DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP65B00383R000100050001-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 26
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 11, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: September 19, 1963
• Content Type: OPEN

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DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN
(TESTIMONY OF VLADISLAW STEPANOVICH TARASOV)
HEARING
BEFORE ',CHID
COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
EIGHTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS
SEPTEMBER 19, 1963
INCLUDING INDEX
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Un-American Activities
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
23-S58 WASHINGTON : 1963
STAT
STAT
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COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN. ACTIVITIE*
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRLSENTATIVES
iMWIN E. WILLIS, Louisiana, Chairman
WILLIAM M. TUCK, Virginia AUGUST E.' JOHANSEN, Michigan
JOE R. POOL, Texas DONALD C. BRUCE, Indiana
RICHARD H. ICHORD, Missouri HENRY C. SCHADEBERG, Wisconsin
GEORGE F. SENNER, JR., Arizona JOHN M. A?HBROOK, Olio
1!'RANCIS J. MCNAMARA, Director
FRANK S. TAVENNER, Jr., General- Counsel
ALFRED M. NITTLE, Counsel
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CONTENTS
Page
Synopsis-------------------------------------------------------------
7811
September 19, 1963: .Testimony of Vladislaw Stepanovich Tarasov-------
793
Index -----------------------------------------------------------------
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PusLic LAW 601, 79TH CONGRESS
The legislation under which the House Committee on Un-American
Activities operates is Public Law 601, 79th Congress [1946] ; 60 Stat.
812, which provides:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, * * *
PART 2-RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
RULE X
SEC. 121. STANDING COMMITTEES
17. Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine Members.
RULE XI
POWERS AND DUTIES OP COMMITTEES
(q) (1) Committee on Un-American Activities.
(A) Un-American activities.
(2) The Committee on Un-American Activities, a:; a whole or by subcommit-
tee, is authorized to make from time to time investigations of (i) the extent,
character, and objects of un-American propaganda aictivities in the United States,
(ii) the diffusion within the United States of subversive and un-American propa-
ganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin and attacks
the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitution, and
(iii) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in any neces-
sary remedial legislation.
The Committee on Un-American Activities shall report to the House (or to the
Clerk of the House If the House is not in session) the results of any such investi-
gation, together with such recommendations as it deems advisable.
For the purpose of any such investigation, the Committee on Un-American
Activities, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized to sit and act at such
times and places within the United States, whether or not the House is sitting.
has recessed, or has adjourned, to hold such hearings, to require the attendance
of such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents, and
to take such testimony, as it deems necessary. Subpenas may be issued under
the signature of the chairman of the committee or a.ny subcommittee or by any
member designated by any such chairman, and may be served by any person
designated by any such chairman or member.
RULE XII
LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT BY STANDING COMMITTEES
SEC. 136. To assist the Congress in appraising the administration of the laws
and in developing such amendments or related legislation as it may deem neces-
sary, each standing committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives
shall exercise continuous watchfulness of the execration by the administrative
agencies concerned of any laws, the subject matter of which is within the jurisdic-
tion of such committee ; and, for that purpose, shall study all pertinent reports
and data submitted to the Congress by the agencies in the executive branch of
the Government.
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RULES ADOPTED BY THE 88TEI CONGRESS
House Resolution 5, January 9, 1963
a a a r
RULE X
STANDING COMMITTEES
1. There shall be elected by the House, at the commencement of each Congress,
a a a a a a a
(r) Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine Members.
a a a a a k a
RULE XI
POWEIIS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES
a a a a a a a
18. Committee on Un-American Activities.
(a) Un-American activities.
(b) The Committee on Un-American Activities, as a whole or by subcommittee,
is authorized to make from time to time investigations of (1) the extent, char-
acter, and objects of un-American propaganda activities in the United States,
(2) the diffusion within the United States of subversive and un-American prop-
aganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin and
attacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitu-
tion, and (3) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress
in any necessary remedial legislation.
The Committee on Un-American Activities shall report to the House (or to the
Clerk of the House If the House is not in session) the results of any such investi-
gation, together with such recommendations as it deems advisable.
For the purpose of any such investigation, the Committee on Un-American
Activities, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized to sit and act at such times
and places within the United States, whether or not the House is sitting, has
recessed, or has adjourned, to hold such hearings, to require the attendance
of such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents, and
to take such testimony, as it deems necessary. Subpenas may be issued under
the signature of the chairman of the committee or any subcommittee, or by any
member designated by any such chairman, and may be served by any person
designated by any such chairman or member.
a a a a a a a
27. To assist the House in appraising the administration of the laws and in
developing such amendments or related legislation as it may deem necessary,
each standing committee of the House shall exercise continuous watchfulness
of the execution by the administrative agencies concerned of any laws, the subject
matter of which is within the jurisdiction of such committee; and, for that
purpose, shall study the agencies in the excutve branch of the Government pertinent reports and data submitted to the House by
v
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SYNOPSIS
r lie Committee on Un-American Activities met in public session on
September 19, 1963, in Washington, D.C., to hear firsthand the reasons
for a Russian seaman's swim to freedom in the harbor at Calcutta,
India, in November 1.962. A summary of his testimony follows :
Vladislaw Stepanovich Tarasov was born in the Ukrainian Repub-
lic of the Soviet Union on June 25 1938. In 1954, after completing
7 years of general schooling, he joined the Komsomol (Young Com-
munist League) because he wanted to continue his education. Most
cf the better advanced schools were all but closed to young people
who did not belong to the Komsomol.
In 1956, at the conclusion of 2 years' training at a nautical school in
Yenotayevsk, Vladislaw began working as a crewman on Soviet fish-
ing vessels in the Caspian Sea. Ile soon began to doubt the economic
advantages of being employed in a Communist state when he realized
his pay, because of the changed price structure in the U.S.S.R., repre-
sented less buying power than that received by seamen who had per-
formed the same duties 4 and 6 years earlier.
Young Tarasov also learned about the Russian seamen's unnecessary
exposure to danger because everything in the Soviet Union has to be
done according to top-echelon Communist planning. Ships in the
Caspian fishing fleet were forced to go to sea at fixed times, regardless
of their state of repair. A captain of an unseaworthy ship would
have lost his position if he had refused to sail when scheduled to do
so by the plan "from above." Vladislaw learned that the Soviet
Union loses about 10 vessels a year in the Caspian Sea because of
neglected maintenance and unsafe navigation procedures.
The seamen's union, like everything else in the Soviet Union, is con-
trolled by the Communist Party and cannot protect or promote the
interests of Russian sailors. Rather, the union serves as a vehicle by
which the Communist Party imposes its will upon the seamen. On
one occasion when Tarasov protested conditions on his ship, he was
transferred to a much less desirable job on a different vessel.
