SOVIET PROPAGANDA ALERT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00364R001903760009-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 18, 2007
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: April 22, 1983
• Content Type: REPORT

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STAT
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83-1336/1
Soviet Propaganda Ale
No.13
April -22,1983
SUMMARY
(Further details of the items on this sheet
can be found on the referenced pages)
Major Soviet propaganda themes related to the U.S. in
January and February stressed:
Arms Control.. Soviet propaganda was unchanged from See p. 1
earlier months. The U.S. was denounced for making
START, INF, and MBFR proposals that would unilater-
ally disarm the Soviet Union and its allies while
ignoring Warsaw Pact proposals which were fair and
provided equal security for both sides.
The United States. Soviet commentators focussed on See p. 7
.evaluations of President Peagan's Administration
at mid-term. Reaganomics was pronounced a failure
.and the President was accused of causing the worst
recession in U.S. post-War history. U.S. economic
problems were attributed to the arms buildup.
Geographic Themes. Soviet propaganda repeated See p. 8
accusations that the U.S. encourages Israel in its
aggressive actions and does not want peace in the
Middle East. In South Asia, the U.S. was charged
with attempting to draw Pakistan into its imperi-
alist schemes and with continuing its "secret war"
against Afghanistan. Propaganda on U.S. activities
in Asia stressed the threat posed by renewed mili-
tarization of Japan and U.S. attempts to turn. Japan
into its Asian gendarme.
Office of Research
United States Information Agency
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The basic themes of Soviet propaganda were unchanged in. January
and February from those of the late Brezhnev period, although
some analysts believe that the tone has become more assertive.
Changes have taken place in the Soviet propaganda apparatus,
however:
o Boris Stukalin, former chairman of the USSR State'Committee
for Publishing 1-louses, Printing Plants, and the Book Trade,
replaced Evgenii miazel'nikov as chief of the CPSU Central
Committee Propaganda Department.
o The first deputy chief of the CPSU Central Committee
Department of International information, Valentin Falin,
moved to the government newspaper Izvestiia as a "political
observer."
o According to unconfirmed reports in German, British and
Japanese newspapers, the International Information Depart-
ment will be closed down. Other rumors indicated that the
chief of the department, Leonid Zamiatin, will be sent to
Algeria as ambassador--a major demotion.
It is too early to judge whether or not these shifts and
rumored changes represent merely a changing of the guard in the
propaganda apparatus following Andropov's elevation to CPSU
General Secretary or a reorganization which portends major
changes in the methods and substance of Soviet propaganda.
SOVIET PROPAGANDA IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY
Soviet propagandists used their standard repertoire of themes
in their January and February commentaries. They.:
o Stressed the allegedly constant preparations for war on the
part of the U.S. and NATO,'while contrasting this with the
defensive, "peace-loving" policy of the USSR and its allies.
o Emphasized the danger to countries which agreed to provide
basing sites for Pershing II and cruise missiles.
o Claimed that Soviet arms reduction proposals were fair and
provided equal security for both sides while theWest's
proposals would mean unilateral disarmament for the USSR.
o Charged that the U.S. Administration was attempting to
brainwash Americans into believing that a limited nuclear
war is tolerable and winnable.
o Attempted to show that U.S. and NATO policy was opposed by
all progressive peoples, and highlighted demonstrations by
antiwar, antinuclear groups, especially in the U.S. and
Western Europe. An especially favored propaganda technique
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was to quote approvingly from statements by well-known
Western political figures who oppose current NATO policy.
o Suggested that the U.S. had failed on almost every-front
--military, economic, diplomatic--in its alleged imperial-
ist conspiracies.
o Answered U.S. charges of Soviet wrong-doing by "exposing"
alleged U.S. hypocrisy and countercharging that the U.S.
was attempting to divert attention from its own actions.
o Portrayed the Soviet Union and the socialist community as
the ally and protector of Third World countries which are
allegedly under pressure from the U.S. to surrender their
sovereignty by joining the U.S. in its anti-communist
crusade.
At the same time, Soviet propagandists were careful not to
minimize the "threat" constituted by the U.S..and its allies,
and warned that the West was extremely dangerous despite its
supposed weaknesses, divisions, and failures.
