RUSSIAN SFSR BYELORUSSIAN SSR AZERBAIJAN SSR '^KVLWJHeP^. mantel ‘‘TinjerJ^iniUpso. ^PtARb. BIRUVM. ^jOltTARbOjI Him' 1 , n P0Ji[ T m** a r \J i i > .z /y\> -- SOVIET REPUBLICS Contents Page Article 1 3, Constitution of the USSR-1 The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics-2 The Russian SFSR_3 The Ukrainian SSR_5 The Byelorussian SSR_7 The Azerbaijan SSR_ 8 The Georgian SSR_10 The Armenian SSR_12 The Turkmen SSR_14 The National Anthem of the Soviet Union_16 The Uzbek SSR_1 8 The Tajik SSR_20 The Kazakh SSR_ 22 The Kirghiz SSR_24 The Karelo-Finnish SSR_ 26 The Moldavian SSR_28 The Lithuanian SSR_30 The Latvian SSR_31 The Estonian SSR_32 Published by the Information Bulletin Embassy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Washington 8, D. C. December, 1945 MIKHAIL I. KALININ Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Article 13 of the Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is a federal state, formed on the basis of the voluntary association of Soviet Socialist Republics having equal rights, namely: The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic The Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. USSR T HE Union of Soviet Socialist Re¬ publics (USSR) occupies one-sixth of the earth’s surface. More than 8,500,000 square miles in area, it is the largest con¬ tinuous state territory in the world, and had a population of 193,000,000 in 1940. Moscow is its capital. The USSR stretches west to east from the Carpathian Mountains and the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and north to south from the Arctic Ocean to the Parmirs and the plains of Mongolia. The northern part of the USSR is cov¬ ered by the icy wastes of the Arctic; the southern part, by plantations of cot¬ ton and tea, and citrus fruit orchards. The USSR is rich in all the useful minerals, all the strategic raw materials that our globe contains. It occupies first place in the world for its deposits of iron ore (with quartzites), oil, manganese, apatite, phosphorites, magnesium salts, niobium and peat, its water power and its timber reserves; and second place in coal, lead, zinc and nickel. The USSR was founded on the initia¬ tive and under the guidance of Lenin and Stalin at the First All-Union Con¬ gress of Soviets which opened on Decem¬ ber 30, 1922. At that time it was composed of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Re¬ public (RSFSR), the Ukrainian and Bye¬ lorussian Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, comprising the Geor¬ gian, Azerbaijan and Armenian Soviet Socialist Republics. In 1924 the newly formed Turkmen and Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republics, and in 1929 the Tajik SSR became constitu¬ ent parts of the USSR. In 1936, the Kazakh and Kirghiz Autonomous Repub¬ lics, formerly constituent parts of the RSFSR, became Union Republics. At the same time, as a result of the dis¬ solution of the Transcaucasian Fed¬ eration, and by their express wishes, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia also acquired the status of Union Republics. In 1939, the peoples of the Western Ukraine and Western Byelorussia re¬ joined the Ukrainian SSR and the Byelo¬ russian SSR, respectively; and in the spring of 1940, the Karelian Autono¬ mous Soviet Socialist Republic and the bulk of the territory that was transferred to the USSR in conformity with the peace treaty signed with Finland on March 12, 1940, combined to form the Karelo-Finnish SSR. In the summer of the same year a large part of Bessarabia, the bulk of the population of which is Moldavian, was rejoined to the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (which had formerly constituted part of the Ukrainian SSR) to form the Moldavian SSR. In August, 1940, three new Soviet Re¬ publics entered the USSR. They are the Baltic Republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Thus, the USSR consists of 16 volun¬ tarily federated and equal Soviet Socialist Republics. The USSR is a state of a new type; it is a Socialist State of workers and peasants. Political power in the Soviet Union is vested in the Soviets (or Coun¬ cils) of Working People’s Deputies. The economic foundation of the So¬ viet Union is the socialist system of economy and socialist ownership of the means and instruments of production. Small private production by individual peasants and artisans is permitted, pro¬ vided the owners work themselves and do not exploit the labor of others. In recent years, socialist economy ac¬ counted for 99-9 per cent of the gross in¬ dustrial output of the Soviet Union. The USSR is an industrial power. From an agrarian country with a weakly developed backward industry, it has grown into a land of modern industry. By the end of 1937 the industrial out¬ put of the USSR had increased more than eightfold as compared with 1913. Between 1937 and 1940, it increased ap¬ proximately 40 per cent. During the war it increased, though the working force in heavy industry was smaller. Industrial giants such as Magnitogorsk, Kuznetsk (in the city of Stalinsk) and the Chelyabinsk iron and steel mills, the Stalingrad tractor plant and the Dneiper hydroelectric power station, were erected according to the last word in science and technique. Entirely new industries which had not existed in the country be¬ fore, were developed, including the air¬ craft, automobile, tractor and chemical industries. The industrialization of the country was the result of the fulfillment of the Stalin Five-Year Plans of national economic development. The USSR is also a collective farm power. From an agrarian country in which small peasant farming predomi¬ nated, the Soviet Union has grown into a country where agriculture is conducted on a larger scale and with a higher de¬ gree of mechanization than in any other country in the world. In 1937 there were 242,400 collective farms conducted on the most up-to-date lines and equipped with the best modern machinery. Thanks to the socialization of the means of production, there is no exploi¬ tation of man by man in the USSR. Ac¬ cording to the census of 1939, industrial workers constitute 32.2 per cent of the working population, collective farmers 44.6 per cent, and office employees, etc., 17.5 per cent. Soviet society consists of two friendly classes—the working class and the peas¬ antry. These are social classes which know no exploitation. The intellectuals of the USSR, who directly derive from the workers and peasants, jointly with them wield the power in the country. The USSR is a multinational state. It is inhabited by more than 180 different nations, nationalities and tribes, of which 60 constitute large and fully formed na¬ tions. As a result of the industrialization of the USSR and of the national policy pursued by Lenin and Stalin, the numer¬ ous nationalities of the USSR have made extraordinarily rapid economic and cul¬ tural progress. The Constitution of the USSR, which was adopted at the Extraordinary Eighth Congress of Soviets of the USSR on De¬ cember 5, 1936, gave legislative seal and sanction to these fundamental changes in the country. 2 Russian SFSR T he Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (the RSFSR or Russia) occupies mainly the northern and central part of the USSR. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean, the Black Sea, the plains of Mongolia, the borders of the Soviet Baltic Republics and the Pacific Ocean. Its natural resources are incalculable. It contains colossal deposits of minerals of the most diverse kinds. Its coal is esti¬ mated at 1,500 billion tons, approximat¬ ing 18 per cent of the world’s deposits. It possesses half the world’s iron de¬ posits with quarzites, millions of tons of precious and rare non-ferrous metals, and vast deposits of chemical raw materials and non-metallic minerals such as salts, apatite, nepheline, graphite, mica and marble. The peat deposits of the RSFSR are estimated at 150 billion tons, the largest in the world. The RSFSR is the largest of the re¬ publics constituting the USSR, containing 74 per cent of its area and more than 50 per cent of its total population. The RSFSR is also more developed economical¬ ly than the other Union Republics, and is foremost among its peers in political, economic and cultural importance. The peoples of the Russian SFSR bore the main brunt of the effort to defeat the Nazi enemy. On the soil of this Re¬ public occurred the bitter siege of Lenin¬ grad and the great Battles of Stalingrad and Moscow, where the enemy was turned back, regarded by most authorities as the turning point of the war, as well as many other important battles. Generalissimo Stalin recognized the great role played by this Republic in the war when he said of the Russian nation: "It is the most outstanding nation of all nations forming the Soviet Union . . . and it has won in this war universal recognition as the leading force in the Soviet Union among all the peoples of our country.” Before the Second World War, the RFSSR accounted for 70 per cent, of the industrial and agricultural output of the USSR, about 20 per cent of its oil, more than 40 per cent of its coal, about 40 per cent of its pig iron, more than 50 per Area— 6,444/700 sq. miles Population— 109,000,000 Capital— Moscow; population, 4,137,000 cent of its steel, two-thirds of its electric power, and the bulk of the output of machinery, timber, textiles, grain and tech¬ nical crops, and food products. Moscow, the capital of the USSR, and of the RSFSR, is the seat of the Govern¬ ment, and of the Supreme Soviets of the USSR and the RSFSR. The RSFSR was formed as a result of the victory of the Great Socialist Revo¬ lution of November 7, 1917. In 1922, in conjunction with other Soviet Republics, it formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The RSFSR is a union of nations headed by the Russians, who continu¬ ously assist all the nations of the Soviet Union in their economic and cultural de¬ velopment. The RSFSR is inhabited by over 100 nationalities. The Soviet system has created for every one of these nationalities every oppor¬ tunity for economic and cultural de¬ velopment. Formerly a land of poverty and ignorance, it is now a flourishing and prosperous Republic. Under the tsarist regime there were 70 higher educational establishments in Russia. In 1939 there were 448 estab¬ lishments of this kind in the RSFSR. It has more than 50,000 public libraries, 550 museums, 450 theatres, 400 scientific re¬ search institutes and thousands of other scientific institutions. Moscow is the hub of Soviet science, and the seat of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. By 1938, about 6,000 news¬ papers were published in the RSFSR in the languages of the different nationalities. Universal compulsory elementary edu¬ cation is the rule. Contrast this with tsarist Russia, where only 24 per cent of the population was literate. For the first time in their history, nationalities like the Circassian, Bashkir, Buryat-Mongolian, Kalmyk and Chechen have their own na¬ tional culture. The peoples of the RSFSR, like those MOSCOW—the Government Planning Academy at the capital. 3 RED SQUARE—this great square in the heart of Moscow is the scene of many Soviet parades. of the entire Union, cherish the great culture of the Russian people, who have produced remarkable writers like Pushkin, Tolstoy, Gorky and Mayakovsky, com¬ posers like Glinka, Tschaikovsky and Borodin, painters like Surikov and Repin, and scientists like Sechenov, Mendeleyev and Pavlov and others. Formerly, modern industry was de¬ veloped only in a few centers of the European part of the country. Soviet Rus¬ sia, however, is today a powerful indus¬ trial state. Three years before the war began, the industrial output of the RSFSR was ten times that of Russian in 1913. Since the Soviet State has been in exis¬ tence large industrial centers have sprung up in the Urals, in western Siberia and in other eastern regions of the Republic. When the war broke out the industrial and munitions plants located in the area of military operations were removed to the east, and large new enterprises built. The RSFSR is also a land of large-scale highly mechanized agriculture based on industrialization and collective farming. The cultivated area in the RSFSR amounts to nearly 250,000,000 acres, on which wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, flax, hemp, sunflower, potatoes and other crops are grown. The fields of the RSFSR are plowed by 300,000 tractors and reaped by more than 100,000 harvester combines. The country possesses vast numbers of cattle, horses, sheep, goats, camels and domesticated deer. Thanks to the system of collective farming, the peasants were able during the war to provide the Red Army and the population in the rear with most of the necessary food supplies. Russia in the past was intersected by only a few railways, beyond which stretched vast tracts of roadless country. Since Soviet power was established the Republic has been covered with tens of thousands of miles of railways and auto¬ mobile roads, and its most important rivers and sea routes are now linked up by navigable canals. The Great Northern Sea Route was opened. The main economic and cultural cen¬ ters of the RSFSR, as well as of the whole Union, are Moscow and Leningrad. In addition to these there are many other flourishing progressive cities such as Sverdlovsk, Molotov, Chelyabinsk, Gorky, Kazan, Kuibyshev, Yaraslaval, Ufa, Omsk, Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk. A large number of new cities have been built. Examples of these are Magnitogorsk, Stalinogorsk, Komsomolsk, Kirovsk and Magadan. 