From 1959 to 1962, Tarasov studied electro-mechanical energy at
the Kherson Nautical School. During this period lie married and
became the father of a son. He was not able to obtain an apartment
for his family, however, so he stayed at the school during the week
and visited his wife and child at her parents' overcrowded dwelling on
weekends.
In 1961 and 1962, Vladislaw Tarasov began listening to Voice of
America broadcasts and reading copies of America, the T.S. Jmagazine
which is distributed in the Soviet Union under a cultural exchange
agreement. From these sources and Russian translations of certain
American books, he became convinced that the United States offered
freedom and opportunity to the individual.
789
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790 DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN
Also in 1962, Tarasov returned to sea duty on an oceangoing tanker.
He had already given much thought to the possibility of defecting
to the free world if the opportunity arose`, but it was not without
certain reservations. He had been told that Soviet defectors experi-
enced unfriendly receptions and extreme har;iships in the West. Ile
was also concerned about countermeasures that might be taken
against his relatives if he defected. He reasoned that this latter con-
cern was groundless, however, because he had left his parents' home
in 1954 and had never even had a normally close family relationship
with his wife and child. Thus, he did not believe Soviet authorities
would hold his relatives accountable for his actions.
Tarasov put all reservations about defecting out of his mind once
and for all after having an ominous run-in with a political commissar
at sea.
A political commissar, who is always a Communist Party member,
is assigned to every Soviet ship to keep an eye on crew members and
indoctrinate them with party propaganda. During Vladislaw's
voyage to India in late 1962, he utilized every conceivable excuse to
avoid having to attend the boring, but compulsory, political meetings
conducted aboard the tanker by the comniirssar. When Tarasov re-
turned to ',his ship's quarters on one occasion, he found the political
commissar rummaging through his personal effects, including notes he
had written. The intruder said he now understood why Tarasov had
missed so many political meetings and impl' ed to the seaman. that. he
would never again be permitted to engage ii foreign travel on Soviet
ships. Tarasov realized he would have to escape when the tanker
arrived in India, or probably forfeit the opportunity to do so forever.
On the night of November 25, 1962, when the Russian tanker was
anchored in the harbor at Calcutta, Vladislaw Tarasov escaped
through a porthole and swain to a nearby American ship. He asked
the captain of the American ship for asylum,
As a means of atempting to prevent his defection the Soviet consul
in Calcutta falsely accused Tarasov of having stolen 700 rubles im-
mediately before escaping from the tanker and appealed to Indian
authorities to arrest and hold him for extradition to the U.S.S.R.
On November 28, 1962, Indian authorities boarded the American ship
and arrested the defector after Soviet officials had promised to produce
witnesses to the alleged theft. Tarasov wits held in a Calcutta jail.
The Soviet authorities, realizing that theft in Indian territorial
waters was not a ground for extradition, later dropped the charge.
Accordingly, the prisoner was released on.January 10, 1963. He was
immediately rearrested, however, on a new Soviet charge that lie had
committed the alleged robbery aboard the ):ussian tanker while it was
in international waters. Again, Soviet officials promised to produce
evidence in support of the charges against Vladislaw.
When the Soviets not only failed to satisfy an Indian court that
Tarasov was guilty of their charges, but other evidence convinced the
court that documents introduced as evidence against Tarasov by Soviet
authorities were fabricated, he was released permanently.
After a thorough screening by U.S. security officers, Tarasov was
permitted to come to the United States where he hopes eventually to
become a citizen.
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DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN 791
In addition to the information summarized above, Vladislaw
Tarasov made the following interesting observations when he ap-
peared before the Committee on Un-American Activities :
1. Churches are permitted to function in the Soviet Union, although
they are attended mostly by older persons in rural parts of the
nation.
2. Most of the crimes that occur in the Soviet Union are not reported
in the Soviet press.
3. Privileges enjoyed by its members, not ideology, are what attract
most people to the Communist Party in the Soviet Union.
4. There is widespread unhappiness among the 'Russian people
concerning constant pressure exerted upon them by the Communist
apparatus, which appears to exist for no other purpose than to exert
such pressure.
5. Many, many Russians would like to defect to the West, but few
of them ever have the opportunity to do so.
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DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN
(Testimony of Vladislaw Stepanovicla Tarasov)
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1963
HousE or REPRESENTATIVES,
CommrlrEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES,
Washington, D.C.
The Committee on Un-American Activities met, pursuant to call,
at 10 a.m., in the Caucus Room: Cannon House Office Building, Wash-
ington, D.C., Honorable Edwin E. Willis (chairman) presiding.
Committee members present : Representatives Edwin E. Willis, of
Louisiana; William M. Tuck, of Virginia; Joe R. Pool, of Texas;
Richard H. Ichord, of Missouri; George F. Senner, Jr., of Arizona.;
August E. Johansen, of Michigan; Donald E. Bruce, of Indiana; and
Henry C. Schadeberg, of Wisconsin.
Staff members present: Francis J. McNamara, director; Alfred M.
Nittle, counsel ; and Donald T. Appell, chief investigator.
The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order.
A Library of Congress study of Soviet treatment of racial and
nationality groups within the U.S.S.R., prepared for a Senate sub-
committee, is aptly entitled The Soviet Empire: Prison House of
Nations and Races. A totalitarian Communist empire, which is a
prison house of nations and races, is also, by that very fact, a prison
house of people, many millions of them-Russians, as well as those
of other nationalities.
Over the years, hundreds of thousands of persons have escaped
from this prison house. They have voted against communism with
their feet, because they have had no other way of doing so. They are
still doing this. Neither the wall in Berlin, nor the Iron Curtain of
barbed wire barricades, watchtowers, and minefields that ring the
rest of the border of the Communist empire can stop the flow.
Each escape is cause for rejoicing, a gain for freedom, a victory for
liberty. When the escapee is young and still has most of his life ahead
of him, there is special cause for rejoicing.
We Americans sometimes forget that our country is the bastion of
liberty in a world threatened by communism and that it is so regarded
by millions who seek our shores for only one reason-because they long
for the freedom which we too often take for granted and sometimes
abuse, as though it were something that could never be lost or
destroyed.
The committee is convened today to hear the testimony of an
escapee from the Soviet Union-a young man who, until some months
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ago, never knew those fundamental freedoms which are so essential to
human progress and to individual fulfillment.
The witness is Mr. Vladislaw Stepanovich Tarasov. Mr. Tarasov,
please rise and raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to gave will
be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?
Mr. TARASOV. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Tarasov, understandably you can't converse
fluently in English although I am informed you understand it well, so
we have asked Mr. Victor Fediay to act as translator. And, Mr.
Fediay, it is necessary that I administer a special oath to you.
Mr. Fediay, do you swear that you will well and truly interpret the
questions and answers, so help you God?
Mr. FEDEAY. I do.
