1. ANTI-SOVIET ELEMENTS IN THE UKRAINE 2. FORCED LABOR CAMPS IN LVOV AND SVERDLOVSK

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A001400330008-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2004
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: July 2, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
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This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title 18. Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited.
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COUNTRY USSR (Zakarpatakaya, Lvov, IlrOgiabyghf and REPORT NO.
VoroshilOvgrad ()blasts)
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SUBJECT 1. Anti-Soviet Elements in the Ukraine DATE DISTR. 2 July 1953
2. Forced Labor Camps in Lvov and
Sverdlovsk
NO. OF PAGES
3
DATE OF INFO.
REQUIREMENT NO.
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PLACE ACQUIRED
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
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1. By 19491 all the peasants in the Lvov Oblast, the Drogobych Rayon, and in
the Galician part of the Soviet Union had been forced to join the kolkhozy,
where rigid dispipline was maintained. For refusal to do a certain type of
work or for being absent from work for more than a day, a kolkhoznik would
receive a five-year jail sentenCe and his belongings would be confiscated and
turned over to the kolkhoz. Those sentenced to five years were usually sent
to perform forced labor in eoal,Minei-of the Donbass/ but those with longer
terms were sent to Siberia. Many persons who were tried in 1945, 1946, and
1947 had already served their sentences awl had again been .arrested and im-
prisoned for longer pkriods under Criminal Code 56, which deals with those
who disseminate anti-Seiviet propaganda. A person dould be tried under this
law for pimply degcribing conditions in the prison camp or jail in which be
had been interned. Secret agents among the local population were numerous % and
every word spoken was carried to the MVD and MGB.
2. According to local inhabitants, by 1949 three-fourths of the population south
of Lvov had been arrested and deportedliT-ManyTtiftheitiepeople were peasants
who had resisted .collectivization and had refused to surrender their produce
to the government. Forced deliveries of grain, meat, and. other 'products Were
go large and so frequent that little was left for the kolkhozy.- This forced
the kolkhozniki, many of them with entire families, to starve or migrate west
in search of food. They travelled at their own risk without tickets or docu-
mentation of any kind. These peopIelthougands of whom were encountered in
Eharkpv and Kiey, were called l'tleshechniki" (bag*cartiers). They carried only
meageribelongings,which they hOped to exchange for fOlad,and they usually
triorelled by freight trains/ ignoring -6hel.militia,who 'avid do nothing with
them. At each station$militia tried to .chase as many "mestechniW off the
train as possible. However, only those offering the least resistance were taken
off and the milqia seemed satisfied to unload one or two persona, leaving
the. rest to continue their journey. As many as 50 bag-carriers would ride a
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single flatcar loaded with steel, andwhole trains would be loaded down with
these migrants. According to local inhabitants; this mass migration had been
going on singe 1946.
3. Villagers in the Lvov Rayon Low Bryukhovichki Rayon7 were very anti-Soviet
and were milling to give aid to escapees from forced labor camps. In doing
so, they usually questioned the escapee about conditions. in the camps and
about friends or relatives of theirs who had been sent to forced labor camps.
One weman who lived. near INICAr told of her twenty-six-year-old son who was
given a 15eyear Sentence because he was suspected of belOnging to the
.14derevtai. She related that: to many people had been arrested and given long
jail sentences in. Lvov Oblast, trogobych Rayon, and Galicia, that hardly an
adult male was: left and there wasn't a single family which :did not have some
member arreated 04 imprisoned. Aecordint to local inhabitants, by 1949, some
of the villages sit"the Volovo Okrag? Zakarpatskaya Oblast, notably Sinevirskaya
Polyana (SinsiVir POlana, N.48..3$0 E 25-40) and Kblochavy (Kblocava? N 48.23,
E 23-38)0 had beenSampletely liquidated and the people had been sent to
Siberia for resiattng.collectivization and for connection with the Banderovtsi.
In the village of Negrovets (negrovec, N 48.26, E.2338)s half of the residents
were arrested on suspicion of connection with the Banderovtsi,while the other
half were evacuated .under the pretense that the area had to be cleared for the
building of a hydroelectric station.
4. EXcept for an inSignificant number of Communists and collaborators, the entire
population was strongly opposed to the Soviet regime and every grown man and
woman Of the population was actively engaged in the Tanderovtsi. Many of
them hid in theiieOdeswhile others kept their connectidns with the Banderovtsi
a secret and lived openly. In the Lvov Rayon, Banderovtsisoccasionally carried
out armed raids against prisons to free their friends and, at times, engaged in
regular warfare with units of the Soviet Army in the woods surrounding Lvov.