Security themes continued to dominate Soviet propaganda in Jan-
uary and February. Alleged preparations by the U.S. and its
allies for war--both nuclear and conventional--the putative
readiness of the U.S. to launch a first strike, constant
efforts by the U.S. to establish bases and "bridgeheads" in
various regions of the world, and attempts by the U.S. to draw
other countries into its allegedly imperialist schemes consti-
tuted the core of Soviet propaganda in recent months. A typi-
cal example was a Valentin Falin article in Izvestiia at the
end of January, in which he blamed the U.S. for world tensions:
Their source lies in the unconstructive actions, hostile to
peace, of a group of states headed by the United States and
in attempts to use force or the threat of force to achieve
unilateral advantages in relation to other countries in the
military, political, and economic spheres.
War is declared to be the condition characteristic of human
.society from time immemorial, while violence is elevated to
the rank of virtually the universal method of conducting
international affairs. The main thing is to gain the upper
hand and put your rival at a disadvantage....
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According to Soviet propagandists, the policy of the Soviet
union and its socialist allies could not be more different. A
mid-February Pravda article by Soviet Defense Minister"Dmitrii
Ustinov asserted:
In our time--a time of steady, progressive development of
mankind--the socialist countries, setting the whole world
an example of great revolutionary achievements and creating
and strengthening a new society in which the working person
is the master of life, are today more than ever the main
buttress of peace in the world. In pursuing a policy of
peace, they firmly rebuff the imperialist policy of
aggression and the export of counterrevolution and attempts
by reactionary forces to impose their will on
freedom-loving people.
Socialism and peace are indivisible concepts.. It is only
in order to.live in conditions of peace and create a new
society that socialist countries have armies and maintain
their combat might and combat readiness at such a level as
to reliably resist the strong, technically well-equipped
and trained armies of the imperialist powers.
Soviet commentators were sometimes carried away by their enthu-
siasm. Vitalii Korionov, writing in Pravda on January 8,
declared that the socialist community's "peace-loving policy is
supported by the vast majority of mankind," and Izvestiia on
January 7 effused that Andropov's INF reduction proposals
exhibited "a principle of the most rigorous equality, brought
to a mathematical exactitude."
if appeals to peace and reason were not sufficient to dissuade
the West from its allegedly aggressive path, Soviet commenta-
tors were not loath to point out the military might of the
Soviet Union and its allies. Falin, in the Izvestiia article
cited above, ominously noted that "the USSR has its own tsar
cannon--and not only the one in Ivanovskaia Square in the
Kremlin." V. Sukhoi, writing in January 25 Pravda,=forcefully
stated that "the Soviet Union will be forced to respond to the
American Administration's challenge by deploying a new ICBM of
the same class, and its characteristics will not be inferior to
the MX." Finally, Falin, again in Izvestiia, warned: "No
matter what might an attacker possesses and no matter what
method of unleashing nuclear war he chooses, he will not attain
his goals. Retribution will follow irrevocably."
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Soviet commentary on the START, INF, and MBFR talks remained
essentially unchanged from previous periods. The Soviets por-
trayed their proposals as being balanced, fair, and resulting
in equal security for both sides. By contrast, the West--
mainly,the U.S.--was allegedly seeking to disarm the Soviet
Union or at least attain military superiority in order to be in
a position to dictate terms to the Soviet Union and its
socialist allies.
INF deployment remained the most frequent subject of Soviet
propaganda in January and February. Soviet commentators:
o Described the deployment as unnecessary because there was
no Soviet threat.
o Charged that "Washington-inspired" rumors of progress at
the Geneva talks were false because the U.S. had not budged
from its "notorious" zero option.
o Called the U.S. zero option "nothing more than a desire to
one-sidedly disarm the USSR."
o Claimed that the U.S. had begun a massive disinformation
campaign to convince Europeans and Americans that INF
deployment is necessary.
o Played up Western antinuclear, antiwar, anti-INF demonstra-
tions as evidence of massive and growing opposition to
deployment and U.S./NATO policies.
o Insisted that French and British intermediate-range forces
be taken into account and rejected U.S. claims that these
were independent forces.
o Labelled as false U.S. assertions that it had no-.inter-
mediate-range nuclear systems in Europe and pointed to U.S.
nuclear-capable aircraft and artillery a's examples.