Mr. Poo. Mr. Chairman, I would like to inquire as to the inter-
preter's position. Is he with the State Department?
The CHAIRMAN. That will be developed I am quite sure.
Proceed, Mr. Nittle.
Mr. NrrTLE. Mr. Fediay, would you kindly state your qualifications
to serve as interpreter for Mr. Tarasov?
Mr. FEDIAY. I am a translator with the Library of Congress and
have been for 14 years.
Mr. NITTLE. Do you specialize in the Russian language?
Mr. FE, DIAY. Yes, sir.
Mr. NITTLE. Have you had occasion to serve as interpreter for per-
sons speaking Russian?
Mr. FEDYAY. Yes, sir; I have served as interpreter on many occa-
sions. Quite recently I was with the American delegation to the
Soviet Union for several months.
TESTIMONY OF VLADISLAW TARASOV (ASSISTED BY VICTOR
FEDIAY, INTERPRETER)
Mr. NIrrLE. Mr. Tarasov, would you state your full name for the
record please?
Mr. TARASOV (in English). Vladislaw Stepanovich Tarasov.
Mr. NlrrtE. When and where were you born?
Mr. TARASOV. I was born in the Priluki area of the Ukrainian Re-
public in 1938, 25 June.
Mr. Nirrtz. Did I understand you to say 1938 was the year of your
birth?
Mr. TARASOV. 1938.
Mr. NITTtE. You are now 25 years old, is that correct?
Mr. TARAsov. Yes, sir.
Mr. Nrr r,E. Are you presently living in the Washington, D.C.,
area?
Mr. TARASOV. Yes, sir.
Mr. NrrrLE. What is your present occupation?
Mr. TARASOV. I just now completed my course in the English lan-
guage at Georgetown University.
Mr. Nr i 'LE. Of what country are you a citizen ?
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DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN 795
Mr. TARASOV. I am not a citizen for any country until the Govern-
ment of the United States will give me a citizenship in this country.
Mr. NITTLE. Of what country were you formerly a citizen?
Mr. TARASOV. In the U.S.S.R.
Mr. NITTLE. Mr. Tarasov, is your appearance before this committee
today completely voluntary?
Mr. TARASOV. Yesp sir.
Mr. NITTLE. Would you relate the extent of your formal education?
Mr. TARASOv. From 1946 to 1953 I completed the seventh grade
level. From 1954 until 1956 I completed Nautical School in Yeno-
tayevsk, Astrakhanskaya Oblast.
The CHAIRMAN. how would that compare to high school education,
below or above?
Mr. TARASOV. I don't know about this.
Mr. FEDIAY. It would be a little bit higher than the high school
education in the United States-high school education plus 2 or 3
additional years.
Mr. TARASOV. Then from 1959 until 1962 I was studying at the
Kherson Nautical School in electro-mechanical energy. At the same
time I completed my tenth grade by correspondence.
Mr. NITTLE. We think you should state for the record whether you
are in the United States with the approval of the Soviet Government.
Mr. TARASOV. No.
Mr. NITTLE. Would you state the circumstances under which you
are here?
Mr. TARASOV (through interpreter). On the 25th of November I es-
caped oft the Soviet ship Chernovtsi in the port of Calcutta and
reached the American ship that was stationed in the same port.
Mr. NITTLE. Was the Soviet vessel aboard which you were serving
a merchant vessel?
Mr. TARAsov. This Soviet ship was a tanker, a Soviet tanker.
Mr. NITTLE. Do you recollect the name of the American ship in
which you sought refuge?
Mr. TARASOV (in English). It was the SS Steel Surveyor.
Mr. NrrTLE. How did you reach the SS Steel Surveyor?
Mr. TARASOV (through interpreter). I jumped off the Soviet ship,
from the window of the Soviet ship and porthole of the Soviet ship,
and I swam to pan American ship and went aboard it. It was at night,
and I went aboard the American ship myself.
Mr. NITTLE. Did you then bring your defection to the attention of
the captain of the United States vessel?
Mr. TARASOV (in English). Yes, I did.
Mr. NITTLE. Did you indicate to him that you sought asylum?
Mr. TARASOV. Yes, I did.
Mr. NITTLE. Did you have any difficulty in obtaining asylum?
Mr. TARASOv (through interpreter). No, I was promised asylum.
Mr. NITTLE. Having received the promise of asylum by the Amer-
ican captain, did you have any difficulty thereafter?
Mr. TARASOV. The Soviet authorities in Calcutta, the consul of the
Soviet Union in Calcutta, and the captain of the ship accused me of
stealing 700 rubles from the Soviet ship and asked for arrest.
They knew that I was on the American ship and asked the Indian
authorities to arrest me for this theft.
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796 DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN
Mr. NITTI E. Were you then arrested by the Indian authorities pur-
suant to the charge, made by the Soviet officials
Mr. `.l'ARa soV. I was arrested by Indian authorities on American
ship on the 28th of November and was put in jail in Calcutta. I was
kept in jail until January 10, 1963, by Indian authorities. The Soviet
authorities promised to produce witnesses of the theft. They never
did because actually this thing did not occur.
Then, realizing that they cannot extradite me if the theft occurred
in the Indian. territorial waters, they changed` ae charge.
Then, naturally, the Indian authorities couldn't keep me any longer,
and I was released an January 10, but im.nediately after I left the
jail I was rearrested under the charge that this theft occurred in
international waters; and then they asked the Indian authorities to
extradite me for the trial in the Soviet Union on the basis of the theft
in international waters.
The CIIAIRbfAN. Are you indicating as a fact, or as an honest belief,
that this charge was filed against you as a means of preventing your
defection?
Mr. TARAseV. Yes, that is exactly what it is.
Mr. Tuc ic. Was he under any accusation of theft prior to the time
he defected?
Mr. TARASOV. I never had any charges against me of that type.
Mr. NITTm z. Was a hearing held before the Indian authorities fol-
lowing this second charge?
Mr. TARASOV. Then the Soviet authorities promised to produce 12
Witnesses and documentation of the theft, and the Indian authorities
asked for it. Witnesses were never produced. The captain of the
ship came over, and the documents that weret shown were forged, and
the Indian authorities decided that there is io case against me.
There was no prima facie case for extradition of any type.
Mr. JOHANSEN. I didn't get the significance, You said the captain
of the American ship appeared in court.
Mr. FEDIAY. It was the captain of the Soviet ship that came to the
hearings.
Mr. Nrrrri,. Would you comment upon the impression you received
as to the fairness of the trial conducted by the Indian authorities?
Mr. TARASOV (through interpreter). I am very happy and very
glad that the Indian courts are operating completely fairly in a very
democratic basis. This is why I was able to. escape from the Soviet
Union. In spite of the fact that they produced documents, the Indian
authorities made a very thorough investigation of the case and decided
for me and decided for my freedom.
