USSR - INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORTATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP67-00059A000500040019-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 31, 2000
• Sequence Number: 19
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2000/08/23 : CIA-RDP67-00059AO00500040019-2
Approved For Release 2000/08/23 : CIA-RDP67-00059AO00500040019-2
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RtSTR rcrEO,
USSR - II:IA;:M VARY TRA:;SPORTATION
1. The Soviet State exclusively doainr.tes the evolution of
all economic policy including, thaat -overn-nL? inland
waterways. Le revealed by the Vourtl 1 ive-Year i lar_,
the basic Soviet policy crith respect to navigable inland
vratervrays calls for en extension of the system (fro:.i
about 65,000 miles in 1940 to rtboat 70,000 Iailes in 1950).
-M le the Plan forsees an increase of 33 percent over pre-
war trv.ff is by 1950, it is evident that the rra jor e:.1pllasis
frill be on restor.~tion of .,gar-dt.zml;cd fccilitics; and tat
no substantial chan~o in the relative importance of inlttnd
waterway trrinsportation (aecountin;; in 1340 for less than
10 percent of total Soviet trcy':'ic) .rill occur during the
current rive-Your Plan. In visa of the fact that extc:.sive
additions to the present natuork would be both practical
and advanta ;eous, loner r2i c polic- spires to cn niibitious
pro(;rcrt of inland . cterl:w;; dove lo;racxrx ;. iha rrnin f e Luros
of this proGral:l, Uaicil Frill be instituted under the Ave-
Year Plan. sere r.s follwar. .s
a) fleconstruction and :1P)l'o~TE:.:t?Ilt of t1e CXistini;
water sjzter connect: ni; i.-1:e upper ol,;u r::d 'lie
:.whale Set:.
b) Joinint; of the Volt;a and the Don rivers by r.leans
of a canal below Stalin ;rn(1 desicned to permit
Vol,-a traffic to proceed directly to Rostov.
c) Construction of four cFnals which :rill afford
Dnepr river traffic. including lar-;e size vessels,
access to the Ll:tck Sea and the Belt ic.
2. As in the instcnce of the other media of trcnsport, policies
for inland water transport are determined and administered
by the responsible, :4inistry with some latitude for independ-
ent action, subject to the over-all control of the State
I'lantlin- Coruaission (GkkV1JJ:+). lit tile Cabinct level, tl.erc
is coordination of operations of the :.,inistry of the fiver
Fleet and those of the ;.iinistiy of the :..'crcharlt.:t.i'ine tr lich,
under the Soviet ad:_13.nistrntive or-anizction, is responsible
for operations on the Caspian despite the fact that the
Caspian is landlocked. There may be song: r:Ainor coordination
of air transport and inls'.nd vreter transport in remote r.ret z.
ii1o econamic 'r.ctors are ci orainc.nt in Soviet inl...nd r;ater-
vrsiy polic;; , s .rr'~cdic t nc riilitary considerations rre ct:rc-
fully 1;?il;hed in 'Vot1i current nnci lone-rctn;;c It
is sib ifiearlt. for exr:aple, thr;t a Soviet artificial ar. ter-
vray :"ial:es it, possiblc to trn nsfer li;;ilt ?1i1Vr 1 Craft )c' ,XEer:
the 43altic txc? ;itC :'hi-Le ~cr.. "atr : .'r:~j F ^ lso :)1.OL'J.t4C ;, he
only ortanizod .*rr.nanortr.tion in lrr;;c a-..-e,-.s of no't :ern
Siberia, rind the rivers west of the Lrrls, naviLaLle on a
north. outh. axis, demonstrated in ~rorld .:ar II th?ia
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irSSP. - IIIIAII1) WATI:RTZAY TPJIIISPORTATI01; (A-3 CU: 'D)
to-istic vr.lue, ,.s l::tcra l rutories. "oviEt policy with
respect to the Danube cul;,;osts that the WSS:%, now a ripar-
ian state, intends to capitalize on its control of the
lower Danube throuLh t:hich it has acc,uirecl a r:eapon of
Great strategic si ;nificnnce in Southeastern Luropee
4, Cn subsidization, the remarks contained in the :?lerchunt
Shipping,; and =aiE;hviay Transportation studies (L-4) are tip-
plicable to Inland l:nterrray `transport^tion.