4 Ukrainian SSR T he Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (the Ukraine) is situated in the southwest of the USSR and is bor¬ dered on the south by the north coasts of the Black Sea and Azov Sea, on the east by the region which adjoins the Don River and on the west by the northeastern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains. It has a fertile soil, a mild humid cli¬ mate, and is rich in mineral deposits such as coal, iron ore, manganese, salts, oil and building materials, and has navigable rivers which are vast reservoirs of cheap energy. Since the Soviet system was established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic rose to the level of a great state. In economic development and population it is the second largest republic in the USSR. Before the recent war the Ukraine pro¬ duced 54 per cent of the coal, 60 per cent Area— 223,000 sq. miles Population— 40,000,000 Capital— Kiev; population, 846,000 of the pig iron, 48 per cent of the steel and 35 per cent of the manganese ore fumed out in the Soviet Union. The political, economic and cultural growth' of the Ukraine began with the establishment of the Soviet State at the end of 1917. In 1922 the Ukrainian Soviet Republic, jointly with the other Soviet Republics, formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Until the autumn of 1939, the Western Ukraine remained under the rule of the Polish landowners, who oppressed the Ukrainian people. In September, 1939, Hitler Germany attacked Poland. In view of the collapse of the Polish state, the Soviet Government ordered the Red Army to take the Western Ukrainians under its protection. The National Assembly of Western Ukraine, which was elected by universal suffrage, voted to affiliate to the Soviet Union as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic at that time. The Ukraine is inhabited by Ukrain¬ ians, who constitute 80 per cent of the population and also by Russians, Jews and Poles, all of whom enjoy equal rights with the Ukranians. The Ukraine before the war was the largest, most productive coal and metal¬ lurgical base of the Soviet Union. In 1940 the industrial output of the Ukraine was 11 times greater than in 1913. In 1940 the Donets Basin produced 83,718,000 tons of coal. The first grade KIEV—the Session Hall of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR. 5 KHARKOV—the House of Industry before the German occupation. iron ore of Krivoy Rog and the man¬ ganese of Nikopol were transformed into pig iron, steel and metal goods. The Ukraine in that year produced about 9,183,000 tons of pig iron and 8,621,700 of steel. It manufactured rail¬ way engines and cars, tractors, turbines, harvester combines and mining and agri¬ cultural machinery for all parts of the Soviet Union. It also produced mineral fertilizers, soda, glass and cement. The output of the sugar, meat-packing, flour-milling, distill¬ ing, oil-crushing and dairy industries reached great dimensions. Fishing was de¬ veloped on the Black Sea and the Azov Sea. The Ukraine possessed a far-flung net¬ work of electric power stations. The Dnie¬ per power station, the largest in Europe, is famous throughout the world. The cities of the Ukraine, both old and new, de¬ veloped rapidly. During the past 25 years, 77 new cities and 285 industrial settle¬ ments were built. The main industrial centers are: Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, Mariupol, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, the cities of the Donbas, (Stalino, Makeevka, Kramatorsk, Voroshilovgrad, Gorlovka, etc.), Nikolayev, Krivoy Rog, Lvov, and others. Agriculture also made tremendous head¬ way. Before the war the Ukraine was one of the largest granaries of the USSR and produced about 50 per cent of the winter wheat, and 74 per cent of the sugar beet crop of the Union. Sixty-two million acres of land were planted with cereal and in¬ dustrial crops. Millions of head of cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry were raised. The orchards of the Ukraine were famed for their apples, plums and cherries. In the south, high quality grapes were cultivated. The Ukraine’s agriculture was highly mechanized with 90,000 tractors and 31,- 000 harvester combines operating in her fields. The Ukrainian peasants were or¬ ganized in collective farms. Before 1917, Ukrainian culture was suppressed and instruction in the native language was prohibited. Only 25 per cent of the population were literate, and these mainly in the Russian language. Only one^ third of the children attended school. The same was true of the Western Ukraine while it was under the rule of the Polish landowners. There, 60 per cent of the population was illiterate. Nearly all the Ukranian schools were forced to close. In 1939, 85 per cent of the population of the Soviet Ukraine, not including the Western Ukraine, was literate. Over 6,500,000 children attended school, more than diree times as many as in 1913. In 1941 the Ukraine had seven universi¬ ties and 148 different colleges, whose students numbered 130,000. There were 653 special secondary, technical and pro¬ fessional schools with 860,216 students. The Ukraine before the war had about 41,000 libraries and 200 scientific re¬ search institutes, headed by the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian Soviet So¬ cialist Republic. The Ukrainian SSR, rich with grain and industry, was one of the early ob¬ jectives of the Nazi robbers, and was invaded in 1941. The people of the Ukraine were forced to destroy much of their own proud industry and great nat¬ ural improvements, to keep them from the clutches of the invader. By the end of 1944, through the efforts of the Red Army, the guerrillas and the entire Soviet people, the Ukrainian soil was liberated from the German invaders. 6 Byelorussian SSR Area— 89,000 sq. miles Population— 10,386,000 Capital— Minsk; population, 239,000 T he Byelorussian Soviet Social¬ ist Republic (Byelorussia) is situ¬ ated on the western border of the USSR between the upper and middle reaches of the rivers Dnieper, Bug and Western Dvina. Over one-quarter of its territory is covered with pine, fir, oak and aspen forests. The climate of the country is mild and humid. Beneath its soil lie vast deposits of peat, phosphorites, fire-proof, acid-proof and porcelain clay, marl, sand for glass making and bituminous shale. Under tsarism the peasants were illiter¬ ate, had little or no land, were cruelly exploited by the Polish and Russian land¬ lords and overburdened with taxation. But the Revolution saved the Bye¬ lorussian people from poverty and de¬ generation. In 1919, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed. In 1922, together with the other fraternal Soviet Republics, it formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. At that time, however, only part of the territory inhabited by Byelorussians could join the Soviet Union. Western Byelorus¬ sia, situated between the rivers Bug and Dnieper, was seized by Poland. As was the case under tsarism, the Byelorussian language was banned. All the schools con¬ ducted in the Byelorussian language were closed. Right up to the end of 1939 in¬ dustry steadily declined. After the collapse of the Polish state, the people of Western Byelorussia enthu¬ siastically voted in favor of joining the Byelorussian SSR. On November 2, 1939, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR granted this application. The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Re¬ public made enormous progress. Univer¬ sal education was introduced and over a MINSK—Monument to V. I. Lenin. million children attended school, four times the number that attended under the tsarist regime. Numerous schools and other cultural institutions were established for the other nationalities inhabiting the country, such as Jews, Russians and Poles. Before World War II, there were in Byelorussia 26 higher educational estab¬ lishments (there were none under the tsarist regime), a large number of techni¬ cal schools and 41 scientific research insti¬ tutes, headed by the Academy of Sciences of the Byelorussian SSR. Before the war Byelorussia had 20 theaters and a national opera. The Byelorussian Soviet Republic de¬ veloped its own large-scale industry. At the end of 1937, the gross industrial out¬ put was more than 20 times that of 1913. The main industrial centers of the Re¬ public are: Minsk, Mogilev, Vitebsk, Go¬ mel, Orsha, Borisov and others. The agricultural processing industries were highly developed and giant steps were taken in meat packing, starch and flax producing, distilling, tanning and dairy product output. Agriculture in Byelorussia underwent a fundamental change. The formerly wretched and poverty-stricken peasants began to lead prosperous and cultured lives. They united in collective farms in which they jointly cultivated the soil and had their co-operative dairy farms, pig¬ geries and beehives. They received im¬ mense assistance from the Government in the shape of tractors, harvester combines and other agricultural machinery, seed and financial credit. In 1937, the culti¬ vated area of Byelorussia exceeded that of 1913 by 35 per cent. The territory of the Byelorussian SSR was invaded and occupied by the Ger¬ man fascists. Minsk, the ancient capital, and the other flourishing cities of the Republic were reduced to rubble. The books were burned; the schools were wrecked. The people were tortured and murdered. But in the Red Army and in guerrilla bands, the people fought back. On their own soil they killed hundreds of thou¬ sands of enemy soldiers and officers; wrecked Nazi materiel and communica¬ tions, and freed their land of the invader. 7 Azerbaijan SSR T he Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan) occupies the eastern part of Transcaucasia on the fron¬ tier of the USSR and Iran. The country is featured by the dry steppe of the Kura lowlands; the fertile soil, deep river courses, wide valleys and the slopes of the Caucasian mountains covered at various heights with orchards, vineyards, dense forests and mountain pastures; and the subtropical vegetation of the Lenkoran lowlands. The Republic is inhabited by Azerbai¬ janians (Tyurks), who constitute over 60 per cent of the population, Armenians, Russians, Kurds, Tats, Talyshi and Geor¬ gians. Affiliated to Azerbaijan is the Nak¬ hichevan Autonomus Soviet Socialist Re¬ public (capital—Nakhichevan). The Na¬ gorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (capital—Stepanakert), although inhab¬ ited by Armenians, voluntarily chose to Area— 33,000 sq. miles Population— 3,210,000 Capital— Baku; population, 809,000 affiliate to the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. The land is rich in minerals such as oil, iron, aluminum, copper, lead and zinc, precious metals, sulphur pyrites and limestone. The natural resources of this country, whose history goes back 3,000 years, were scarcely developed before 1917. Baku, with its oil wells, was practically the only industrial center. Throughout the rest of the country primitive agriculture and farming prevailed, consisting mainly of sheep raising, vine growing, silk cultiva¬ tion and cotton growing. The few irri¬ gation canals were owned by a handful of feudal chiefs called beks. The peasant population possessed hardly any water sources at all. The tsarist government de¬ liberately fomented strife between the different nationalities inhabiting the country, and suppressed their national culture. Azerbaijan women were com¬ pelled to live in seclusion and wear the veil ( chadra ). They did not receive even the most elementary education. On April 28, 1920, the Azerbaijan peo¬ ple created their Soviet Republic, and later, in conjunction with the other Soviet Re¬ publics, formed the Union of Soviet So¬ cialist Republics, and on December 5, 1936, it received the status of a Union Re¬ public. The former strife between the different nationalities gave way to peace and close friendship. Under Soviet rule these formerly poverty-stricken and backward peoples of OIL—the oil fields of Baku are among the world’s richest. 