The case was deeply analyzed by the Indian courts. I thank very
much the Indian authorities for this type of very democratic pro-
cedure.
Mr. Nrrrr,n. Was it not a fact that the Indian magistrate found that
the Soviet charges were completely fabricated ?
Mr. TARASOV. Yes. In the resolution of the Indian court there is
a statement there is no prima facie case agairrnst me and that some of
the documents were definitely fabricated.
The CHATRMAN. At this point he has used the expression "prima
facie." Do I understand that the procedure Would be somewhat like
a preliminary hearing when a charge is filed i,nd a witness is found
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DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN 797
not to be in a position of over being held because of lack of sufficient
evidence. Is that about what the procedure was?
Mr. TARASOV. This extradition trial was being held and not finished,
and they held me in the jail in India, but according to Indian law I
understand they have to establish the case. Since the case was not
established because of the Soviet Union not bringing the witnesses
and all that they promised in the beginning and since the documents
that were produced were considered by the court not to be valid
enough, they had to drop the case immediately, and immediately when
the case was dropped I was released.
Mr. NITTLE. Mr. Chairman, may I state that it is my understanding
that the Indian legal system is based upon, and modeled after, the
British system and is, hence, very close to our own.
The CHAIRMAN. Yes, I would imagine it would be patterned after
the English system. Proceed.
Mr. NITTLE. Mr. Tarasov, what do you believe would have happened
to you if your escape attempt had failed, or if you had been extradited
to the Soviet Union?
Mr. TARASOV. I don't know exactly what would have happened to
me, but I know that according to the law in the Soviet Union, accord-
ing to Article 56 of the Soviet law, anyone who refuses to go back to
the Soviet Union without any permission of the government, anybody
who leaves the country without the permission of the government, is
liable to get punished 1.0 years of jail or be shot.
The CirIAIRIrAN. In that connection, I take it there is quite a con-
trast between the law in Russia, which prevents anyone from getting
out of the country under the pains and penalty of severe punishment,
and that of the United States. The students that we examined last
week felt that they had a right to take the law into their own hands,
to go anywhere they wanted.
This is not a question, Mr. Tarasov. I am merely making a state-
ment.
Mr. NITTLE. Following this second hearing, were you then com-
pletely free?
Mr. TARASOV (in English) . Yes, I was.
Mr. NITTLE. About how long have you been in the United States,
Mr. Tarasov?
Mr. TARASOV. For about 3 months.
Mr. NITTLE. Prior to your reception here, were you interviewed by
the security agencies of the United States?
The CHAIRMAN. May I say that we are entering into a sensitive
area and we cannot disclose anything about our security agencies and
their method of operation in an area of this kind, so I don't want the
agencies named, but I am very much interested and am insistent that
he describe whether there were careful screening and examining
processes.
Mr. TARASOV (through interpreter). Yes, I was under hearings
in this thing and I was investigated.
Mr. NITTLE. Now would you tell the committee what made you
jump ship and seek political asylum in the United States when you
realized what might happen to you if you failed in that attempt?
Mr. TARASOV (in English). I would like to make a short statement
about this.
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798 DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN
The CHAIRMAN. It is all right.
Mr. TARAsov. I would like to read it in English.
The CHAIRMAN. For the sake of accuracy and self explanation, it
will be perfectly all right.
Mr. TARASOV (in English). In 1961 and 1962 I began to feel that in
the U.S.S.R. I was only a grain of sand in the desert, which at any
moment could be blown anywhere by the wind of the dictatorial
powers.
All my life I had been dependent on the whims of other people.
When I worked for 3 years on the ships of the fishing fleet and was
forced to perform the orders of ignorant superiors, T kept up cour-
age with the hope that some day in the. future everything would
change. But as I got to know reality in the Soviet Union more and
more, this hope for freedom blew away like smoke.
I realized that I not only had no chance of contributing to the im-
provement of the Soviet society but, equally important, I realized that
those higher up-the engineers and command personnel-were almost
as repressed in their actions as the small fry. And furthermore, they
have to defend and promote the bureaucratic directives to explain the
party line, to the masses, which means they must lie out of very fear
of losing their means of livelihood and even their physical freedom.
Just as a horse stops dead in its tracks when it reaches its goal, even
though it would have been able to go on like the wind were that goal
farther removed, so something inside me snipped when I realized that
further study and advancement up the service ladder had no meaning
for me.
In 1961 and 1962 I began to listen to the Voice of America radio
broadcasts. I was also very lucky to obtain copies of the magazine
America,Y and I read a number of American books which were magazine
in Russian translations in the Soviet' Union, such as books by
Theodore Dreiser, Jack London, and Mark Twain.
I began to understand that America is the leading country of the
free world. I became convinced that there people are really equal
under the law, that each person is able to build his own life without
directives from above, and that each citizen' through his own develop-
ment brings good to society.
Mr. NITvLE. Mr. Tarasov, would you give us some more specific
reasons why you decided to defect?
Mr. TARASOV. Yes, I can.
Mr. NIm,E. Would you do so?
Mr. TARASOV (through interpreter). When I started to work inde-
pendently in the Soviet Union for the first time I actually realized
that you cannot improve yourself in the country. The economic
planning is such that you are pressed all the time, you work hard but
you have nothing for it, and that was what was the situation on the
fishing fleet in the Caspian Sea that I was working in.
If you consider, for instance, my pay in this fishing fleet and com-
pare this pay with what was the pay throughout the years since 1950-
I was employed in 1956 and I at that time for my work got 300 rubles,
about $300.
The CIIAIRaMAN. For how long a period of time?
1 America Illustrated, American magazine distributed by USIA in Russia and Poland.
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DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN 799
Mr. TARASOV. Five months. If you compare it with the price struc-
ture, actually we were getting less than it was in 1952 and we were
getting less than it was in 1950 for the same type of job, with the price
structure that existed at that time in the Soviet Union.
Mr. NzITLE. Could you explain why this occurred?
Mr. TARASOV. I think since all of the economic planning is done by
the government-all the operations, all the industrial operations is
in the hands of the government. They plan it according to govern-
ment plans. They don't care about the people at all.
Mr. NI2-rLE. Would you relate in more detail the experience you
had serving aboard the fishing fleet in the Caspian Sea?
Mr. TARASOV. Since everything is done according to the stiff and
sometimes ridiculous planning, the ships for instance in my case were
plying the Caspian Sea in disrepair conditions. The captain did not
want to go to sea because he knew the ship was not safe, but the polit-
ical controllers forced him to leave the shore and go into the sea, in
spite of the fact that everybody connected with the operation knew
that it makes no sense, but stiff planning makes them to do such a
ridiculous thing.
In addition to that, the only privileged class in the Soviet Union are
the high party officials, so that is what burned me up. For instance,
in the school where I was going, we had the son of a very high party
official. He was completely good-for-nothing, and at the same time
they had to keep him.