The U.S. was frequently accused of bargaining in bad faith at
Geneva. According to this argument, the U.S. has deliberately
put forward unacceptable proposals in order to guarantee the
failure of the talks and ensure INF deployment. By the same
token, the promise by the NATO allies to study the Andropov
proposals--after initially rejecting them out of hand--was
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merely a ruse to'placate allegedly large segments of the West
European public which found the Soviet proposals reasonable and
fair.
A major Pravda article just after the first of the year
restated the Soviet position on START. The Soviets charged
that the U.S. was not seeking agreement, that it was attempting
to eliminate the strategic parity which allegedly presently
exists,'that the U.S. was attempting to achieve superiority,
and that the U.S. was comparing apples and oranges in its
comparative counts of Soviet and U.S. launchers and warheads.
Soviet propagandists argued that the U.S. was totally responsi-
ble for the stalemate at the START talks and reiterated that
parity, equality, and equal security are the only basis for an
agreement--implying that the U.S. was attempting to undermine
these principles.
Similar arguments were put forward in Soviet discussions of
MBFR. Soviet propagandists charged that the West was not
interested in reciprocity, that it aimed at acquiring uni-
lateral advantage. Calling NATO's claims that the Warsaw Pact
Enjoyed superiority in troops, arms, and materiel in Central
Europe "irrevelant" and "unsubstantiated," an early January
TASS commentary rejected Western proposals by saying that they
hampered rather than contributed to progress.
The recent Soviet MBFR proposal to limit each side to no more
than 900,000 men was trumpeted as a breakthrough for the talks
which had allegedly been bogged down for ten years with "fruit-
less discussion, imposed by the Western powers," of comparative
troop strength in Central Europe.
Other Military-Related Issues
Warsaw Pact Political. Consultative Committee Proposals
Another major propaganda focus in January and February was the
Prague declaration of the Political Consultative Committee of
the Warsaw Pact which repeated a number of standard proposals
and suggested that NATO and the Warsaw Pact sign a mutual
non-use of force treaty. Pravda, in early January, commented
that the PCC declaration constituted "a real alternative to a
downslide toward nuclear catastrophe." Soviet propagandists
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claimed that a clear split has developed between West Europe
and the U.S. over how to respond to the Prague proposals and
that they had received widespread approval in Europe.
Chemical Warfare (CW)
Soviet propagandists continued to charge that the U.S. was
preparing for chemical warfare and that it had used CW weak.ons
during the Vietnam war. According to these commentators, the
U.S. is attempting to distract attention from its own "crimes"
by charging the Soviet Union and its Asian allies with use of
C'W weapons in Afghanistan, Laos, and Kampuchea. A mid-February
Moscow television program charged that the U.S. is even now
using chemical weapons against Cuba and in El Salvador. Radio
Moscow's world service in mid-January accused the U.S. of tor-
pedoing talks on banning chemical weapons and of blocking dis-
cussions at the UN Disarmament Committee in Geneva.
War in Space
Soviet propagandists again accused the U.S. of preparing for
space warfare and called the space shuttle part of the alleged
U.S. program of "militarization of space." According to an
article by a Soviet writer in the Bulgarian newspaper
Zemedelsko zname in mid-January, the U.S. "attaches the same
importance to this as to MX missiles, Trident submarines, and
B1 bombers." The fact that the last Columbia flight carried
two civilian communications satellites deceived no one, he
maintained.
Freeze Movement
The freeze movement in the U.S. is widespread and growing,
according to the Soviet media. Only by "rude blackmail and
arm-twisting" did the White House manage to defeat freeze reso
lutions introduced in the last Congress. A sarcastic article
in January 6 Pravda ridiculed the notion of Soviet involvement
in the U.S. freeze movement and pointed to support from well-
known U.S. politicians and former Government officials who
could not be considered victims of "perfidious Russians [who]
are surreptitiously inspiring the simpletons from the antiwar
movement and manipulating them."
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Bush Trip to Europe
Vice President Rush's February trip to Europe was pronounced a
failure. Radio Moscow's world service billed it as "a propa-
ganda trip to sell the zero option and to play down Soviet pro-
posals." President Reagan's message to the peoples of Europe
was denounced by Pravda as "a graphic example of slandering the
Soviet Union while presenting the U.S. course in a favorable
light." Mr. Bush's visit to Rome was described by Radio Mos-
cow's domestic service as a welcome relief from the "obvious
failure" and "cold reception" he had received everywhere else
in Western Europe.
