EXAMINATION OF EVIDENCE ON PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES OF SOVIET FORCED LABOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90B01370R000400560012-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 26, 2008
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: March 2, 1984
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2008/1
0 7,A X,
Washington, D. C. 20505
Telephone: [phone] 2 Mar 8 4
TO: Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
House of Representatives
Attn: Dick Giza
Dick:
SOVA analyst) I provided us STAT
with the attached material as a follow-up
to your conversation with her regarding
Soviet forced labor. We hope you will find
the statistics and analysis useful.
STAT
UA 11 _AN Office of Legislative Liaison
FORM OBSOLETE
3-79 1533 PREVIOUS
EDITIONS.
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SUBJECT Examination of Evidence on Production
Activities of Soviet Forced Labor
1. We are transmitting to you a list of items manufactured
in the Soviet Union wholly or in part with the help of forced
labor. The items in the list are coded according to the U.S.
Customs Office Tariff Schedule (TS/USA). These items were
classified in this manner to facilitate analysis-by US officials
dealing with the question of imports by the United States of
Soviet goods that might be made by forced labor.
2. The list was compiled from four categories of sources:
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4.. Of the approximately 2 million forced laborers in camps,
about half are engaged in manufacturing, 30 percent in logging
and wood processing, 10 percent in construction, and 10 percent
in agriculture and mining. Another 2 million or so forced
laborers are not confined in camps. Most members of this group--
consisting of people either sentenced directly or paroled to work
projects--are in construction.
5. Our list, composed of almost 200 entries, includes
manufactured, semi-manufactured, and processed goods. It
excludes construction activity by forced labor. The list
indicates that much of the manufacturing activity in the camps
involves production of parts or components for other products.
Logging and wood products, particularly furniture and crate
making, are the most frequently mentioned items. Items in the
metal and metal products group are also frequently cited. In
many cases prisoners cite relatively broad classes of goods
without specifying the items within the class.
6. The evidence is too sketchy to permit calculation of
what proportion of total Soviet production of the items listed is
provided by forced laborers. However, since forced labor
constitutes only about 3 percent of the total Soviet labor force
and engages in a large variety of production activities, there is
some presumption that only in rare instances does production by
forced labor comprise a large share of total output of any given
product or category.
7. We have very little direct evidence that prison-made
goods are exported. The emigres rarely indicate knowledge of the
destination of camp-made goods, and when they do, the reference
is generally to domestic outlets. The list includes only two
reports from former forced laborers that specifically refer to
goods produced in camps for export. One cites "agricultural
discs exported to West Germany, Canada and 12 other foreign
countries, as well as being used domestically." The other
discusses turbines produced "for export to Western Europe,
African countries and to Cuba." This source also heard that
another camp in his area produced a variety of consumer goods
"either for Party stores or for Western export."
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8. The evidence in the list is somewhat dated, in part
reflecting the reduced flow of emigration from the USSR in recent
years. As shown in the table below, 93 percent of the entries in
the list refer to production before 1981, 5 percent do not give a
date, and only 2 percent refer to production after 1980.
Percentage of Entries in List Referring to
Production in Forced Labor Camps By Time Periods
Pre 1971 11
1971-75 48
1976-80 34
1981-83 2
Unknown 5
a Where an entry reported production for an interval of two or
more years, the latest year mentioned was used.
Attachment
as stated
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