8 A CINEMA—this building is in Baku, the capital. Azerbaijan became active builders of the economy and culture of their country. In 1939, over 73 per cent of the population could read and write. Over 500,000 chil¬ dren now attend the 3,000 schools of the country. In 1937 secondary school at¬ tendance was 35 times that of 1914. Where formerly even secondary schools were a rarity, there are now 15 higher educational establishments and about 100 technical schools. Before Soviet rule there were only 12 engineers in the country. At the present time there are over 3,000. The Republic can boast more than 500 university pro¬ fessors and scientific research workers. Thdre are scores of scientific institutions headed by the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. The national art of the peoples of Azerbaijan has made enormous progress. The country has 15 theaters, and has created its national opera and ballet. The works of the Azerbaijan classical writers, such as Nizami, one of the world’s great¬ est poets who lived 800 years ago, have been published in many languages and in large editions. Modern authors, com¬ posers and musicians have also appeared. Under the tsarist regime only two news¬ papers were published in the Azerbaijan language. In Soviet Azerbaijan about 100 newspapers are published in the vernacu¬ lar. Azerbaijan women are now free from all the shackles of national, social and cultural oppression. Under the Soviet Government the Baku oil industry has assumed world-wide im¬ portance. Even before the Second World War the output of the Baku oil wells reached 25,000,000 tons a year, more than triple the amount produced before 1914. The oil refining industry has been greatly expanded and modernized. A big chemical industry has sprung up produc¬ ing mostly mineral fertilizers. Giant en¬ gineering plants have been erected. The industries processing agricultural products have grown immensely as in the case of cotton ginning, cotton, wool and silk spinning, and fruit and meat canning. In 1937 the gross industrial output of Azerbaijan showed a six-fold increase over 1913. The main industrial centers of the Republic are: Baku, Kirovabad and Nukha, among others. Agriculture has made enormous prog¬ ress under the Soviet system and the cul¬ tivated area now exceeds IVz million acres. Numerous irrigation canals have been built, the largest of which is the Samur-Divichi Canal, built in 1940. It is 66 miles long and irrigates 150,000 acres. This canal was built by the collective farmers themselves with the material and technical assistance of the Government of the USSR. Azerbaijan is the second largest cot- ton-producing region in the USSR and the largest long-fibre Egyptian cotton re¬ gion. The mountain slopes are covered with orchards, vineyards, tobacco planta¬ tions and mulberry groves for the cultiva¬ tion of silkworms. In the humid lowlands of Lankoran, subtropical crops such as tea and citrus fruits are now being cultivated! for the first time. North of this region, on the irrigated lands close to the Caspian coast, rice is grown. In winter, large droves of horses, herds of cattle and flocks of sheep graze in the unirrigated lowlands, and in. spring they are driven to the rich mountain pastures. In the Caspian Sea there are extensive fisheries for many varieties of sturgeon and herring. Here 75 per cent of the world output of the famous black caviar is. obtained. 9 Georgian SSR T he Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgia) is situated in the western part of Transcaucasia, on the border of the USSR adjacent to Turkey. The chain of mountains which runs through the country, the wide table¬ lands, and deep and fertile valleys, make the landscape rich and varied. In the north, the mountains are capped by glaciers. On the higher terraces of the moun¬ tain slopes stretch extensive pastures. Lower down are belts of pine and decid¬ uous timber merging, still lower, with cultivated orchards and vineyards. The shores of the Black Sea are covered with luxuriant subtropical vegetation. Since the Soviet regime was established, extensive prospecting has been conducted in the mountains. Manganese, non-fer¬ rous and precious metals, iron, coal, oil and vast deposits of other non-metallic minerals have been discovered. The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic is inhabited by Georgians, who constitute two-thirds of the population, Abkhazians, Adjarians, Ossetians, Russians, Armen¬ ians, Azerbaijanians, Greeks, and Jews. The Georgian people regained their political independence by setting up their Soviet Republic February 25, 1921. In the same year the Georgian Soviet Re¬ public joined with the Azebaijan and Armenian Soviet Republics to form the Transcaucasian Federation, which was one of the founders of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. On December 5, 1936, the Federation was dissolved and the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, aided by the Russian people, had grown and matured was raised to the status of a Union Republic. Within the Georgian Republic were formed the Abkhazian and Adjar Autono¬ mous Soviet Socialist Republics (capitals, Sukhumi and Batumi, respectively—both Black Sea ports and health resorts), and the South Ossetian Autonomous Region (capital, Staliniri). The culture of the peoples of Soviet Georgia has flourished as never before. Almost the entire population is now lit¬ erate. There are three times as many Area — 27,000 sq. miles Population — 3,342,000 Capital —T bill si; population, 319,000 schools in the country as there were be¬ fore 1917. In 1939, 113 per thousand of the population had a secondary education, and 11 per thousand a higher education. Georgia now has 21 higher educational establishments and more than 200 tech¬ nical schools. Scores of scientific research institutes have been established and are functioning under the direction of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR. National art has developed immensely, and the cultural treasures of Georgia are enjoyed by all the nations of the USSR. The works of the classical Georgian writ¬ ers, such as Shota Rustaveli, (12th-13th century), and others, have been published in large editions. Scores of newspapers and magazines, and millions of books are published in the languages of all na¬ tionalities inhabiting the Republic. Georgia is the health resort of the en¬ tire Soviet Union. Its healing waters, mountain sanatoriums—such as Abas- Tumani—and health resorts on the sea coast, attract visitors from all parts of the Union. Tbilisi, the capital, and Gori, the birthplace of Stalin, have grown into beautiful cities. Since 1913 the industrial output of the Georgian Soviet Republic has increased twenty-six-fold. The Chiatura manga¬ nese mines are among the largest in the STATE OPERA—opera house in Tbilisi, capital of the Georgian SSR. 10 ■ ! TBILISI—the Square of Heroes and a new apartment house. world and serve as the basis for the ex¬ tensive manufacture of ferrous alloys. Large oil refining plants have been erected, and coal mining has been de¬ veloped. A number of large hydroelectric sta¬ tions have been built on Georgia’s moun¬ tain rivers. Machine-building and the manufacture of cement, glass, dyes and textiles have also developed. Timber is obtained in large quantities from the mountain forests and the paper making industry has been introduced. The country’s agriculture has under¬ gone a complete transformation. The area under cultivaiton has increased 50 per cent since Soviet rule was established, and now amounts to more than 2 J /2 million acres. More than 200.000 acres of land, stretching along the Black Sea coast and extending to the foot of the Caucasian Mountains are covered with plantations of subtropical crops. A hundred times more tea is collected from the Georgian plantations than was gathered before the establishment of the Soviet Republic. Plantations of lemons, tangerines, oranges and citrons cover 42,000 acres. Here, also, are cultivated the tung tree, used for the manufacture of special varnishes, the laurel, bamboo, euca¬ lyptus and others used for the extraction of essential oils. Extensive work js proceeding for draining the marshes of Colchis, which extend for 250,000 acres in the valley of the lower reaches of the Rion River. The large-scale cultivation of subtropical fruits has begun here. Incidentally, Colchis is the famous land of the Golden Fleece referred to in legends of ancient Greece. On the higher slopes of the Black Sea coast and on the irrigated land of eastern Georgia grow tobacco and grapes. Fruit is canned in local factories. The cultiva¬ tion of silk is assuming ever greater di¬ mensions. Two years ago the cultivation of sugar beet and cotton was started for the first time in this country. In the eastern parts of the land, wheat, barley, and millet are grown. In the western part maize is the principal crop. Dairy farming and stock breeding have made considerable prog¬ ress. The Governments of Georgia and of the Soviet Union supply the collective farms with machines and fertilizers and provide them with the means for build¬ ing their irrigation canals and drainage works. During the Great Patriotic War, fierce fighting raged at the foothills of the Caucasus in the Georgian SSR as the Nazis sought to penetrate to the great manganese mines of Chiatura and to seize their wealth of one-third of the world’s deposits of this valuable metal. In those days German newspapers were lyric in their descriptions of the beauty and wealth of Georgia. One article, in¬ solently assuming that Georgian wealth would soon belong to Germany, was de¬ voted to Chiatura. "This ore,” wrote this Nazi paper, "will enrich many German soldiers and officers now carrying on the battle in the Caucasian Mountains. At Chiatura there are great possibilities for German initiative and enterprise.” The Nazis, however, miscalculate^ the strength and determination of ihe de¬ fending forces. By the middle of 1943, the mines, shut down during tbe fighting, began to return to life. The Nazi officers and soldiers who had fixed their greedy eyes on the wealth of Soviet Georgia have seen their own country defeated and devastated in the war which Nazi greed began. Now, in the saying of the Georgian people, the Kvirilla River runs black again. This means that the ore is coming from the mines. The Kvirilla carries away particles of dust from the washing of the manganese as it comes from the mines. When the river runs clear, the mines are not being worked. When it runs dark, the manga¬ nese is being mined. Magnitogorsk, Kuznetsk, and the rehabilitated steel mills of the South are the largest con¬ sumers of this manganese. 