5o Stl:te policy on inland ti;ater transport is influenced
principally by economic find F;eol;raphic conditions. - The
need for a ci. cap forn of trti-Inportntion to ^u ; cnt and
supler.ent rail ct.pr=cit;; has, 1.c.on t:1e ?rirlci;)rl cconor:lic
fi ctor? he a::tc sivE 116t:':ori~ o. rivers ?xvr ilnLI@ for ex-
rloitation and difficulties of terrain and clim. to have
provided opportunities as well ns proLleLls of a -cot;rrphic
nature. Politic: 1 and historicr_.1 conditions and vested
interests have .:lr. rod cnl;;? rinor roles in the deter::hina-
tion of inlr rcl t:ater trrnspurt::tion polio;; .
UIIGAiIIZATI0;I.
1. The s~,:ate a cnc .es co lcerlled VI- 1-11 4nlrnd vi ter trQ_.s )ort
are : (a) the I.:inistry of file :iver i lc:e , (b) the :-I nistry
of t::c :.:erchant I :,rine, and (c) the Einistry of internal
Lf fairs. (firer-ell p1rnnin`. of inl?tnc?. : ~tel c.y raid
portQtion is the rest onsi: ilit t Of talc 'Jta'.:e i'I~ILliri`
:.l Scion (:ui'u::).
2. It is the failction of Ur; :.inistry- of the i:ivcr fleet to
propose policy at the Cabinet level, to supervisc t1:S, oper-
ation of river transport facilities end to control t:11 r.d-
rlinistrr^tive r,nd tecllnicrl natters relctin to inland v: i er
tr: nsk)ort (except taosc under the jurisdiction of the A-:inis-
try of the :?:erchrant :.:rri:e). The :.,inistry of tle :.:enchant
unrirle is sir.:ilr:rly responsible for that portion of the
Soviet fleet operr:tinl; on the Caspian OeR. The l: irlistry of
Internal Affairs is responsible for actutil construction
vrork on the c: nr;l systems of the staLc, which foal vtlluatle
links between the inland rrrtterrrnys. Tlhe :inistry hes, no
adTlln .strE tiv(; f: ht:lOr tt ' over oT,el'C'tiO:? on the Cr.Y1Qls, how-
ever, thQt LcinF; 4i`Iie province of '1;11e i:is s1 r;,~ of t?.e fiver
Fleet. The operations and )1?lns of those L in is tries are,
like all other economic matters, subject to the over-all
control of the Ltr.te I~lnnninz GorLmission. The :.;inistrics
are organized into divisions, t'hich have t':ell-defined ro-
sponsibilitics such .s finance, InaneC:.iOrl, adk.i nis trr.tion,
tea:'11ic~ 1 r.S;)cCts, C"~:C.
3. jile ..inistricc i~E rtiolec: in -1 above r:rc not directly c-
lated to e: ch outer, but "heir activities _-re CO1t.ro11Cd
arid dirocted at t::e Le1inot level 1)y the ut%.tc
Corm.Assion. -'he Lroalcdot:'n of tho ?inis'ury of t:1c or
legit '"1to F. "rest nuL1jJE;r of s'aLdi'r :i.sion's '1c.;1 probfi"::l:r
resulted in -L ,.e .Lnoct inevitable Creation oL , cdminilstra-
41 five co:1. c- z vy- let. o. -I u/ )f? of Cir =uzut1Gri.
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USSR - I2TIMM i,ATL3t AY TR 1 SPURTATI01; (B-4)
4. To adniirister various Coirmunist government functions
CoruAssariate were established in the USSR in 1918.
The Coe asLLriat of Communications, for example, was
responsible for inland imterways until 1930 when a
Commissariat of F:ater Transport was establi shed. In
1939 this Corrr?issariat was abolished and two i:omrds-
sariats were formed to adrsinister L,aritime and River
Transport respectively? In 11arch 1946 the various
Coz nissariats were replaced by L3nistries, with no
apparent change in function.
50 Dissatisf"'ction in hiZ;hcr f~ovorniicnt circlcs t;itr the
a ccoi.hpli.^,lments of lov:cr C(:.'.1inistrativf levels hats been
reflected in the Soviet press by unusually sovere criti-
cism of ne(;1i,,cncc, burenucr().cy, cnd dc1u.;;s i ilich halve
impeded the restoration. of LCdly darimi.,ed f r'.Cilities and
disrupted services to 't-ioir levels of efficiency.
Lvidence of inef.'icienc;.? is so un :istr:kable that the
puLlicizc., miaLnco.tcnt of ;;he early rttainncrt of 1047
Frei; 1'1t trar.s')oI t objectives by =a' t of the 1' 1@et is .ilU'.li:. , Lo .:c,'r a been ri:;, ;e=d tlrou;1, a prior
doti:1nzar(I re.. s;.oll of ; he on ;ilhrl Ica ls.
