 5 a ~ Ivanaucka.s, Mykolad_tls-?utinas, Balc:ikoni s, Kri. sciuns.p,
and others. Member corresnond.ents are Prof"essor B~rsa~9. ka.a., Dauksa.t,
Korasaka , `' ; Vali.,us, and others. In addition, 75 aspirants., persons
-r.reparing -c.entific works, are working in the various institutes..
Of these, ten aspirants have been sent to Moscow and Leningrad. '
10, Ed eat'ional. degrees are Candidate or Doctor" of cience., which are
valirl throughout the territory of the Theses for Candidates
C: Science are defended in V'? ln? us or faunas and nay be written in
Lithuanian or Ru: a ianl u.ages, I)octoratare, however, obtain-,
ble 4 !'
on,~y 1: } how or s,e- ?,.i?Y'r3 ., Eli the Russian r r T.c1.~e must be
13o1rie, ktt, (pts to win over the .y tellige;ltsia
.0 U
the most e ': ?ective methods fox attracting and. bribing the
tie of
-nteliaciuals the award of Stalin 'r.=ize , The following exe
Stalin rri ze laureates in lthuani& at nr r';e lto? "`ofeesor ivari.onas.,
the actor ci' zin>kas, and the stage manager GGrybeuskae?, who have
each received Stalin 3x'izes on two occa.s7ions, The authors Tilvytis and
.Vencla,,,raj c'ulptors M~-'Mikenas and le ~:i1dr v1 Iu ; com osers rfaiatw
Ke;lnsa., `:ve (a,-.,and Viii cnas; actors ronaite9 o?a.clrevi utea Zu _or as,
s
Sloarl a (father and son ), T'etru skaviI'uta, ` as an , Kavali uska c,
other: s have once received Xafin nr?izes., .tor;cther there are
abcat 30 of the Boiohavik 1a cr"eates,
1ord H s a s il~ C-ca e ociety for. the fIIssamination of Political and d
of nth i.'"t ('y k Ylti}'t~3.X f d in Li.thuani. a ,wbi cth has about 6, 500 m ember" _? , This
society organizes lectures r d mub fishes brochures on various popular
and scientific themes. The. society has been seated. especially -to
the vice se the ;' c vi_ e L mode of life and to spread Communist ideas among
the ma~sseei,
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13 Two-year evening courses on Marxism and Lenirl em are organized in the
main centers and are designed exclusively for the intelligentsia. At
these courses lectures are read twice weekly. These usually last
about four hours and are taken from the history of the Bolshevik
Party., the history of the USSR, political economy, and Marxist philo-
sophy. In addition., in the first year of the course a lecture in ser-
ial farm is read, dealing with the international situation. All those
who attend these courses are obliged to undergo examination on party
history, political economy, and.Marxist philosophy and receive a di-
ploma signifying that they have completed the course on higher poli-
tical education, All intellectuals are obliged to pass through this
Communist political machine. In this way doctors, professors, civil
servants, officers, etc., all learn the new gospel.. The lectures are
given in the Russian and Lithuanian languages. The Bolsheviks thus
re-educate the intelligentsia, inoculate them in this artificial way
with views on life foreign to them,and endeavor to effect bolsheviza-
tion even in mental spheres. Their path is sometimes difficult., but
they follow it unswervingly. For this reason the struggle on the
ideological front has latterly become even more difficult. A section
of the Lithuanian intellectuals is unable to withstand this pressures
and after wavering for a period., awaiting possible changes in the
international situation., which never seem to come, they eventually
allow themselves to be out into the Bolshevik harness.,
Propaganda Media
14. In order to insure.the maintenance of Communist propaganda pressure
on the scale set by the.Soviet rulers., a large press apparatus is essen-
tial. There are more newspapers and Journals than the population needs,
and almost every rayon has its own organ. The newspapers are all of
one type and all pursue one objectives publicity for Communists.
There are seven Republic newspapers, 18 journals, and 80 regional
rayon and MTS newspapers; such is the Bolshevik press arsenal. These
newspapers contain leading articles on various political themes,
followed by write-ups of "Stakhanovites., the Production and Labor
Elite", etc.., accompanied'y photographs.