11 Armenian SSR T he Armenian Soviet Socialist .Republic (Armenia) is situated on the high lands of the Minor Caucasian Range, on the frontiers between the USSR, Turkey and Iran. The winter is usually severe and the summer dry and hot. Hence, Armenia’s agriculture to a large extent depends on irrigation. The country is rich in deposits of copper, molybdenum and other ores. Before the Soviet regime was estab¬ lished these resources were scarcely de¬ veloped. Industry was confined to the smelting of copper and the small scale manufacture of wine and spirits. The country is populated by Armeni¬ ans (who constitute four-fifths of the population), Azerbaijanians, Kurds, Rus¬ sians, Georgians, Persians and Turks, all Area — 12,000 sq. miles Population— 1,300,000 Capital — Erevan; population, 200,000 of whom today live and work in perfect harmony. Tsarist rule was notorious for foment¬ ing strife among the Armenians, Kurds and Turks and frightful massacres peri¬ odically ensued as a result. Tsarism pre¬ vented the development of the ancient Armenian national culture, and the Ar¬ menian people lived in ignorance and poverty. On November 29, 1920, the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed, opening a new era in the life of the Armenian people. It restored to them their political independence and freedom, and saved them from extinction. On December 5, 1936, it became a Union Republic. Tens of thousands of Armenians, who had emigrated in the time of tsarism and during the period of foreign intervention in 1918-20, returned. The population is growing rapidly. In 12 years—from 1927 to 1939—it in¬ creased by 45 per cent. Literacy is making rapid headway. In 1939, 74 per cent of the population were literate, compared with 15 per cent under tsarist rule. In 1939 the number of stu¬ dents attending technical schools was eight times that of 1913. The schools are con¬ ducted in the languages of the various EREVAN—this is Government House at the capital of the Armenian SSR. 12 THE CAPITAL—general view of Erevan. Mount Ararat is in the background. nationalities inhabiting the country. Fifty newspapers and magazines, as well as books, are also published in the different languages of the Republic. Under the Soviet regime, nine higher educational and 60 technical schools have been opened. National art is now flourishing; the famous Armenian epic David of Sassun, which dates back 1,000 years, and other written and oral folklore have been re¬ vived. Modern literature has been de¬ veloped. In addition to 25 permanent ur¬ ban and rural theaters, a music conserva¬ tory, five schools of music and a picture gallery have been opened. Monuments of ancient Armenian archi¬ tecture and of the collections of valuable ancient manuscripts are given great care. Twenty-three new museums and insti¬ tutes of scientific research have been opened under the supervision of the Armenian Academy of Sciences. The Ar¬ menian branch of the Academy of Sci¬ ences of the USSR was founded in 1935, and at the end of 1943, was recognized as an independent Academy. Since the Soviet State has been in ex¬ istence, Armenia has grown into a modern industrial and agricultural country. In this period two billion rubles have been invested for economic development. The Armenian peasants are organized in collective farms, which with the as¬ sistance of the Soviet Government, are conducted on the most up-to-date lines. Before the war, over 1,000 tractors and hundreds of harvester combines were operating on the Collective farm fields of Armenia. In 1938, no less than a million acres of land were under cultivation, an increase of 26.5 per cent over the area under cultivation before the First World War. The cotton fields, vineyards, orchards, and tobacco plantations in the valleys and on the foothills are irrigated by newly- dug canals. Cotton occupies 42,000 acres, and vineyards 34,000 acres, which is a three-fold increase over the area under these crops before Soviet rule was estab¬ lished. The grapes of Armenia are con¬ verted into the finest wines and brandy. The country is famous for its luscious peaches and apricots. The cultivation of silk is also increas¬ ing. On the tablelands the peasants culti¬ vate wheat, barley, sugar beet and oil- producing crops. Dairy farming and stock breeding—cattle, sheep, goats, horses— occupy an important place in the econ¬ omy. Industry, too, is developing rapidly. In 1941, the gross industrial output of Armenia was 22.3 times as great as the output during the year of 1913. The five chief industrial cities of Armenia are: Erevan, Leninakan, Kirovakan, Alavardy, and Kafan (Zangezur). The chemical industry, entirely new in Armenia, produces synthetic rubber and mineral fertilizers. The output of copper has greatly increased. The extraction and processing of valuable building materials such as cement, pumice-stone, marble, volcanic basalt and fireproof clay are pro¬ ceeding on a growing scale. A number of ginning and textile mills have been erected which utilize home grown cotton and silk. Carpet weaving is now an expanding industry. The food industry has canning fac¬ tories, and dairies have been opened. Numerous electric power stations have been built on the mountain rivers of Armenia and are functioning. 13 Turkmen SSR T he Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmenia) is situated on the frontier of the USSR bordering on Iran and Afghanistan, and stretches from the Caspian Sea to the Amu-Darya River. Eighty per cent of its territory comprises the desert of Kara-Kum (Black Sands). In recent years Soviet explorers have discovered that the Kara-Kum Desert has an abundance of subsoil, surface water and grass, sufficient for 5,000,000 head of cattle. They have also discovered large mineral deposits and oil. In the south of Kara-Kum tower high mountains, the lower terraces of which are covered with pistachio, wild almond and juniper. Rivers flow past green oases where most of the population has settled. Like other countries of Central Asia, Turkmenia used to be a backward country. In the oases, cotton was cultivated in primitive fashion, while nomad tribes drove their flocks and camel herds through the desert. The land was tilled with prim¬ itive implements, and the primitive irri¬ gation system on which the fruit and cotton growers depended was controlled by small groups of local chiefs who rented the land and water to the peasants at exorbitant rates. The cotton yield was extremely low, rarely reaching 0.28 tons an acre. The orchards and vineyards, which had been cultivated in Turkmenia for generations past fell into decay. Many of the Turk¬ menian tribes led a nomad life, driven from the flourishing valleys by tsarist officials. The country is inhabited by Turkmen¬ ians, Russians, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Belujians and Persians, all of whom live in peace and harmony under the Soviet system. The tsarist regime banned the Turk¬ menian language, and deliberately aimed at its extinction. The Turkmenian people were practically all illiterate. Less than one per cent could read and write. Even the Russians inhabiting Turkmenia lacked cultural facilities. In all Turkmenia there were no more than 58 Russian schools. Seclusion, the compulsory wearing of the veil, and drudgery were the lot of the women under the tsars. Area — 187,000 sq. miles Population — 1,234,000 Capital — Ashkhabad; population, 126,600 Soviet power liberated and regenerated the Turkmenian people, who in 1924, with the aid of the Russian people, set up their Soviet Repuhlic, which became one of the Union Republics of the USSR. The Turkmenian peasants are organized in collective farms, cultivated with the aid of the tractors and harvester com¬ bines provided by the Soviet Government, which also sets aside funds for building irrigation canals. Agriculture is even spreading into the deserts of Kara-Kum. The collective farmers are now pros¬ perous. In 1939, there were 80 collec¬ tive farms with incomes of a million rubles a year each. Under tsarism all Turkmenia had only three agronomists, while at present there are 1,500. The countryside, where formerly ignorance and wretchedness prevailed, is now well supplied with radios, telephones, cinemas, libraries and schools. New irrigation canals have been built, and this has given great impetus to the cultivation of cotton. In 1937, at least 375,000 acres—120 per cent more than before 1914—were planted with this crop. In 1939, the total crop amounted to 240,000 tons, almost 4.6 times more than before 1914. A large area is planted with Egyptian long-fibre cotton. Turkmenia is famous for her vineyards, orchards and melon patches. The sweet fragrant Turkmenian melons grown in Charjui are known in foreign markets. New crops are now being grown, such as plants for essential oils, a rubber-bearing plant, and ramie, a fibrous plant used in the manufacture of artificial silk. Wheat is grown in the foothills, and the area under cultivation in 1939 amounted to 1,037,000 acres, compared to 759,000 acres in 1913. Silk cultiva¬ tion and the weaving of the famous Turkmenian carpets have been revived. Over 2,000,000 head of cattle graze in the pastures of the desert and foothills. Here, karakul sheep, swift and hardy horses, and cattle are bred. The products of stock breeding and agriculture are being processed in newly- built cotton-ginning mills, silk mills, big meat-packing plants and shoe factories. The mineral resources of the country are being extensively developed. Turk¬ menia produces sodium sulphate, oil, ozocerite, bromine, iodine, sulphur, fire¬ proof clay and common salt. It also manufactures glassware. The Caspian Sea abounds in salmon, sturgeon, herring and perch. Here the famous black caviar is obtained. The total industrial output of the Turk¬ men Soviet Socialist Republic in 1937 amounted to 264,000,000 rubles, which is over 7.6 times more than in 1913. The main industrial centers of the Republic are: Ashkhabad, Charjui, Krasnovodsk, and Nebit-Dag. This economic revival has had a pro¬ foundly beneficial effect. From 1927 to 1939 the population increased by 25 per cent. About 1,400 schools have been opened and instruction is given in the languages of all the nationalities in the Republic. Thirty-three technical schools and four higher educational establish¬ ments were opened. Women, equally with men, have access to all seats of learning and cultural institutions. Sixty newspapers (of which 40 are in Turkmenian) and seven magazines are published. Books are printed in editions of millions. The Turkmenian people have produced their own teachers (more than 5,000), physicians, engineers and scientific work¬ ers. There are over 30 scientific institu¬ tions in the country, working under the supervision of the Turkmenian branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The Republic has 37 theaters, 700 libraries and 600 reading and recreation rooms. Ancient Turkmenian folklore has been revived, and modern poets and prose writers are producing valuable artistic works in the Turkmenian language. 14 ASHKHABAD—Palace of the Soviets in the capital of the Turkmen SSR. Great progress has been achieved in the field of public health. Before the Revolution, there were no more than nine physicians in this country. Now there are more than 1,000. Malaria, formerly the scourge of the population, has now been practically eliminated. Many health re¬ sorts have been established in the moun¬ tains and at the seaside. Ashkhabad, the capital of the Republic, is now a large center of industry and culture, with numerous educational insti¬ tutions, theaters, parks and fine wide streets lined with beautiful and imposing buildings. The capital has 32 schools, 20 technical schools, four higher educational establish¬ ments—a pedagogical, a teachers’, an agri¬ cultural and a medical institute—numer¬ ous scientific stations and laboratories. The local cinema studios produce popular films which reflect the life and develop¬ ment of the Turkmenian people. The sci¬ entific research institutions are engaged on problems related to agriculture, indus¬ try and public health. Building construction, begun during the early years of the Republic’s existence, reached its height during the period of the Stalin Five-Year Plans. During the past 20 years, two billion rubles have been invested in construction. There was a ninefold increase in the number of large industrial enterprises be¬ tween 1924 and 1944. Approximately 96 per cent of the industrial output of the Republic comes from factories built dur¬ ing the Soviet period. The ratio of industry to agriculture has been radically changed. In 1925, 72 per cent of the total output of the Turk¬ menian national economy was agricul¬ tural. Today industry accounts for 76 per cent. The change is the more remarkable when it is considered that agricultural output itself has expanded threefold. During the Great Patriotic War, the people of Turkmenia worked selflessly in factories and farms for the defense of the the USSR, and the sons and daughters of the Republic served in the Red Army and Navy. 15 The National Anthem of the Soviet Union > > - f j r So - vi - et land. m rS -j- ■7 --- r— — A .J - J V \J W >* A\ 60a H r dy r r 0 'e ing i — - r - — 1 ^ 1- 'i 17 .... ' w.- .. M tt* if W * 1 ^ J - * 3 Unbreakable Union of freeborn Republics, Great Russia has welded forever to stand; Created in struggle by will of the peoples. United and mighty, our Soviet Land! Sing to our Motherland, glory undying, Rulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong! Flag of the Soviets, peoples’ flag flying, Lead us from vict’ry to victory on! Through tempests the sunrays of freedom have cheered us. Along the new path where Lenin did lead. Be true to the people, thus Stalin has reared us, Inspired us to labor and valorous deed! 16 1 1 1 1 pW i flU . HblU; MO . rv - MHH Co_ - nit - ed and mxqh - ty our •^3 J * i ?■ I i b f; aevt _ hbih bro £ 2 = _ n ji o t ! therhood strong! r Flag f of m Co the M . ~ 9 > £ .//• J- * #= i F 9 . Jf .- .■-r-4)- J . - pj* -- —— h— — f^— i Caa.&b - P — i 7 p V J Cfl o - "f —-. ^ : BeT _ cito. e, = T 3Ha 4 ‘ ms Ha _ our Jf mm vi - ets i j ? i , £ > mm * » 9 5 ? peo =^= f--r pies fl a< 3* * * N 1 W II O r r 1UG CRO _ un - PPi h a n i m n nufTk nT nn nn nV.r if’riA n/i an nn'T* I 9 Tv P°A - flu - Ho. e ing ^ i; - H nydb ot no.6c . awktio _ 6e . ,ne bp.act ! 