When we were sent to school we had to have a certain amount of
experience. He didn't have this experience. He was forced upon the
school in a way. He was behaving badly, and at the same time they
could not expel him. Anybody else doing that would have been
expelled.
The CHAIRMAN. Let me ask you this question : Were you a member
of a seamen's union or was there a seamen's union which could speak
for the seamen in the protection and advancement of rights, wages,
proper living conditions, and so on?
Mr. TARASOV. We did have a trade union of seamen, and I was a
member of it on the Caspian Sea, but the trade unions in the Soviet
Union are also under the control of the party ; whatever the party
is directing the unions to do, they do. They are not defending us.
They are defending the interests of the party, just as everything else is
done for defending the interests of the party.
Mr. JOHANSEN. Sort of a company union, I take it, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. NITTLE. I believe you stated, Mr. Tarasov, that the ships were
forced to go to sea in a poor condition of repair in order to meet the
planning quotas. Did your vessel sustain any casualties as a result of
the condition in which it was forced to go to sea ?
Mr. TARASOV. You have to understand on the Caspian Sea there are
a lot of casualties that you maybe never hear about. About 10 ships
are sunk in a season on the Caspian Sea because of casualties and
accidents.
The CHAIRMAN. Because of what?
Mr. TARAsov. Because of accidents, neglect, not safe conditions of
navigation.
Mr. NITTLE. Was not your seamen's union able to correct these
conditions?
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800 DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN
Mr. TARAgov. The trade union unfortunately is not in the position
to influence those things, because everybody is under the pressure of a
plan and, being under the pressure of a plan, they have to do those
things according to the force that is pressing on them, the bureaucrats
that are pressing on them.
The result is that the captain has to do whatever he is told to do
because he will lose his position. He is not' in a position not to do
whatever he is asked to do, because all the time. he is under the direc-
tives from above.
The CHAIR MAN. Who owned this ship?
Mr. TARASOv. Everything is owned by the government.
Mr. POOL. Did you ever speak up and protest conditions on this
ship yourself ?
Mr. TARASOV. Yes, I had the chance.
Mr. POOL. What happened after that?
Mr. TARASty. As a punishment for my remarks, I was transferred
from one ship to another. As a matter of fact, I went to the worst
ship on the next assignment.
Mr. POOL. In other words, you don't have any freedom of speech
over there without being penalized?
Mr. TARASOV. That is exactly the case.
Mr. NIrrLEl. Do the Soviet citizens resent the existence of the privi-
leged class in' the Soviet Union known as the Communist Party?
Mr. TARASOv. I am sure that everybody is unhappy about it.
Mr. NITTLr. In your travels to India aboard your vessel, was there
any evidence of carelessness in the operation of the vessel?
Mr. TARASdV. We had, for instance, an accident on the ship when
the mechanic of the ship, who was very high in the party structure,
of the ship party structure, by his neglect some`aody was injured and
nothing happened to the mechanic. We complained about it, but noth-
ing happened because he is better in the party than anybody else
and he can do whatever he wants, so the fellow was injured and that
is it. Nothing happens.
Mr. NITTLE. You also seemed to indicate that the pressure of the
Communist Party is felt aboard ship. Apparently you had a political
officer aboard ship, is this correct?
Mr. TARASOV (in English). Every ship carried a political
commissar.
The CHAIRMAN. Do you mean a Soviet official other than the ship's
captain and regular officers is present on board. more or less all the
time?
Mr. TARASOV. Yes, a special representative of the party whose duty
is to watch the people. For example, on the second ship there is a
questionnaire of what book do you read, and they look at your notes.
Mr. NITTLP. Did you personally have any e";?erience with the ef-
forts of the political officer to check on you, your beliefs and actions?
Mr. TARASOV (through interpreter). I will.give you a small ex-
ample. I was , correspondent for a while of a local paper and I went
to a factory in this city, and the workers that were working in the shop
that I visited asked me to complain about the fact that they don't
have any ventilation in the shop, and to publish it in the paper. It
came back from the editor's desk, and I was told that articles like that
should not be published at all. As a matter of fact, they reprimanded
me for the fact that I was writing this type of article criticizing the
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working conditions instead of writing articles to promote better effi-
ciency in the shop, to force them to work more and not to criticize the
conditions.
Mr. NIerL . While you were aboard ship, were you able to main-
tain the privacy of your papers and belongings?
Mr. TAitASOV. Officially, naturally nobody controls you. Officially
on the face of it everything is free, but naturally on the ship we had
this specialist in political control, and once I even caught him in my
room when he was meddling in my personal belongings and reading
my personal notes, so I asked him what he was doing and why he read
my notes and he said: "Now I understand why you are not attending
the political meetings as you should. Now I understand you behave
as you behave." And I understood from his remarks that I would
never be given permission to go on the foreign travels anymore on
Soviet ships, and that is actually what was the last thing that forced
me to jump off the ship in India.
The CHAIRMAN. At this point, you mentioned that you were not
regularly or properly attending political meetings. Is attendance at
them a matter of requirement? Would you say something about that?
Mr. TARASOV. It is, naturally, a requirement. Under different con-
ditions you have to attend those meetings. I always tried to avoid
them as much as possible, because it is very boring and it is all the
time the same thing and it is this pack of lies that you have to listen
to all the times. So under different conditions, with different ex-
planations, I tried to avoid those meetings as much as I could.
The CHAIRMAN. He said, and I suppose you were translating what
he said accurately, that it was naturally a requirement. What does
he mean by that?
Mr. TARASOV. It happens like that, that you actually have, almost as
a rule, once a week a meeting like that. There is no schedule. Just
the political officer will call the meeting, come by the crew and tell
them to come for the meeting, and that is it.
The CHAIRMAN. So that is it?
Mr. NITTLE. Did the crew generally find these
boring?
M TARASOV (in English). Yes they are boring.
meetings quite
r. b j
Mr. NIrrLE. A moment ago you mentioned the fact that, when you
came upon the political officer searching your belongings, he then
remarked or indicated that you would in the future probably be re-
stricted in your travel to foreign ports aboard Soviet vessels. Did he
explain to you why he reached that conclusion?
Mr. TARASOV (through interpreter). No, he doesn't have to explain
anything to you.
The GEIAIRMAN. Coming back to these meetings, I would like to ask
two or three questions so he can develop what I have in mind. Num-
ber 1, were you a registered voter in the Soviet Union, did you vote,
and was there a, choice of candidates for office?
Mr. TAiiASOV (in English). There is just one candidate that they
give me, and I have no choice. There was a bulletin in the box and
that was all.
The CIIAIRMAN. Only one candidate?
Mr. TARAsov. Yes, only one candidate.
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The CHAIRMAN. It makes it nice.
Mr. JOITANSEN. I assume that you were not a member of the Com-
munist Party?