15,E Short reports on local events are to be found, some journalistic pin-
pricks and squabbles between offices, factories, ministries and trusts
when some correspondent or other attacks the work of a director, chair-
man, secretary, etc this Is usually considered to be the most inter-
esting section of the newspaper. The review of international affairs
can be depended upon to depict Truman and Churchill as cannibals and
Hewlett-Johnson, Paul Robeson, and Max Reimann as defenders of peace
and democracy, One will find saccharine little articles on "How Life
Blossoms for the Collective Farmer", and fervent acclamations of the
"GLgantic Achievements of Communism.".. There will also be slanderous
ai.Ld distorted reports from the Korean front in which American barbarism
Is featured. In each newspaper there is bound to be a description of
some meeting or other, greetings telegrams to. Stalin, and the inevitable
spate of articles on the occasions of the October Revolution, the
First of May, and other Con?nur i' feast days. Such is the invariable
picture of a Communist newspap ? `...
16,. In the book-publishing sphere, matters are a little better, because
apart from the works of Soviet sCuthors some of the foreign classics'
are also published, works of Shakespeare, Thackeray, Galsworthy,
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5
Dickens, London, Hugo, Maupassant9 and others,. Of the Lithuanian
classics, the works of Zemaite9 B:iliunas9 Duonelaitis, Maironie, and
others are published. There is no publication or sale whatsoever of
trashy and, sexy literature. The books are quite well bound, and the
average reader is able to obtain access to them through a wide net-
work of libraries; there are over 700 libraries, not counting school,
office, or factor- libraries.
The Radio
1'7. The character of radio programs does not require elaboration, as it
comprises Communist propaganda pure and simple, In Lithuania, apart
from this radio transmitter at Vilnius,there are 23 radio stations and
6, 570 public radio dissemination points.
10 Circles of radio amateurs are organized and they conduct various
competitions and discussions among themselves,
19. The prices of radios are comparatively low, The very cheapest two-
tube set costs 113 rubles, an average set of four tubes costs 150-250
rubles, a good set-costs 450-700 rubles, and a very powerful set of
from 9-12 tubes costs up to 1,500 rubles,
20, One can listen quite freely to all stations with the exception of
those which are avowedly anti-Communist. These cannot be heard,owing
to the activity of the Bolshevik jamming stations,
Theaters
21, Apart from the highly ideological Soviet films, some foreign films
are also shown. Preference is naturally given to Hungarian, Polish,
Rumanivan, Czech, and Chinese films, Occasionally, however, Italian,
French, English, and old American films such as Tarzana Viva Villa,
and The Three Muskateers or German films such as OhmYiruper, and and
W.=5WS are sho ws. The Soviet film industry is unable to satisfy
the `broad mass of the population, Motion nictures are very popular,
parti cularly when foreign films are being shown.
22 The theater, particularly drama, is completely dedicated to the service
of propaganda.. The number of theaters is quite large,. At the present
moment in Lithuania there are 12 theaters, of which one is for opera
and ballet, two for Russian drama, and eight for Lithuanian drama, One
of the more popular forms of entertainment is the folk ensemble. At
folk ensemble performances the Lithuanians are able to see, even if
only on the stage, something which is in accordance with the best
Lithuanian traditions,
S~o.rt9
Sport has traly acquired a mass character; It is, however, essentially
a medium of Bolshevik propaganda, particularly as far as the youth is
concerned, Sport and the supplementary attractions offered to the
youth, e,g,, games against Soviet teams, are designed to win the youth
away from reactionary parental influence. In 1951 a new sport organiza-
tions. Kolkhoznik (the Collective Farmer) was established with the exclu-
sive object of organizing sport for village youth. Sports meetings
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are, if anything,, more frequent than they were in prewar times, A
number of branches of sport are being developed which were not previously
practised in Lithuania. fencing, speed.-skating, various types of gym-
nastics, water-polo, etc, The level of achievement has also risen
considerably as compared with prewar times, For example, of 22 records
in mends light athletics,]4 have been improved, of 11 ladiesd records,
10 have been improved. There have been improvements in absolutely
every case in which records were kept in weight-lifting, swimming,
and cycling, Algiradas Socikas, a son of - a metal worker of Kaunas,
is the All-Union boxing champion, Kulakauskas, Lagznavicius, Butautas,
Petkevicius, Sabulis and Stonkus are regular members of the USSR
international basketball team, In 1951 the Kaunas mends.basketball
team "Zalgirist won the title of Union Champions,
24,.. There are three stadiums in Vilnius. the' State stadium,which has
20,000 seats,and two others each with 3,000 seats,
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