2.Ck&o»// lead usjrom vic-try to vic-to-nf on.i ^throuaH m mm r iPPf ?—? cresc. i f W ^ Apyw . O r bi h«l . po _ jfoa Bui - wark of peo - pies in. i .,rx» m It r a: i ^ r > i cresc. Sing to our Motherland, glory undying, Bulwark of peoples in happiness strong! Flag of the Soviets, peoples’ flag flying. Lead us from vict’ry to victory on! Our Army grew up in the heat of grim battle, Barbarian invaders we’ll swiftly strike down. In combat the fate of the future we settle. Our country we’ll lead to eternal renown! Sing to our Motherland, glory undying, Bulwark of peoples in glory so strong! Flag of the Soviets, peoples, flag flying, Lead us from vict’ry to victory on! Russian lyrics by Sergei Mikhalkov and El Registan Translated by H, Marshall 17 Uzbek SSR T he Uzbek Soviet Socialist Re¬ public (Uzbekistan) is situated along the frontier which separates the USSR from Afghanistan, in the middle of Soviet Central Asia, on the foothills and lower slopes of the Tien-Shan and Pamir Mountains and the adjoining ex¬ tensive semi-desert plains of Kyzyl-Kum (Red Sands). The foothills are intersected by numer¬ ous rivers. The loess soil of the valleys of these rivers—Ferghana, Syr-Darya, Zarevshan, Amu-Darya and Chirchik— protected from the cold winds by the mountains, is spotted with oases in which the population of Uzbekistan is mainly settled. In addition to Uzbeks, who constitute three-quarters of the population, Kara- Kalpaks, Russians, Tajiks and Kazakhs also inhabit the country. The country possesses extensive pas¬ Area — 158,000 sq. miles Population — 6,282,000 Capital — Tashkent; population, 585,000 tures, so large as to provide grazing for millions of head of cattle. It is also rich in coal, oil, sulphur, copper, limestone and phosphorites. Uzbekistan has long been famous for its cotton, but the peasants who produced this "white gold’’ formerly lived in dire poverty, toiling on their small plots of land and paying high rents for the use of the soil and for the vitally necessary water. They lived in a state of wretchedness, ignorance and national oppression. In¬ dustry was confined to the primitive ginning of cotton, which was produced entirely for export. The vast mineral de¬ posits were never explored. It was not until just before the First World War that attempts were made to develop the oil resources, but the results were very meagre. In 1913, only 13,000 tons of oil were extracted. There were scarcely any schools in the country, and those that existed were con¬ ducted in Russian. Only 2 or 3 per cent of the Uzbek population were liter¬ ate. There was scarcely any medical serv¬ ice, and the population was entirely at the mercy of ignorant witch doctors. Seclusion, the compulsory wearing of the horsehair veil paranja, marriage during childhood, and the buying of brides was the lot of the Uzbek women. But a fundamental change took place with the establishment of the Soviet system. In 1924, the Uzbek people, for TASHKENT—Navoi Street in the capital of the Uzbek SSR. 18 PALACE—Textile Workers’ Palace of Culture. the first time in their history, established their own state, the Uzbek Soviet Re¬ public, which as a Union Republic is af¬ filiated to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Within the Uzbek Republic there is the Kara-Kalpak Autonomous Soviet So¬ cialist Republic, situated in the valley of the Amu-Darya and in the deserts of Kyzyl-Kum, and inhabited mainly by the people known as Kara-Kalpaks. Uzbekistan is one of the largest regions of irrigated agriculture in the USSR. In 1938, of the 7,000,000 acres of land under cultivation, 3,700,000 acres were irrigated. During the past few years irrigation canals have been constructed on a tremendous scale. Among the largest of these is the Great Stalin Ferghana Canal, built in 1940. It is 168 miles long and serves to irrigate 1,250,000 acres of land with the waters of the Syr-Darya. Uzbekistan is the largest cotton region in the USSR, producing 60 per cent of the total cotton crop. Here cotton planta¬ tions cover over 2Yz million acres, and the crop in 1938 exceeded 1,500,000 tons —three times as large as the annual crop produced under the tsarist regime. In addition to cotton, others, such as rice, oil-bearing and bast crops, sugar beets, mulberry trees, fruits and vines are cultivated on these irrigated lands. Uz¬ bekistan provides the rest of the country with dried fruit, such as raisins, sultanas, and apricots; canned fruit, vegetables, and wine; and almonds, figs, and pome¬ granates. On the non-irrigated lands the peasants cultivate wheat, barley and maize. The ancient mattock has given way to modern tractors and harvester combines. The fields of Uzbekistan are today cultivated by over 20,000 tractors with modern mul¬ tiple share plows, and by over 1,500 har¬ vester combines. Stock breeding is an important item in the economy of Uzbekistan, and at the present time the stock is estimated at over 6,000,000 head. The country breeds horses, cattle, sheep both for mutton and karakul, goats and camels. Kara-Kal- pakia is the largest karakul sheep produc¬ ing region in the USSR. United in their collective farms, the peasants of Uzbekis¬ tan are now leading prosperous and cul¬ tured lives. Industry, too, has developed extensively in Uzbekistan under the Soviet regime. Old cotton-ginning mills have been ex¬ tended and modernized and huge new textile mills have been built. Silk weaving and spinning have also been modernized and extended. Uzbekistan produces large quantities of cottonseed and other vege¬ table oils. The production of coal, crude and refined oil, sulphur, mineral fer¬ tilizers and cement has been extensively developed. Steel mills, machine construction plants and large electric power stations have been built. In 1938 the gross industrial output of the Republic showed a six-fold increase over the output of 1913. In the trying days of the Patriotic War, Uzbekistan unfailingly supplied the vic¬ torious Red Army and population in the rear with armaments, grain, cloth, wool and fruit. A modern written language has been adopted. Illiteracy is rapidly being elim¬ inated, and in 1939 70 per cent of the population were able to read and write. Universal compulsory education has been introduced and a large network of schools has been established, attended by 1,300,000 children, 80 times more than attended before 1914. Uzbekistan has 27 higher educational establishments (there were none before the Revolution), over 100 technical schools and over 3,000 public libraries and public reading and recreation rooms. Over 200 newspapers are published of which 130 are in the Uzbek language. The Republic has more than 40 theatres, and an Uzbek national opera and ballet have been created. Over 20 scientific research institutes and labora¬ tories are now functioning under the supervision of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR. The Uzbek women, freed from the fetters of both national and social oppression, now take a free and equal part with men in the work of economic and cultural development and have been elected to many posts of re¬ sponsibility and as Deputies to the Su¬ preme Soviet of the Republic. 19 Tajik SSR Area — 55,000 sq. miles Population — 1,485,000 Capital — Stalinabad; population, 83,000 T he Tajik Soviet Socialist Re¬ public (Tajikistan) lies on the frontier of the USSR, adjacent to Af¬ ghanistan and western China, at the junc¬ tion between the Tien-Shan Range, mean¬ ing the "Celestial Mountains,” and the Pamirs, which are called the "Roof of the World.” The country is inhabited by Tajiks, who constitvte three-quarters of the population, Uzbeks, who live in the northwestern part of the country, Kirghizians and Russians. On the tablelands and slopes of the Pamirs there is the Gorno-Badakhshan Autono¬ mous Region, affiliated to the Tajik Re¬ public, with its capital Khorog, inhabited by Kirghizians and Tajiks. The country appears as though laid out in vast terraces. There are deep valleys, semi-desert steppes and irrigated lands covered with flourishing orchards. Vine¬ yards and cotton plantations merge with the foothills and lofty mountains. Some of the mountains are bare while others are covered with pistachio, almond, hazel and mulberry trees in the lower zones, with deciduous trees in the middle zone, and mountain pastures in the heights. High semi-desert tablelands covered with worm¬ wood and, in places, with extensive mead¬ ows, give way to lofty mountain summits, towering about 23,000 feet, covered with huge glaciers. The Tien-Shan Mountains contain the Stalin Peak, the highest moun¬ tain in the USSR, 24,600 feet high; the Lenin Peak, 23,400 feet high, and the glacier known as the Fedchenko Glacier, 48 miles long, which with its adjacent glaciers, covers a length of over 68 miles, one of the largest glacial areas in the world. Under the tsarist regime Tajikistan was an extremely backward and primitive country. The best land and pastures and almost the entire irrigation system were the private property of the Emir of Bok¬ hara and the local feudal chiefs—the beks and beys. The taxes and rent for land and water extorted as much as 8 per cent of the peasants’ crops. The bulk of the Tajik population were engaged in stock breed¬ ing. Industry was practically non-existant. Just before 1914 the coal and oil indus¬ tries began to develop, but the output of these fuels was limited to a few thou¬ sand tons. Ignorance and wretchedness prevailed. Only one in every 200 Tajiks could read and write. The women were compelled to wear the paranja (veil) and live in seclusion. COTTON—the crop is dried. With the aid of the Russians, the Tajik people threw off the feter of the tsar and the emir, and in 1924 set up an Auto¬ nomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which, in 1929, was advanced to the status of Union Republic. Under the Soviet regime the people of Tajikistan have made enormous progress. With funds provided by the Soviet Gov¬ ernment, immense irrigation systems have been built in the valleys of western Ta¬ jikistan and the adjacent mountains. Out¬ standing among these constructions are the Vaksh (Tajikistan) section of the Great Stalin Ferghana Canal, the North¬ ern Ferghana Canal and the Gissar Canal. The total irrigated area in 1938 was 725,- 000 acres, a 67 per cent increase over 1914. In the irrigated valleys and foothills spread extensive rice and cotton planta¬ tions, some old ones greatly extended, and others newly planted. The total area given to crops in 1937 amounted to 275,000 acres, a six-fold increase compared with the period under tsarism. Cotton is grown not only in the north¬ west, where it had been cultivated pre¬ viously, but also in the midlands and south of Tien-Shan, where long-fibre Egyptian cotton was planted for the first time with the assistance of Soviet government agriculturists. In 1939 no less than 100,- 000 acres were planted with this grade of cotton. This is now the principal Egyptian cotton-growing center in the USSR. Even until 1929 the average yield of the cotton crop was about 1.5 metric tons per acre, but at the present time it ranges between 4 and 4.5 metric tons. On the irrigated lands the finest apricots in the USSR and the sweetest grades of grapes are grown. The orchards also bear rich crops of apples, pomegranates, al¬ monds, pistachios and walnuts. In the extreme south sugar cane is now being grown. This is the only district in the USSR where this crop is cultivated. On the non-irrigated lands, wheat and barley are grown, these crops now cover¬ ing almost 1,500,000 acres, 30 per cent more than before the First World War. Cereals and grapes have even appeared 20 on the high slopes and tablelands of the Pamirs. In no country is agriculture car¬ ried on at such high altitudes as in Ta¬ jikistan. Grapes are cultivated at the height of 6,000 feet, and barley at 10,000. In the mountain pastures hundreds of thousands of horses, cattle, sheep, and goats graze. Tajikistan is famous for its fat Gissar sheep, the largest in the world. Here, too, karakul sheep are bred. New factories have been erected for the manufacture of cotton and silk yarns, cotton and silk fabrices, leather goods, footwear, cottonseed oil, and the canning of fruit, vegetables and meat. During the past few years measures have been taken to harness the country’s swift rivers for electricity. During the past few years the produc¬ tion of coal, oil, gold and non-ferrous metals, rare elements and building ma¬ terials has greatly increased. The total industrial output of Tajikistan today is 242 times that of the period before the Revolution. In tsarist times Tajikistan was prac¬ tically a roadless country. The Pamirs were reached by means of narrow, pre¬ cipitous tracks. Today the country is covered with a network of automobile roads. The conditions of life and culture of the Tajik people have improved im¬ mensely under Soviet rule. Women, who had formerly been bereft of all rights in the family as well as in society, have obtained equal rights with men, and are now taking an active part in economic and social life. Between 1927 and 1939 (the dates of the last two census tabulations) the popu¬ lation of the Republic increased 44 per cent. Four thousand elementary schools, over 300 secondary schools, seven higher educational establishments, 30 technical schools and hundreds of public libraries and reading rooms have been established. A quarter of a million children now at¬ tend school. In 1939, 72 per cent of the population were literate. Seventy news¬ papers are published, most of them in the Tajik, Uzbek and Kirghiz languages. Ta¬ jik drama, music and art are famous throughout the Soviet Union. A number of scientific institutions are supervised by the Tajik branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. STAUNABAD—a street scene. 