Many of the Banderovtei members who lived at home with their families, hadr'
their awn arms and during the night preyed upon Soviet installations and stores.
Hate of the liopUlatiOn for Stalin and the regime was generally so great that the
robbing of Soviet shops and the killing of Soviet agents and -01*n activists was
not uncommon.
5. Persons travelling on secondary routes in this area would quite frequently
encounter-Banderovtsi. In one instance, two escapees from a forced labor
camp were stepped by Banderovteil taken to their headquarters, and interrogated.
The Banderovtsi were primarily interested in the system of controls which were
in force along the route the escapees had taken and the type of guard installa-
tions on brides. They were also interested in anti- and pro-communist ydr-
eonalities0 the location and strength of the militia, and how the militia carried
out their duties-. After the interrogation, the escapees were asked if they
wanted to join the Banderovtsi and, upon refusing, were fed and released.
6. Of 2,000 prisoners in the Uzbg6rod (N 48-380 E 22-16) jail in 1948, 50 to 75
percent were former army personnel or members of the militia. Many of them
were caught trying to cross the border illegally in the vicinity of Uzhgorod.?
where the area Iso well guarded that crossing is practically impossible.
Other prisoners included plain army deserters and many thieves who had
committed armed robbery. It was evident that banditry and robbery was a
pastime of former service men in the Carpatho-Ukraine. What proportion of
these arrested former service men had attempted to cross the border was not
known. The majority of the Soviet Army deserters were either Ukrainians or
Belorussians
7. The prison eamp.at Lvov held about 5,000 inmates and was comprised of 200 to
300 barracks (sic). The entire camp area was surrounded by a high barbed ,
wire fence about three to four meters high with guard towers spaced every 50
meters along the fence. Daily rations per worker consisted of the following:
500 grams of black bread per day, eoup for dinner and breakfast) and -stew for
supper. The so-called Stakhanovites0 who fulfilled their daily *erns over
160 percent received quality bread and_got secondahalebinga at dinner
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and supper. The prisoners worked nine hours per day on the construction of
a hydroelectric station. There were some prisoners in the camp who were
confined to barracks and kept under constant guard. This group did not go
out on work parties'and their barracks were separated from the main body of
buildings.
8. At forced labor cams in the Voroshilovgrad Oblast, where prisoners with short
terms were sent to Work the coal mines, prisoners were consideredTree citizen';
that is,they worked without police supervision but were forbiTen to %wave
and received no pay. Any attempt to escape was considered a criminal act and
was punishable by 15 years' imprisonment. Prisoners were given documents which
permitted them to live and move freely within a specified area.
9. Among the coal mines in this area worked by the prisoners was the Mine lin
Stalin in SverdloVsk (N 48-051 E 39-41)0 Voroshilovgrad Oblast. Workers of
this mine were assigned to urfurnished barracks, seven or eight men to a
room. Food consisted of 400 grams of bread per day, cabbage stump and watery
bean soup for dinner, stew for breakfaat and supper, 25 grams of sugar per
day, and second helpings on Saturdlaypand Sunday. Stakhanovites who fulfilled
their daily noilma 200 percent received 600 grams of bread per day and were
given either a ladle of gruel or potatoes for dinner. Each worker received
two rubles per month with Which to buy additional bread or tobacco. Hired
workmen brought in l''rom Other oblasts lived no better than the prisoners.
Their barracks were also unfurnished, their food ration was the same as the
prisoners, and they were paid only 60 rubles per month.
10. At Sverdlovsk, the barracks were not guarded nor was there a daily roll call
taken. Although prisoners were obligated to inform the authorities immediately
of any priOoners intention to escape, this rarely happened. Usually, a
prisoners absence was not reported for two or three days, and it was then too
late for the authorities to pick him up easily. Altogether, quite a few prisoners
and voluntary laborerS, usually persons from Carpatho-Ukraine,. Galicia, or the
Greater Ukraine, escaped in groups of twos and fives. Punishment for such acts
was very sever. Failure to show up for just one work shift meant court
action within 24 hours and five years' imprisonment. An eacape attempt drew
an automatic term of 15 to 20 years' imprisonment in Siberia. Other obstacles
to escape were the lack of documents, money, and clothes other than those
identifying the wearer with the coal mines, i.e., soldier's padded sweaters and
trousers, and miner's boots.
11. There were 1500 men Working in the Mine i/n Stalin in Sverdlovsk, most of
whom were forced laborers Other groups included the voluntary workers/ and
German prisoners. The German prisoners were kept in a separate camp and were
closely guarded, both in camp. and while commuting to and from the mine. Working
conditions in the mine were very poor.
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