Pentagon Plans for Nuclear War
A UPI report on the DOD and NSC directive, Fiscal 1984-88:
Defense Guidance, was cited by TASS on January 17 as allegedly
revealing that the U.S. is making "horrendous plans for
unleashing and conducting protracted nuclear war against the
Soviet Union." U.S. strategy was described as setting out
plans for escalating a conflict to nuclear war and delivering a
first strike, in particular by intermediate-range missiles in
Western Europe.
Soviet propaganda continued to attack the formation of CENTCOM
as evidence of "imperialism's striving for world hegemony." A
sarcastic article in Izves.tiia by Melor Sturua described the
command as a gift to mankind "more cutting than any practical
joke played by schizophrenics and criminals" who hide razor
blades and needles in Christmas gifts. A Pravda article on
January 11 warned that the Soviet Union "cannot close its eyes
to the fact that the region covered by CENTCOM lies at the
point where three continents meet directly to the south of the
USSR's border." The creation of CENTCOM caused such an upsurge
of "anti-imperialist, anti-American sentiments" that some of
the most rightwing regimes in the region wanted to "'remain
aloof from their patron" to avoid being discAredited in their
own people's eyes.
The principal nonmilitary focus of Soviet propaganda on the
United States was 'the assessment of President Reagan's two
years in office. The conclusions were predictable:
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o Izvestiia: "Reagan's foreign policy is one of rigid,
uncompromising confrontation with the USSR and the entire,
socialist community. ... Reaganomics is on its last legs.
... Not a single economist would say that the U.S. is
approaching an era of prosperity."
o Radio Moscow: "The Reagan Administration has not shown a
sane approach on either the domestic or foreign policy
scenes. [Its] economic policy is a fiasco resulting in
.twelve million people unemployed."
o TASS: ... [The] epidemic of resignations and major
reshuffles is evidence of a serious crisis in the Reagan
Administration and disarray in the top echelon which is
faced with ever new flops of domestic and foreign policy."
The Soviets attributed many U.S. domestic problems to the arms
race. According to a TASS commentary on February 5,,the Admin-
istration.'s emphasis on a military build-up "brought the
country into the quagmire of the deepest economic crisis since
the 30's." A Radio Moscow broadcast on January 5 claimed that
"financial backing for Washington's five-year program of
rearming might ruin the country."
According to Soviet commentators, "Reaganomics" has brought a
recession unparalleled in post-War U.S. history. Stanislav
Kondrashov, in a TASS item, charged that the unemployed in the
U.S. were "guinea pigs of Reaganomics," and TASS analyst Alek-
sander Liutyi asserted that Reaganomics had become a synonym
for the "totally bankrupt social and political course of the
U.S. Administratior which brought immeasurable suffering and
privations to millions of Americans."
The result of President Reagan's allegedly failed policies was
to cause the public to turn against him. Soviet propagandists
were fond of citing polling results which showed a drop in the
President's popularity.
GEOGRAPHIC THEMES
Trouble Spots
No new themes were found in coverage of Lebanon. Soviet propa-
gandists kept up their drumbeat of claims that the U.S. is
directly responsible for the situation and profits from it.
The main themes in January and February were:
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o The U.S. continues to encourage Israel and give it complete
support.
o The alleged chill in U.S.-Israeli relations is a trick to
distract Arab attention from the collusion between the two.
o The Lebanese-Israeli talks are foundering because Lebanon
wants Israeli troops out while Israel wants a "capitulatory
agreement modelled on Camp David." The U.S. is pressuring
Lebanon to give in to Israeli demands.
o Washington wants to turn Lebanon into a bridgehead for the
Rapid Deployment Force.
Afghanistan
Soviet commentary on Afghanistan also remained unchanged.
o The U.S.~ was called the main organizer of the war against
Afghanistan. The U.S. Embassy-in Kabul is a center for
training saboteurs, and U.S. diplomats guide and supply the
counter-revolutionaries.
o The rebels were denounced as mercenaries, hired and trained
by the CIA, who destroy mosques, kill patriotically-minded
mullahs, murder women and children, blow up hospitals,
plunder, and sabotage. They are not defenders of Islam.
o The Afghan government allegedly receives wide support from
the people, and more Afghans are returning home.
o Soviet troops will not be withdrawn until foreign inter-
ference ends and reliable international guarantees are made
that it will not resume.