21 Kazakh SSR T he Kazakh Soviet Socialist Re¬ public (Kazakhstan) is situated in the southwestern part of Soviet Asia, on the frontier of the USSR and Sinkiang (Western China), and stretches from the lower reaches of the Volga to the Altai Mountains, and from the Trans-Siberian railway to the mountains of Tien-Shan. The country is inhabited by Kazakhs, who constitute 60 per cent of the popula¬ tion, and Russians, Ukrainians, Kirghiz, Uzebks, Kara-Kalpaks, Dungans and Uigurs. The geographical features of the coun¬ try are extremely varied. Mountains capped by eternal snow and glaciers on the one hand, and arid deserts on the other; excessive rain, and complete dearth of water; green mountain pastures and flourishing oases in the foothills, and sun- scorched plains and salt marshes. Mountain and steppe pastures cover 430,000,000 acres—over 60 per cent of the area of the country—while 135,000,- 000 acres are arable. The mountains and tablelands of Kazakhstan contain immense riches in¬ cluding 100 billion tons of coal, over a billion tons of oil, vast deposits of gold, lead, zinc, nickel, copper, iron, tin and aluminum ores, cromites, phosphorites, Area— 1,036,000 sq. miles Population— 6,146,000 Capital— Alma-Ata; population, 230,000 rare metals and large deposits of mineral salts and building materials. Under the tsarist regime the natural resources of Kazakhstan remained al¬ most untouched. Only lead, copper and coal were extracted and the methods were so primitive as to make the yield almost negligible. Agriculture was developed mainly in the northern black-earth wooded steppe by Russians and Ukrainians. The Kazakhs were deprived of arable lands. They wandered across the steppes and deserts of the country with their cattle and domestic belongings; and thousands of animals perished every winter from severe frost and shortage of fodder. The population was almost en¬ tirely illiterate. Only two per cent were able to read and write. All this was changed with the estab¬ lishment of Soviet power. The people, freed of oppression and in possession of their own land, began to develop its re¬ sources and to improve their national cul¬ ture. In the more backward sections, progress which elsewhere had taken cen¬ turies was achieved in a few short years as modern methods were applied to agri¬ culture and industry. With the aid of the Russians the Kazakh people built up their national state, first as an Autonomous Soviet Re¬ public, in 1920, and then as a Union Republic, in 1936. Kazakhstan is today one of the largest stock-raising regions in the USSR, the largest center for nonferrous metals, and the third largest coal region. Huge works have been erected for the processing of lead, zinc, copper, gold, nickel, antimony, tungsten and tin. The coal output, concentrated mainly in Karaganda, has increased enormously and is today 100 times as large as it was under the tsarist regime. Large oil producing centers have sprung up northeast of the Caspian Sea. The phosphorites produced in the country are converted into fertilizers. Large-scale ma¬ chine building has been developed, and numerous electric power stations have been erected. During the Second World War a steel mill for the production of ferrous alloys ALMA-ATA—A new cinema of the Kazakh capital. 22 was erected here and Kazakhstan became one of the Soviet Union’s main arsenals. Since Kazakhstan became a Soviet Re¬ public enormous changes have taken place in the industries for processing agricultural produce. Large cotton ginning mills, meat packing plants, sugar re¬ fineries, tobacco factories, tanneries, cloth weaving mills and fruit and vegetable canning factories have been erected and are now functioning. Fishing is exten¬ sively developed on the Caspian and Aral Seas and on Lake Balkhash, and a large part of the catch is canned. In 1941 the gross industrial output of Kazakhstan was 22 times as much as the output of 1913. Under the Soviet Govern¬ ment, thousands of miles of railway and automobile roads have been laid. Agriculture has developed not only in the north, where two-thirds of the total crops are concentrated, but also in the south of the Republic, along the spurs of the Tien-Shan Mountains and in the oases of the central deserts. Many hundreds of miles of irrigation canals have been built. On the irrigated lands of the south, cotton, rice, sugar beets, tobacco and oil producing crops and rub¬ ber-bearing plants are cultivated. In the north, wheat, barley and millet are grown. The total area under cultivation today amounts to 17,000,000 acres, an increase of 70 per cent over the 1914 level. Over 10,000,000 head of cattle graze in the pastures of Kazakhstan, housed under cover and supplied with fodder during the winter. The country breeds horses, cattle, sheep for mutton and kara¬ kul, goats and, in the mountain regions of Altai, deer. As in the other Republics, the peasants of Kazakhstan cultivate their fields col¬ lectively. As a result, these former nomads are today leading prosperous and cul¬ tured lives. They receive considerable as¬ sistance from the State in the shape of tens of thousands of tractors, harvester combines and other agricultural machines, fertilizers, credits, and funds for building irrigation canals. Education has spread throughout the country. About 8,000 schools are now functioning, compared with 1,500 in 1911; and these schools are attended by over 1,000,000 children, 60 times the KARAGANDA—This city is on the Kazakh steppes. number that attended before the Revolu¬ tion. Three-quarters of the population were literate in 1939. There are 2,000 public libraries and 4,000 reading and recrea¬ tion rooms. A Kazakh written language has been introduced. Under the tsarist regime not a single newspaper in the Kazakh language was published. Today 350 newspapers are published in the country, 170 in the Kazakh language. There are 20 higher educational establishments in existence today (there were none before 1920), over 100 technical schools and scores of scientific research institutes, which work under the supervision of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR which was organized in 1938. In the field of art the Republic boasts 35 theaters, a national opera and ballet, and numerous art galleries. Scores of new towns have sprung up since the Soviet system was established, among them Karaganda and Balkhash. The capital of Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata (Father of Apples), is a beautiful garden city at the foot of the spur of the Tien- Shan Mountains. ' :<■ V: '• ■ - .. 5 . 23 Kirghiz SSR T he Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghizia) is situated in the east of Soviet Central Asia, on the frontier between the USSR and Sinkiang (Western China). Mountain ranges with snow-capped peaks and glaciers, with fir forests on their northern slopes and walnut woods on the southwestern slopes, extensive tablelands, deep valleys, rush¬ ing rivers—such is the Tien-Shan (Heav¬ enly Mountains), or, the land of the Kirghiz. Kirghizia is inhabited by Kirghiz (who constitute two-thirds of the population), Russians, Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Uigurs and Dungans, the latter being a people of Mohammedan-Chinese origin. In the main, the population inhabits the wide semi-enclosed valleys of the north (the valleys of the rivers Chu and Talas and the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul), the southwest (the Ferghana Valley) and the south (the Altai). On the high slopes and table-lands there are extensive pastures, 27,000,000 acres in area. In the foothills and irrigated valleys there are flourishing fields of cereals and industrial crops, orchards and vineyards. Below the surface there are large deposits of coal, oil, gold, lead, antimony, quick¬ silver, sulphur and limestone.- Kirghizia was one of the most backward regions of the former tsarist empire. Driven from their fertile valleys to the mountain slopes the Kirghiz lived the life of nomads, wandering about with their flocks and herds, their felt tents (yurtas), and domestic belongings. The best pastures were controlled by a handful of feudal chiefs (manaps), and big cattle owners (beys). The Kirghiz engaged very little in agriculture, and what little ground they did culti¬ vate they tilled with the most primitive implements. There was no industry except for a Area — 78,000 sq. miles Population — 1,300,000 Capital — Frunze; population, 93,000 few small handicraft establishments and coal mines of the most backward kind. The Kirghiz people were on the verge of extinction. During the last decade be¬ fore 1914, the Kirghiz population de¬ clined 10 per cent. Their cultural level was very low. Only two per cent were literate, and the few schools in Kirghizia (including Russian schools) were at¬ tended by only 7,000 children. The Kirghizian women were slaves, as were most of the women of the East. Soviet rule brought regeneration to the Kirghizian people. Like the other nation¬ alities in the USSR they obtained national autonomy, and in 1926, they formed their Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic which, on December 5, 1936, was elevated to the status of a Union Republic. During the twelve years preceding the 1939 census the population increased by 45 per cent. Education spread considerably among the Kirghizian people, and in 1939 no less than 70 per cent of the population were literate. For the first time in their history the Kirghiz people have a written language. As compared with 118 schools under tsarism, there are now 2,000 schools in the country, attended by 300,000 children, 28 technical schools, and five higher educational establishments, in addition to scores of public libraries, hundreds of people’s palaces of culture and reading and recreation rooms. The popular epic Manas has been re¬ vived, and the peoples bards (akyns as they are called), who sing the ancient ballards, enjoy the widest popularity. A modern Soviet literature has arisen, and numerous newspapers and magazines are published. In 1936, 36 newspapers were published in the Kirghizian language. Drama is flourishing. Sev¬ enteen theaters have been es¬ tablished. A Kirghizian opera has been created for the first time. Extensive scientific re¬ search work is being con¬ ducted under the supervision of the Kirghizian branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The habits and customs of the people have greatly changed. Women have be¬ come equal partners with men in the work of building up Soviet society. This formerly nomad peo¬ ple has settled down, and per¬ manent habitations have sprung up in the mountains and foothills of Tien-Shan. The peasants have taken to agriculture in collective farms, and the Soviet Government has been supplying them with 24 tractors, harvester combines and other modern farm implements of mechanized farming. In 1937 over 2 V 2 million acres of land were under cultivation, a large propor¬ tion being devoted to industrial crops— a rise of 60 per cent over the average under tsarism. Huge irrigation canals have been dug, and during the past few years the irrigated area has increased by 750,000 acres. This is planted to sugar beet (for the first time), tobacco, poppies (in the north) and cotton and rice (in the southwest). The foothills are covered with mulberry trees and orchards—apple in the north, and apricot orchards and vineyards in the southwest. On the unirrigated land wheat and barley are cultivated in the north, and maize in the southwest. Agriculture is even penetrating into the deep valleys of the high mountain districts here. An important item