C
n
1. "'le stile CS f:. liet:QS new inlrn.d Sri: to l1 acs in fiCCOi C1-
aI1cO tir~ta t"C 'jr:S:C I:E dciiC.s7:;t,_t , r
Cl b , to 'fate
$j 021 (1 ' :i:fi ..in:rs t1? or 'alb r y
. ; o~ -,iv r . ~E.et.
1ro jects for i:11r'I1d waterway deve;lcp::call must co.,-)F tc
for approval tiriti, r:11 othor items of the Geviet Lud-et.
he 1:11oca tion of the USCR's strvined resources is
rigidly established in cccerdnnce ti?rith the Gorlf:uliist
eartj s conception of 'jovict intcrestc.
2. ketes for inlr.nd v ter transport are estaLlished by the
cnrriers at levels calculable:(] to uraciuce r(asonr Lle
operatini; prof its. The trrmsportin,. agency may be over-
ruled, holi?ver, Ly the Bette r1f;21ni::. Commission in the
over-all in sere-:,..,e: of t _c s tr: ,f, -nd f .;. sieved .;>pers
can carry complaints to li; 1cr cLd;.linistrr live cciiO' ons
for resolution.
3. Ili the sense of cmipetin.: for business, there is no-.?r
little occasion for competition in the USSR, bcce.use
over-all trais;)ortation capacity Is inaderuf(te and slip-
pers are bore 1i11.cly to coapcte for space.- Gor..petition
Letieon of transport in the sense of interference
by one :iohi;i of t --ic-ortat:on in t1C lo-; .cr.l prcvinco
Of #;210-i:i?C1' is C::?Lci.:..vE.1y discouir.,,cd Ly t; e uOvirl"
Goveri ic:n; . the ;)Crvacyve control of L:-11 trr.T15;)OI''l^tion
in tiic USSR E:nrb1cs the overrlrmn., in '_hcoly ft, 1ca:st,
yo :iL'CCt =
opcrrtions of my .:I?^ .sporty roll nCtivi r
into chr.7 c1s cO:2sLC.Crcd to (sent` 1Lc ..rf.r_tcnt nal
r dv`: 1tn ;c-. i, di-ce-assof
?)GOC: 1iu'~; COi:')( titiO:lt~ i'r',1iC11
is or.:nizcd for t:IC j.urposo of 'directinL; unit rivalry
toward improved accOi.lplisiu7t.Ilt;a is contt:inerd in the
Lierchrnt Shippin ; study (see C-3)o
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4. The inland Crater trmisportution system is covered-by
specific rules dealing; cr.th srifet;; and 11;-pection.
Lquipment and facilities are supposed to be periodically
inspected: derelictions call for severe punishmient. The
.Linistry of the river Fleet is charged with tie adhinis-
tration of safety and inspection re~;uU lions for all
inland rater t:T:n^port. Laxity In the r:pp licr;.~ion of
re,ulntiQiG +s frequent. Lcci.de_t invcsti--ations are
carried out with much reliance upon local v;iiaiessas.
Soviet t`.uthor iries rlaintttitl that in such proceed s7~;s
the logic of a situation, rather than. 1e;;~ 1 ';eel, ic :li-
tics , is the deter:ainin4 fester.
i
v. The st.:te sp onso:?s technic;.:l ?.;r t: in:.nL schools wider the
a,,t_IUrity of the Linivtr of Labor -oserrres. TraininC~
ill :171r rld l:&te transport is included in the curricula
as part of the General progrrri of the state to develop
transportation technicians.
Go In general, the inltl.nd waterways used by the i3:;Si lie
wholly within the Soviet Union, or in satellite and-
dominated areas where the USSR is able to dictcte the
terns of their international use. In some of these
cases, such terms have been formalized in economic
ar,reextents containing clauses. auplyin- to various as-
pects of inland vmterrray operations. In the case of
the Danube, Soviet policy hr!s prevented the post vrar
resunptlon of the ai.;reemonts which foimerly rc;:,elated
ts international usc. the USSR, rict;n'11i.ile, his estab--
1is_:ed joint con- ;cones in sr,.tellite ripart.n cuuntrioa
on ten.is v:hieli solidify soviet control of the river
below tie ,iestern Loundcrf of the %+oviet 'one in kustria.
1 t the s . .le t: :e, s i ppJnL; of ct cr countries v:hich
fox-aer1;; used tho ua.nubc. is e:-.eluded from thils area.
7. The .?.inistry of t_:c It_^cr i'lect rcc uires detailed
reports covcr.n1 nanJ a.sj eels of opcrations. such
reports are used in silo L:.. 'Sicla1 min or the ? inic-
tries, and contribute iriportr..nt economic tend statistical.
drta r< quired by the top-level pro;rtr7 Tin uor-k of the
Str,te Plannin ; Gore nissione
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