Other Countries/Regions
Radio Moscow and Radio Peace and Progress Arabic-language
broadcasts continued to impugn U.S. motives and actions in the
Middle East. An example is a Radio Moscow broadcast of Febru-
ary 11, where commentator Aleksander Timoshkin charged that
"U.S. imperialists could be considered the ones who taught the
Zionists to kill Arabs and who trained the executioners."
Timoshkin went on to say that U.S. imperialism had "vast and
bloody experience" in its "wars of annihilation" against Korea,
Vietnam, Kampuchea, and Afghanistan and that U.S. imperialists
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"shared responsibility with Tel Aviv and Zionism for the lat-
ters' crimes at Sabra and Shatila ...". -
Israel was accused of preparing to attack. Syria, using as pre-
text the recent Syrian deployment of surface-to-air missiles.
Israeli pilots were said to he practicing mock strikes against
Syria (Izvestiia, February 14).
The USSR was portrayed as the true friend of the Arab people.
Its policies purportedly coincide completely with those set
forth in the declaration of Arab countries at Fez last year
(Sel'skaia zhizn, January 22).
Egyptian foreign policy is said to be more balanced under
.Mubarak, but Egyptian leaders are faulted for wanting to main-
tain their special relationship with the U.S. and Israel within
the Camp David framework (Radio Moscow Arabic, January 26).
The imperialist powers allegedly view Pakistan as a "minor
partner" and seek to enmesh it in military and political com-
mitments and turn it into a tool for their plans in Asia.
According to Soviet propagandists, Pakistan has been acquiring
military offensive hardware, has become a destabilizing factor
in the region, and has given the U.S. rights to establish air
and naval bases in the country (TASS, January 3).
Japan was accused by Soviet propagandists of building up its
military strength in violation of its constitution. Japan's
alleged;buildup goes far beyond its defensive needs. The
basing of U.S.. F-16's near Soviet territory poses a threat
which cannot be disregarded. The U.S. is stationing nuclear
weapons on Japanese territory. A new military bloc, Tokyo-
Seoul-Washington, is being formed. Japan's neighbors feel
threatened and recall their experiences in World War II.
Honduras was charged with being a tool of U.S. imperialism.
The U.S.-Honduran "Big Pine" military exercise was a,pr.elude to
large--scale aggression against Nicaragua. The Honduran army is
to be the U.S.' main gendarme in Central America (TASS, Febru-
ary 1), and "Somozaist gangs," trained and armed by the CIA,
are mounting operations against Nicaragua.
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-11-
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Listed below are representative Soviet press and TASS items on
themes discussed in this report. Translations or summaries of
these items appeared in the FBIS Daily Report (Soviet Union)
during January and February.
ARMS CONTROL AND DISARMAMENT
"The USSR and The USA--Two Approaches to The Strategic Arms
Limitation and Reduction Talks," Pravda, January 2.
"The 'Central Command'--U.S. Imperialism's Big Stick," by Melor
Sturua, Izvestiia, January 10.
"'Zero' To Offer," by Vladimir Lomeiko, Literaturnaia gazeta,
January 12.
"Peace offensive," by'Iurii Zhukov, Pravda, January 15.
"Who Is To Blame for The Deadlock?" by Vladimir Bogachev, TASS,
February 10.
"Europe Against Missiles," by Gennadii Shishkin, Sovetskaia
Rossiia, February 24.
THE UNITED STATES
"He Is Urging Them To Fork Out," by Iu. Romanov, Izvestiia,
January 18.
"Two Years of 'Experiments' in Washington," by S. Kondrashov,
Izvestiia, January 24.
"United States: Rhetoric and Reality," by N. Kurdiumov,
Pravda, January 31.
"Guns, Not Butter," by Gennadii Vasilev, Pravda, February 1.
GEOGRAPHIC THEMES
"Japan: Climbing The Militarization Ladder," by V. Vinogradov,
Krasnaia zvezda, January 9.
"Pakistan--The Price of Militarization," by A. Akhmezianov,
Izvesti.ia, January 25.
"Military-Political Review: The Near East: Again on The Brink
of War," by V. Vinogradov, Krasnaia zvezda, February 20.
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