Mr. TARASOV. No, I was not.
The CHAIRMAN. That is important-who are members of the Com-
munist Party, official members of the party, as distinguished from
those bound by the party's rules. Were any of the ship's crew mem-
bers of the Communist Party?
Mr. TARASOV (through interpreter). About. 10 percent of the sailors
belonged to the Communist Party.
Mr. JOHANSEN. Is it a matter of seeking membership and being
accepted? In other words, is it something difficult to get into?
Mr. TARASOV? Only those can become members for whom there are
some other members vouching, so it is a quemtion of belonging to the
circle. You have to have somebody to stand behind you to become the
member.
Mr. PooL. What percentage of the people that you came in contact
with in Russia are unhappy because of the Communist dictatorship
there?
Mr. TARASOV. It is very difficult for me to say any percentages here
because it is impossible just like that, but I met a lot of people that
were expressing openly that they were unhappy with the system, and
with more of them you could see they were `unhappy more than they
said.
Mr. PooL. What was their greatest complaint?
Mr. IARASOV. Actually the most response for complaint is that
there is a big apparatus of the party pressuring everybody in the
whole country and doing nothing but pressuring. They are actually
being paid for the pressure that they exert o the population and they
don't produce anything. They are in excess of the economic life of
the country, Actually the country has to support them only for the
fact that they are pressuring the rest of the. population.
Mr. PooL. Would a great many others defect if given a chance?
Mr. TARASOV. As far as I can judge, a lot of people would like to
defect. It is very difficult, however. It is almost impossible to de-
fect on a large scale. It is a very difficult thing to do, but as much as
I can judge, a lot of people would like to do it.
Mr. Nirni n. Did you have any worries or apprehensions in mak-
ing your decision to defect?
Mr. TARAAOV (in English). Yes.
(Through interpreter.) I have several points that were worrying
me when I made the decision and that is why I was delaying the ac-
tion on it. '.first of all, naturally, I was thinking about my parents.
However, I left my home in 1954. It was so many years ago, and I
was a small kid at that time. They couldn't have been accused of
influencing me in any possible way because I was away from home
for such a long time and I was entirely on my own since 1954, so this
is what made my decision easier, that I could not hurt them in any
possible way by defecting.
The second thing is my wife. I was married. But with my wife
we didn't have any family life at all. I had a son. I met my wife
usually only on the weekends. She was living with her parents. We
did not have an apartment. We wanted one but we couldn't get
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DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN 803
one. She lived with her parents, and I continued to live in a school,
so I did not have much in common with her and she could not influence
me much. My meetings with her were casual.
Mr. PooL. In that connection I wanted to ask if you discussed your
plans, your intentions, with any other members aboard the ship?
Mr. TARASOV (in English). No; you would never do things like
that.
(Through interpreter). The next point that I was thinking about
was what was going to be expected of me in the Western World when
I defect. I heard a lot of stories about it on the ship, a lot of stories
that were naturally planted on us with a purpose, and the question
was that so many of our sailors, after escaping, had difficulties to ac-
commodate themselves in the Western World.
I know it is true of someone who went to Paris and later on had
to go back to the Soviet Union because the working conditions in
Paris were too difficult for him. He had no profession and he did
not know the language. This worried me.
The CIr uitMAN. Let me say in this connection, Mr. Tarasov, be-
cause of the Iron Curtain and because of the propaganda spread in
the Soviet Union about the fate of defectors, we all appreciate the
worries and fears of those who are trying to decide if they should make
a bid for freedom.
The one fact that I wish I could ut over to all prisoners of com-
munism is that the record proves beyond doubt that they have no
reason to worry about the reception they will get in the free world.
Let me point out that, as long as careful screening by agencies such
as those which subjected you to questions-so long as this screening
process reveals that they are not threats to the security of the free
world, they will be received.
Let me spell this out directly :
From July 1, 1945, through June 30, 1962, over 43,000 persons fled
the Soviet Union as you have, and they were received in the United
States.
During the same period, almost 270,000 escapees and refugees from
the satellite nations of Europe, excluding Hungary and Yugoslavia,
were admitted to the United States.
Over 54,000 persons from Yugoslavia came to this country during
those years.
About 200,000 Hungarians fled their country during and immedi-
ately after the 1056 revolution. Almost 38,000 of them were received
in this country and the others all found refuge in other nations of the
free world.
West Germany, alone, has welcomed more than three million per-
sons who have fled from Communist East Germany over the years.
Since Castro seized power in Cuba, over 256,000 Cuban refugees
and escapees have found asylum in these United States.
When a truce was signed in Korea in 1953, which we all will recall
or should recall, over 20,000 Chinese prisoners of war were held by
the U.N. forces. They were given their choice of going back to Com-
munist China or seeking freedom. Almost 15,000 of these men asked
for freedom and were granted their request.
The life of a refugee defector, or escapee is not an easy one. Your
life here will not be a bed of roses, I assure you, but I am glad that
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you, like so many thousands of others, made the choice you did. I
am sure it was the right choice. I hope it will help to inspire others
to do the same.
Mr. TAIASOV (in English). Thank you.
Mr. NrrTLE. In that connection, Mr. Tarasov, we might ask you
how you now feel about your former worries, concerning the treat-
ment you -would receive in the free world?
Mr. TAitASOV. For the first thing, I was very glad to read an article
in an Indian newspaper that my wife now works in Moscow Univer-
sity as a lecturer. The second reason, I found here that all my hope
about the United States, like a free country, is really true what I
thought before about it; and I am glad very glad to live in the country
where the 'law according to which you live--not like in Russia, where
it is only for the power of one hand, where they might just pick up a
phone and phone to somebody and put you in jail when they like to
do, without any law, because they have only the law on the paper and
they never used it in their lives.
The CrrAIRMAN. When a person is subjected to an arrest in the
United States, a written charge is filed against him giving the reason
for the arrest. Does one receive that kind of a paper, a charge against
one?
Mr. TARASOV. I was not entitled to a reason. According to Russian
constitution, since the party may change, they can do anything.
The CHAnurrAN. You answered to one question that your wife lived
with her parents. How many were in the household?
Mr. TARASOV (through interpreter). There were eight persons and
they had four rooms altogether.
The CITATRMAN. What were those rooms? Did that include a
kitchen, or what?
Mr. TARAsov. A kitchen and three rooms, and there were eight per-
sons living in it.
The CHAIRMAN. Did they own the home?
Mr. TARASOV. This was the house that was owned by the father-in-
law.
Mr. Tuoi. Have you and your wife communicated with each other
since you have escaped?
Mr. TARASOV (in English). No, I have not.
Mr. Tuck. Where do you live now?
Mr. TARASov. I am living in the Washington area.
Mr. NITTLE. Were you a member of the Komsomol, that is, a mem-
ber of the Young Communist League?