in the economy of Kirghizia is the breeding of cattle, horses and sheep. There is a marked improve¬ ment in the breed and fertility of the stock, and almost everywhere coarse-wool sheep are giving way to fine-wool va¬ rieties. At present the number of live¬ stock in the country is estimated at 3,000,000 head. The food industry of Kirghizia has made considerable progress, particularly in meat packing, the manufacture of sugar and the production of essential oils. The textile industry is expanding, and a number of cotton ginning, wool combing, cloth weaving, silk winding and silk weaving mills have been established. Kirghizia supplies coal for almost the whole of Central Asia. The Republic also produces gold, oil, sulphur, and rare and nonferrous metals. The progress made in industry may be judged from the fact that under tsarism 1,000 workers were employed in industry, whereas in 1940, the number employed was no less than 115,000. During the war Kirghizia provided the USSR with large quantities of grain, sugar, fruit, meat, wool and nonferrous metals for war industry. A most striking example of the prog¬ ress made by Kirghizia is Frunze, the capital of the Republic. The city (for¬ merly called Pishpek) bears the name of the great Soviet military leader in the Civil War (1918-20), who was born there. Not so very long ago Frunze was a tiny dusty township. At present it is a well-built city, graced by gardens and avenues of poplar and oak, its streets paved with asphalt and lined with beautiful buildings of modern construction. FRUNZE—the House of Government at the Kirgizhian capital. « 25 Karelo-Finnish SSR T he Karelo-Finnish Soviet So¬ cialist Republic (Karelia) is situated in the northwestern European part of the USSR, between the White Sea and the Baltic Sea, at the frontier of the USSR and Finland. Karelia is called "the land of lakes, forests and granite.” It lies on an ancient granite bed. Karelia is dotted with a labyrinth of lakes number¬ ing over 26,000 and occupying no less than 15 per cent of its area. The largest lakes in Europe are to be found here— Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. The Kare¬ lian lakes are connected with each other and with the adjacent seas—the White Sea and the Gulf of Finland—by numer¬ ous rivers. The falls of this vast water¬ shed have a tremendous potential for creation of electrical energy. Area — 76,000 sq. miles Population — 469,000 (in former Karelian Autonomous SSR, 1939) Capital — Petrozavodsk; popula¬ tion, 70,000 Two-thirds of the area of the Karelo- Finnish Republic is covered by dense pine and fir forests. In the South, these merge with forests of the famous Kare¬ lian birch, from which valuable furniture and other articles are made. The Karelo- Finnish SSR is rich in granite, diabase, porphyry, sandstone, marble, mica, peg¬ matites, iron, titano-magnetites, non-fer¬ rous metals and peat. Under the tsarist regime, the Karelians were driven from the arable lands to the regions of the marshes and dense forests, where they engaged in lumbering, hunt¬ ing, fishing, and tilling tiny plots of land. They lived in extreme poverty, and were obliged to eat bread made of rye flour mixed with pine bark and straw. The people which had created the im¬ mortal epic poem Kalevala had no writ¬ ten language of their own, and the Kare¬ lian spoken language was practically banned. Even the Russian schools were closed to the children of the poorer classes of the Karelian peasants. Industry was represented by one iron¬ smelting plant in Petrozavodsk, which had been established as far back as the days of Peter I. TIMBER—its lumber is Karelia’s greatest wealth. * 26 PETROZAVODSK—The Severnoya Hotel at the capital. Karelia was a roadless country. Only in the winter, when its rivers, lakes and marshes froze, was it possible to travel at all over the country. It was not until the First World War that the first rail¬ way was built in Karelia, namely, the Murmansk Railway. The whole face of the country was changed after Soviet rule was established. With the aid of the Russian people the Karelians, for the first time in their his¬ tory, set up their own state. In 1923 the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed. In March, 1940, after the Soviet Union had been obliged to eliminate the enemy’s jumping-off place on the Karelian Isthmus, and after peace had been con¬ cluded with Finland, the new regions on the Isthmus and the northwest were joined to Karelia. The Finns in these regions united with their kinsmen, the Soviet Karelians, and the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic was formed with the status of a Union Republic. The basis of Karelia’s economy is timber. Under the Soviet regime timber output increased considerably, and in 1939 reached almost 14,000,000 cubic yards, which was eight times more than the output of 1913. Hand labor gave way to electric saws, tractors and motor trans¬ port. Good roads were laid running into the forests depths, where convenient workers’ settlements were built with large houses, public dining rooms, hos¬ pitals and schools. The communities were equipped with electric light, telephones and radio. The saw milling industry, concentrated at the river mouths on the White Sea coast, increased almost four-fold. The Karelo-Finnish Republic became the largest cellulose and paper making center in the USSR. Important items in Karelia’s economy are the quarrying of granite, diabase and marble, and the extraction of feldspar, mica and pegmatites. Machine building and shipbuilding have also been de¬ veloped. Large hydroelectric stations pro¬ vide power for industry and supply the domestic requirements of the population. Fishing is extensively carried on in the lakes and off the coast of the White Sea. Agriculture has made considerable progress under Soviet rule, mainly in the south of the Republic. Here potatoes and vegetables are the principal crops, al¬ though barley, oats, rye and wheat are also grown. These crops have increased ten-fold compared with the period be¬ fore the Revolution. Marshes have been drained and forests cleared in order to extend the cultivated area. Stock breeding largely takes the form of dairy farming. In the north, reindeer are bred. The Karelo-Finnish Soviet Republic has ceased to be a roadless country. Her territory is now intersected by a number of railways, and canals. The Stalin White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal, 140 miles long, was built in 1933. The Saima Canal connects the Gulf of Finland with Lake Saima. The Karelian population has rapidly increased, and from 1920 to 1939 it doubled. Before Soviet rule only 44 per cent of the entire population were literate and among the Karelians it barely reached 13 per cent. With the introduction of compulsory universal education, literacy became almost universal. In 1939, 95 per cent could read and write. As many as 13 technical schools and three higher edu¬ cational establishments have been opened. Karelian art has revived and is flourish¬ ing. Modern poets, artists and dramatists have appeared. Theaters have been built. The country has hundreds of public libraries and reading and recreation rooms. In the early days of the war, the Karelo-Finnish SSR was invaded by German and Finnish troops, who wrecked cities, destroyed industry, and shot, tor¬ tured or starved the people who refused to submit. Such towns as Kondopoga and Med¬ vezhegorsk were almost wiped from the face of the earth. Petrozavodsk was badly damaged, and many villages simply disappeared. The troops of the Karelian front liber¬ ated Petrozavodsk from the German and Finnish invaders on June 29, 1944. Soon afterward the enemy was driven from the land altogether. The Karelo-Finnish SSR thus was enabled to take its proper place again. The Karelo-Finnish SSR, in its pres¬ ent period of reconstruction, is one vast building project. This is not new con¬ struction, however, but the replacing of the buildings and industries destroyed by the invaders. Plans are under way for expanding the economy of the Republic, built around its great timber industry. A great plant to build prefabricated houses is a prin¬ cipal item in these plans. 27 Moldavian SSR T he Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavia) is situated in the extreme southwest of the USSR on the frontier of Rumania. It occupies an undulating plain between the rivers Pruth and Dniester, extending somewhat beyond the latter river. Only in the mid¬ lands is the plain intersected by low hills covered with oak, beech and birch. The country is rich in building materials such as limestone, brick, clay and sand used for making glass. Before the end of the First World War, Moldavia, the major part of which is Bessarabia, belonged to Russia, but Ru¬ mania seized the country up to the Dnies¬ ter and forcibly Rumanianized it. This caused its economic and cultural decline. The area of cultivation of fruits, vines and tobacco, and the stock of cattle, diminished. Industrial output declined. The number of workers employed in in¬ dustry was reduced by 50 per cent. During the period they were in oc¬ cupation, the Rumanians exterminated over 30,000 of the inhabitants. Three hundred thousand were obliged to flee the country to the USSR and to other Area— 13,000 sq. miles Population— 2,200,000 Capital— Kishinev; population, 110,000 countries. Wretched poverty and high mortality were the lot of the Bessarabian rural districts. Infant mortality among the peasants was as high as 60 per cent. Up to 60 per cent of the total popula¬ tion were illiterate and among the peas¬ ants the figure reached 73 per cent. The Moldavian language and culture were banned, as were those of the other na¬ tionalities inhabiting the country. On the other side of the Dniester the life of the Moldavians was entirely dif¬ ferent. Here, with the aid of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples, the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed, and agriculture, industry, and Moldavian national culture made rapid progress. In June 1940 the injustice of the annexation of Bessarabia by Rumania was removed. Bessarabia was restored to the Soviet Union. On August 2, 1940, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR granted the petition of the Moldavian people in Bessarabia to join with the people in the Moldavian Autonomous Republic to form a Soviet Socialist Republic, which received the status of a Union Republic. Seventy per cent of the population of this Republic are Moldavians, the rest be¬ ing Russians, Ukrainians and Jews. For the first time in their history, the Mol¬ davian people acquired a written lan¬ guage and their own national literature. The number of schools and other cultural institutions in the country increased. The number of school children in¬ creased to a half million. There were three higher educational establishments functioning in the country—an agricul¬ tural and two higher pedagogical schools. In addition there were numerous tech¬ nical schools, attended by 5,000 students. Newspapers were published in the Mol¬ davian and other languages. National the¬ aters were established. Hospitals, dispen¬ saries, maternity homes and children’s creches were built. The Moldavian peasants, formerly landless or almost so, received allotments to develop their husbandry. In Bessarabia alone the peasants received land amount¬ ing to a total of 500,000 acres. Following this, the peasants of the newly affiliated region formed collective farms, and the fertile black earth between the Pruth and Dniester was cultivated with tractors and harvester combines. New orchards and vineyards were planted, mainly on the wooded downs and adjacent valleys of the midlands. Grapes, plums, apples, pears, apricots, peaches and walnuts, to¬ matoes and egg plants were grown. The vineyard area increased to 260,000 acres. Cereal crops took an important place in Moldavia’s agriculture and an extensive area was devoted to wheat, barley and maize. Other crops cultivated on an in¬ creasing scale were sugar beet, tobacco and sunflower. Dairy farming and pig and poultry breeding also became im¬ portant. Fishing was conducted on the Dniester and Pruth. KISHINEV—View of the center of the city. 28 MUSEUM—Ethnographic Museum of the Moldavian SSR. Industry was, in the main, engaged in processing the country’s agricultural pro¬ duce. The most important branches were wine making, meat packing and flour milling; the processing of natural fats and oils; the manufacture of macaroni and tobacco; fruit and vegetable canning, and distilling. The main industrial cen¬ ters of the Republic are: Kishinev, Tiras¬ pol Belzy, Soroky and Bendery. Stone quarrying and brick and tile making were