"SOVIET PATROIT" CALLS FOR IMPROVED SOVIET CIVIL DEFENSE

Created: 4/27/1956

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

Copy No. oUpril 6

CURRENT SUPPORT MEMORANDUM

"SOVIET PATRIOT" CALLS FOR IMPROVED SOVIET CIVIL DEFENSE

OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

Thb report repreienti iho Immediate view* of ihe originating intelligence components of thef Research and Reporft. Comments are solicited.

CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM RELEASE AS SANITIZED

of

This document contains informs

Ihe United Stales, within thernewfilng of the espionage laws. Ti USC,ndJie<The transmission or revelation of which in' any unauthorised person is prohibited by law.

"SOVIET PATRIOT- CALLS FOR IKPROVED SOVIET CIVIL" nTTEKSE

Articlesew Soviet newspaper, "Sovietro publicizing Soviet civil defense to incroaso public awareness of the threat of modern weapons and facilitate recruitment of civilworkers. In an important article for the new paper, Marshall Semyon Budenny doclared that the home front defense problem had grown immeasurably and that atomic and chemical defense trainii now directly concerned every Soviet citizen.

Heretofore civil defense has not been publicized extensively in the USSR. 1/ Tho appearance of the now newspaper andof Soviet leaders seem to indicate that any supposed easing of international tension will not be permitted to weaken Soviet Bloc defense attitudes.

The appearanco of this paper follows Zhukov's call foremphasis on civil defense ln his speech toh2/ Beforo this, the commander of the Kiev Militarysaid that assistance should be given to civil defense units in "reorganizing thoir activities in accordance with present day/ It ls probableecision was made last year to reorganize the civil defense system of the USSR,by Soviet nuclear weapons tests and the "wide scalequestions of protectingnnounced by TASS at the time. J.

In the past civil,defense in the USSR has generally stressed the use of air raid shelter in dwellings and places of work, tho use of existing facilities and organizations for civil defense, and wide-spread training of civilians in first aid, and air and chemical defense. 4/ Reported<preparations wore more appropriate for defense agalnsT weapons of the type used in World War II than against prosent-day nuclear weapons. Information on atomic weapons disseminated to the Soviet public45pparently was limited to knowledge of tho low yield weapons which were used against Japan during World War II.

Analyst:

CIA. R, E-1, OFF USE

CIA. FBIS, Survey of USSR Broadcasts, Vol. IX No. 5. C

CIA. FBIS, USSR/EE, ebD-1, OFF USE

CIA. , S

State, oc OFF USE Air,

pril6 CURRENT SUPPORT MEMORANDUM2

SECRE1

Original document.

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