Mr. TARA8ov. Yes, I was. b
Mr. NITT ,a% When did you join it?
Mr. TARASOV. In 1954.
Mr. Nrrrr v. Would you tell the committee wily you joined it ?
Mr. TARAsov. Because I was interested in going to nautical school
and it is very difficult to go to the nautical school without being a
member of the Komsomol Union.
Mr. Tuck. Have you secured employment anywhere since you have
been here?
Mr. TARAsov (through interpreter). No, I have not had a chance
to work yet. I was attending the school at Georgetown University.
The CHAIRMAN. Did you speak English before you came to the
United States?
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DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN 805
Mr. TARASOV. In practical terms; I knew a few terms but I did not
know the language.
The CIIAIRMAN. I will say you have made amazing progress.
Mr. NrrTLE. Are all young people required to become members of
the Komsomol, or is it a matter of choice with them?
Mr. TARASOV. Nobody officially forces you to go to Komsomol, the
Young Communist League, but if you are not a member, most of the
better schools will be closed to you, so you are closing the door to your-
self for better education if you are not a member.
Mr. NITTLE. What is the age limitation on membership in the
Komsomol?
Mr. TARASOV. Between 14 and 24.
Mr. NITTLE. Based on your experience in the Soviet Union, would
you tell the committee why most Communist Party members join the
party? Is it because they are dedicated believers in Marxism and
Leninism?
Mr. TARASOV. It is a question of education. You immediately be-
come a party member and you get a lot of privileges coming with it.
I don't think most of them are dedicated Communists. They just
joined the party for privileges.
Mr. NI=E. Do the party members actually accept, and believe in,
the doctrines of Marxism and Leninism?
Mr. TARASOV. As far as I understand, they don't.
Mr. BRUCE. May I pursue a point here?
The CHAIRMAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. BRUCE. Are you speaking now on an assumption or on know-
ledge that those who are in the Communist Party are there because
they desire privilege and not because they believe in the Communist
program?
Mr. TARASOV. It is very difficult to answer this question, but I spoke
to many party members in the Soviet Union. I was among them for
quite some time, and mostly they don't. give the impression to be dedi-
cated Communists in private relationships when you are with them.
Some of them would not actually know what Marxism and Leninism
is. They would be able to repeat sentences at times but they don't
understand it.
Mr. BRUCE. Is it your impression, then, that those that you have
associated with are being used by dedicated men at the higher level
in the Communist apparatus ?
Mr. TARASOV. I must admit that I don't think the people up in the
higher levels are even dedicated Communists.
Mr. BRUCE. For one who has lived under a Communist state, how
can you then explain the fanaticism of the Communist parties through-
out the world where they are not under the domination of the Soviet
Government?,
Mr. TARASOV. My impression is that international communism is
possible only because most of those who are far away from what the
real life in the Communist country means are still idealists who think
they are promoting a good idea. Those that are in the country itself
and that see this thing being realized in the country are losing the
belief and are losing their Marxism-Leninism doctrine.
The further you are from the center, the more you are easily in-
doctrinated in this theoretical type of Marxism.
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806 DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN
Mr. NITTLE. Mr. Tarasov, in your opinion, how effective was the
Komsomol, at least the unit you belonged to, in winning Soviet youth
to communism ?
Mr. TAUASOV. It would be difficult to answer this. There is no
specific indoctrination, as a matter of fact, in the younger organi-
zations.
I don't think they have a very great interest.
Mr. Nrrrr,i~ . Apparently your views a:npear to be substantiated by an
article published in Komsomol'skaya Pravda on May 16 of this year,
not loner after you were freed by an Indian court. This article was
written. by the deputy head of the section for the Industial Komsomol
Organizations for Union Republics of All-Union Komsomol Central
Committee. I will read just a few excerpts from this article.
The CHAIRMAN. That is an article from what?
Mr. Nrrrra. It is written by the deputy head of section for In-
dustrial Komsomol Organizations for Union Republics of All-Union
Komsomol Central Committee.
The CHAIRMAN. What is "Komsomol organizations"?
Mr. NITTL.-P. The Young Communist League.
I will read a few excerpts from this article, Mr. Tarasov, and then
ask you to comment on them :
* * * it is especially important to indoctrinate young sailors with a sense
of Soviet patriotism and an acute implacability toward bourgeois ideology and
morals. This is the first word for Komsomol leaders. * * *
* * * The Komsomol activists of the steamship line and the port cities--
Odessa, Nikolayev, Batumi, and Novorossiysk-have given no thought to how
best to acquaint the young sailors with the achievements of the Soviet people,
or with the work in enterprises, at construction sites, and on kovkhozes and
sovkhozes.
In its decree, the All-Union Komsomol Central Committee suggested that Kom-
somol organizations of sea transport, rayon Komsomol committees, city and
oblast Komsomol committees, and the Komsomol Central Committees of union
republics strengthen ideological and political work among the youth of the fleet
and train them in the spirit of principles of the moral code of builders of Com-
munism.
Young sailors have distant and long roads. Their ideological training and
their moral stability must be safe and without the slightest "gap"!
Do you believe, Mr. Tarasov, that your defection may have had
something to do with the publication of this art"clo and the decree men-
tioned in it?'
Mr. TARASOV. It is quite possible.
Mr. NITT LE. Do you have any other comments to make on the
article?
Mr. TARASIOV. It is a usual procedure when something like that hap-
pens. They usually have meetings and articles of that type to disci-
pline the Communists.
Mr. NlrrLR. Now that you are in the United States, will you tell
the committed what your plans for the future are?
Mr. TARASOV. First of all, I would like to .continue my education.
I started my education in electronics in the Soviet Union and I hope
I can get a scholarship of some kind and I Would like to finish my
education first, to become a useful citizen.
Mr. NrrrLV. Mr. Chairman, that concludes the staff interrogation.
The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Tarasov, obviously you were not a big name
in the Communist world in your struggle with its bureaucracy, but,
there are many others like you in this country. You will not be alone
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807
and you, as an individual, will now have opportunities within your
reach which you never had in the Soviet Union. This committee is
completely satisfied that your disillusionment with communism is
complete because of information we have received from the very
thorough screening you have gone through with the security agencies.
With that, good luck.
Mr. SCHADEBERG. I have just a few questions on some unrelated
matters I have been saving up.
Were you allowed liberty, when you served aboard the, ship, in other
ports?
Mr. TARASOV. We did not have too much freedom as sailors in the
Soviet Union when we went to a foreign port. Usually we were
grouped into groups of four or five, and one of them is usually a senior,
and he must be a Communist and he is responsible for the group, as
such, to come back to the ship.
We go to some places like markets and what not, shop in the win-
dows, and then we come back to the ship
Mr. SCIIADEBERG. Do you serve on a ship by your own request, or are
you sent there by authority? Do you have a right to choose your
own job?