also developed. An oil re¬ finery which had been standing idle for years under the Rumanian regime, was put into operation by the Soviet Govern¬ ment and measures were taken to develop the metal industry, which had scarcely existed in the country. These develop¬ ments, of course, suffered a severe set¬ back after June 1941, but today the devastation is being repaired. Soviet Moldavia was one of the first of the Union Republics to suffer inva¬ sion by German and Rumanian troops. In the dungeons of the Gestapo and the Siguranza, thousands of innocent Moldavian and other peoples of the Re¬ public were shot or tortured to death. More than 63,000 victims were shot or hanged in the territory of this Republic. Approximately 50,000 young Moldavian men and women were driven off to serve as slave laborers. The economy of the Republic, which had made great progress before the war, suffered serious damage. Kishinev, the capital, was almost razed to the ground; 76 per cent of all its buildings were destroyed. Other cities were similarly shattered. All of the power stations, public utility plants and medical institutions were wrecked. Agriculture, transport and industry were shattered. The cattle were driven to Germany and Rumania. The agricultural machinery and implements were de¬ stroyed. The great vineyards and gardens were laid waste. The fascists attempted to enslave the people and to set up a Rumanian prov¬ ince, to be called by them Transistria. In the rear of the enemy, men and women partisans waged constant struggle against the invaders. They wiped out tens of thousands of soldiers and officers, wrecked more than 2,500 locomotives and railway cars, blew up 45 bridges, and destroyed much enemy materiel. Two such partisans, Frolov and Timo- shuk, have been awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Now the Republic has again returned to the Soviet family of nations. The land has been restored to the peasants. Collective and State farms and machine and tractor stations have been restored. Moldavian agriculture has been supplied by the Government of the USSR with 3,500,000 rubles worth of machinery, tens of thousands of heads of cattle and great stores of seed. The Mol¬ davian State budget for 1945 includes a 300 million ruble subsidy from the USSR Government. 29 Lithuanian SSR KAUNAS—View of the city across the Niemen River bridge. T he Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Repurlic (Lithuania) lies on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, on an un¬ dulating plain intersected with numerous lakes and marshes. It has a fertile soil, covered in parts by forests and peat bogs. The country is inhabited by Lithuanians, who constitute 85 per cent of the popu¬ lation, Russians, Jews, Poles and Bye¬ lorussians. Lithuania is vitally connected with the peoples of the USSR by their common struggle against the German invaders and against the tsarist regime; also by their common economic and cultural interests. In 1919 it was torn from Soviet Russia and remained separated for over 20 years. This separation proved fatal for the econ¬ omy of the country. It also retarded the development of the national culture. But in June, 1940, the Lithuanian people overthrew their reactionary rules and, exercising their sovereign rights, adopted the Soviet form of government and economy as the only guarantee of their national independence, free cultural de¬ velopment and rapid economic growth. On July 21, 1940, the National Diet of Lithuania, elected by universal suffrage, proclaimed the country a Soviet Republic, which, on August 3, 1940, affiliated to Area — 24,000 sq. miles Population — 2,880,000 Capital — Vilnius; population, 230,000 the USSR with the status of a Union Republic. The Lithuanian SSR is the leading agricultural republic among the Soviet Socialist Republics of the Baltic coast. The main branches of the economy of Lithuania are the breeding of dairy cat¬ tle and pigs and the cultivation of cereal crops. The crops grown are rye, wheat, oats, barley, flax and sugar beet. Industry in Lithuania was mainly con¬ nected with the processing of agricultural produce. The food industry predominated. Its most important branches were the production of butter, bacon and other meat products and flour. Just before the Second World War the refining of sugar was started. Lithuania also manufactured linen fabrics, yarn, cotton fabrics, leather and tobacco. Sawmills and plywood fac¬ tories were important in Lithuanian in¬ dustry. After its affiliation to the Soviet Union, extensive new industrial development was undertaken in the Republic. Unemploy¬ ment was abolished, and in the course of a year the number of workers engaged in industry increased by 30 per cent. The land became public property, and 1,400,- 000 acres were distributed for cultiva¬ tion among the peasants, who previously had little or no land. The fields began to be cultivated with tractors for the first time in Lithuania’s history and crops in¬ creased greatly as a result. A great stimulus was given to the de¬ velopment of culture and public health. Social insurance was introduced. A free medical service was established. Schools, kindergartens and theaters were opened. The two universities in the country were expanded and for the first time a Lithu¬ anian Academy of Sciences was estab¬ lished. For three of its five years as a Union Republic, the Lithuanian SSR lived under the heel of the fascist invader. But it lived indeed. Throughout the Republic, in the enemy’s rear, guerrilla detach¬ ments fought valiantly for the freedom of the land. Everywhere in the young Republic, the fascist armies found themselves blocked. The Fifth Anniversary of the establish¬ ment of the Republic and its liberation from the Nazi oppression were celebrated together. 30 Latvian SSR T he Latvian Soviet Socialist Re¬ public (Latvia) lies on the coast of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga, on a plain intersected with picturesque hills and deep river valleys and lakes. More than a quarter of the country’s area is covered with timber. Its arable lands are extensive, but fertilizers and drainage are required. Among its most important mineral deposits is peat, estimated at 3,000 million tons. Others are dolomite, limestone, chalk, clay and gypsum. Latvia is inhabited by Letts, constitut¬ ing 59 per cent of the population; Lat- galians, a people kindred to the Letts and constituting 16 per cent of the popu¬ lation, Russians, Jews, Poles, Byelorus¬ sians and Lithuanians. Until the end of the First World War Latvia was part of Russia, connected for many centuries with the Russian nation by common historical and cultural in¬ terests, by the joint struggle against Ger¬ man invasions and against the tsarist autocracy, and by strong economic ties. LATVIA—The Arts Academy. Area— 25,000 sq. miles Population— 1,971,000 Capital— Riga; population, 385,000 In farming, dairy production and meat packing predominated. An important agricultural item was cultivation of grass and fodder, which covered 27 per cent of the planted area. Other crops were oats, rye, barley, wheat, flax and sugar beet. After its affiliation to the USSR, ex¬ tensive industrial development was un¬ dertaken. Old plants were extended and new ones were built. Unemployment was abolished. Tke land became public prop¬ erty and was distributed for cultivation among the peasants, most of whom until then had little or no land. About 75,000 peasants obtained land for the first time. Tractors and modern agricultural ma¬ chinery appeared in the fields. Cultural development took great strides forward. The number of children attend¬ ing school increased by 50 per cent. The universities, the Agricultural Academy, the Academy of Arts and the Conserva¬ toire of Music were reorganized and en¬ larged. During the period when it was sep¬ arated from Russia (1919-39), the coun¬ try was in a constant state of economic distress. Industry declined, and many of the larger plants either closed down or cut down production. Meanwhile, the So¬ viet Union was undergoing vast indus¬ trial and cultural development. On July 21, 1940, the democratically elected National Diet of Latvia pro¬ claimed the country a Soviet Republic; and on August 5 of that year, it affiliated to the USSR with the status of a Union Republic. A new glorious era opened for the Latvian people which, however, was temporarily interrupted by the treacher¬ ous invasion of the USSR by the German fascists. Latvia was predominantly an agricul¬ tural country, but at the same time it had become the most industrialized of the Baltic Republics. Considerable progress was made in the development of electrical engineering. Railway shops and an iron and steel plant functioned. The country’s production included rubber goods, dyes, mineral fertilizers, candles and glassware. The food industry manufactured butter, linseed oil, cheese, meat products, starch, flour, spirits and sugar. Fishing for herring and sprats, was carried on in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga. The country had large sawmills, paper mills, match factories and cement works. Latvia had a number of large electric power stations, outstanding among which were the Riga Power Station with a ca¬ pacity of 35,000 kwts., and the hydro¬ electric power station on the Western Dvina, with a capacity of 75,000 kwts. Soviet Latvia, for 700 years the scene of recurring German invasions, was oc¬ cupied by the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War. Here the battle for Riga was fought. The beautiful cities were wrecked; their avenues were re-named in honor of the barbarous leaders of the invaders. In the three years of occupation, the capital of Riga was one great prison for the people. Sons and daughters of the Re¬ public fought bravely for its freedom and that of the USSR and the world. RIGA—A general view. 31 Estonian SSR T he Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (Estonia) is situated on the Baltic coast, between the Gulfs of Finland and Riga, and on the numerous adjacent islands. The mineral resources of the country are shale—the deposits of which are estimated at five billion tons— peat, phosphorites, dolomites, and blue clay. Until the end of the First World War, Estonia had been part of Russia, and was connected with her by historic joint struggles against invasions by Ger¬ mans and Swedes, and by firm economic ties. During its separation from Russia (1919-39) the country’s economy was in a state of decline, while Russia, having adopted the Soviet system, rapidly fol¬ lowed the path of progress. In June, 1940, the Estonian people overthrew the reactionary clique that governed the country and elected a demo¬ cratic State Diet which proclaimed the country a Soviet Republic. On August 6, 1940, Estonia affiliated to the USSR with the status of a Union Republic. The Area— 18,000 sq. miles Population— 1,131,000 Capital— Tallinn; population, U7J000 move gave fresh impetus to the country’s economic and cultural development. Estonia is inhabited by Estonians— who constitute 88 per cent of the popula¬ tion—and Russians. The urban population constitutes about 30 per cent of the whole. Before the invasion of the German fascists, Estonian industry was fairly well developed. The textile industry was rep¬ resented by the two large Kreenholm and Baltic cotton mills, three cloth mills and nine linen mills. It had large shipbuild¬ ing yards, railway car and cement works, saw and paper mills, and match and wood¬ working factories. The highly developed food industry produced natural fats, bacon and flour Fishing was carried on in the Baltic. Over 1,600,000 tons of shale were mined annually and converted into gaso¬ line and lubricating oil. The shale-refin¬ ing industry of Estonia was the largest of its kind in the world. After Estonia affiliated to the USSR extensive industrial development was undertaken. Old plants were expanded and the construction of new ones begun. In one year of Soviet rule the country’s industrial output increased 63 per cent. Agriculture was mechanized. The land was nationalized and tens of thousands of peasants with little or no land received plots. Unemployment was abolished. The number of children attending school increased 33 per cent. Soviet Estonia’s occupation by Nazi troops early in the war was her second occupation by German invaders in three decades. Her people fought bravely. The struggle ended in the autumn of 1944 when Red Army troops, including the Estonian National Guards Corps, drove the Germans from the land. TALLINN—View of the capital of the Estonian SSR. 32 ARMENIAN SSR TURKMEN SSR GEORGIAN SSR TAJIK SSR KAZAKH SSR UZBEK SSR LITHUANIAN SSR LATVIAN SSR ESTONIAN SSR