Mr. TARASOV. In my case, I was undergoing a year's practice ex-
perience. I was off school for a year and this year was necessary. It
was part of my education, so I was assigned to the ship on the basis
of my vocation. Basically, however, you have to have an open visa,
so-called, as it is called in the records in the Soviet Union, so you do
have to be reliable enough to get this sailor's open visa.
Mr. SCHADEBERG. What about tours in general? In your mind, do
you think that most Soviet citizens would like to travel abroad, either
permanently or otherwise?
Mr. TARASOV (in English). I think so, but it is not available.
Mr. SCHADEBERG. In other words, it is not possible, generally, for a
citizen to get a tourist visa to go abroad; and if they do go abroad,
what about the ones who do travel--how are they chosen, if you know?
Mr. TARASOV (through interpreter). I don't know anything about
it. I never had a chance to meet people of that type.
Mr. SCHADEBERG. I have another unrelated question. In your own
mind and in your own experience, do people in Russia believe what
they read in Izvmtia, Pravda, and so forth?
Mr. TARASOV. I don't think so.
Mr. SOHADEBERG. What sort of feeling do you believe exists between
the various people of Russia like the Russians, Georgians, and so forth,
in the different parts of Russia?
Mr. TARASOV. I don't think there is any hatred between those
nationalities.
Mr. SCTIADEBERG. This is a personal matter. Were you exposed in
your earlier life to any religious life in the church or the doctrines of
the church?
Mr. TARASOV. I believe in God. That is what I know, but I never
was exposed to any religious training.
Mr. SCHADEBERG. Is that because of the training of your parents, or
is that just an innate thing?
Mr. TARASOV. No, it is my own belief. I read the Bible and I was
interested in this thing. It is my personal belief.
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808 DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN
Mr. SCHADEBERG. Could you read the Bible in Russia if you wished?
Mr. SCHADEBERG. Are there churches open in the various cities, or
are there communities where there are no churches open?
Mr. TARASOV. There are churches in the Soviet Union and they are
attended.
Mr. SCITADEBERG. Do many people attend them?
Mr. TARA9OV. Specifically in the rural areas the churches are
attended very regularly.
Mr. SCIIADEBERG. By young and old alike ?
Mr. TARASOV. Usually it is just people who are older who go to
church.
Mr. SCHADEBERG. Is there any unemployment., as such, in Russia?
Mr. TARASOV. There is no such term as "unemployment" in the
Soviet Union'. It is not in existence.
Mr. SCHADEBERG. Everyone would be taken care of by the state.
There would be none in need of it?
Mr. TARASbv. That, is right. Everybody is employed in the Soviet
Union.
Mr. SCHADEBETG. I have one other question. It is about crime.
We hear in various parts of the world about crime. Is there crime or
theft, and so on, in the Soviet Union?
Mr. TARASOV. It is difficult to say. I have no statistics. Naturally
there are thefts, and we hear about them, but our press never wrote
anything about it so it is very difficult to make a judgment about it.
Mr. BRUCE. I would like to join the chairman in welcoming you
as a refugee from a total state onto the shores where we regard the
rights of the individual as being sacred. The few questions I have are
asked only for the purpose of gaining a perspective and evaluating
the depth of testimony here in certain areas.
As I understand it, you have not been a member of the Communist
Party in the Soviet Union?
Mr. TARASOV (i n English). No.
Mr. BRUCE, Have you ever received any courses in the period of
,your education, which has been identified as "nigher than our high
school, on such subjects as dialectical materialism?
Mr. TARASOV. No, I never had a course like that.
Mr. BRUCE. Have you ever had any courses in the period of your
education on Marxism-Leninism, as such?
Mr. TARASOV. No.
Mr. BRUCE. Then, to summarize : Your testimony here is that of a
citizen who was enslaved by a total state but not as an expert on the
theory of Marxism-Leninism?
Mr. TARASOv. Yes, sir; that is exactly the case.
Mr. BRUCE. Thank you very much.
Mr. IciioRI. I understand your wife was a member of the Com-
munist Party?
Mr. TARAsov. No, she was not.
Mr. ICICORD. I was rather interested in the'political officer aboard
ship. What kind of quarters did he have on his ship? What was the
nature of his quarters?
Mr. TARASOV. He is the first assistant to the captain of the ship and
has no other duties but the political indoctrination and control.
Mr. TARASOV. The Bible is available.
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DEFECTION OF A RUSSIAN SEAMAN 809
Mr. ICIIORD. He had no other duties?
Mr. TARASOV. No other duties but the political indoctrination and
control.
Mr. ICIIORD. Ile was considered as inferior to the captain so far as
command was concerned?
Mr. TARASOV. Yes, he was under the captain, as his right hand.
Mr. Icr-ORD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Tarasov, would you care to make a final state-
ment in your own words before we come to a conclusion? If it is
easier, you can say it to the interpreter. You may be able to express
your thoughts better that way, if you care to.
Mr. FEDIAY. Ile wants to make it himself.
Mr. TARASOV. I appreciate all of the efforts of the people who have
helped me to come to the United States of America which is a free
country, and I would like to be a good citizen of the United States of
America.
The CHAIRMAN. You couldn't have said anything better. Thank
you very much. This will conclude the interrogation of this witness.
(Whereupon, at 11:45 a.m. Thursday, Septeml er 19, 1963, the com,
mittee adjourned, subject to call of the Chair.)
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INDEX
Page
Castro, Fidel--------------------------------------------------------- 803
Dreiser, Theodore---------------------------------------------------- 798
Fediay, Victor-------------------------------------------------------- 794
London, Jack --------------------------------------------------------
Tarasov, Vladislaw Stepanovich----------------- 789,790,794-809 (testimony)
Tarasov, Mrs. Vladislaw Stepanovich---------------------------- 802-804, 808
Twain, --------------------------------------------------------- 798
All-Union Komsomol Central Committee. (See entry under Young Communist
League, Soviet Union.)
Industrial Komsomol Organizations for Union Republics. (See entry under
Young Communist League, Soviet Union ; All-Union Komsomol Central
Committee.)
Komsomol. (See Young Communist League, Soviet Union.)
Moscow University--------------------------------------------------- 804
U.S. Government, U.S. Information Agency, Voice of America---------- 789, 798
Voice of America. (See entry under U.S. Government, U.S. Information
Agency.) 789,804,805
Young Communist League, Soviet Union (Komsomol) --.-----------
All-Union Komsomol Central Committee--------------------------- 806
Industrial Komsomol Organizations for Union Republics--------- 806
PUBLICATIONS
America Illustrated------------------------------------------------ 789,798
Izvestia ------------------------------------------ 807
Pravda -------------------------------------------------------------- 807
Empire: Prison House of Nations and Races, The--------------- 793
0
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