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CENTRAL ASIAN REVIEW

A quarterly review of current developments

in Soviet Central Asia and

Kazakhstan.

The area covered in this Review embraces the five S.S R. of Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, Kirgizia,

Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. According to Soviet classification “ Central Asia" (Srednyaya

Aziya) comprises only the first four of these, Kazakhstan being regarded as a separate area.

Issued by the Central Asian Research Centre in association with St. Antony's College (Oxford) Soviet Affairs Study Group.

PRICE : SEVEN SHILLINGS & SIXPENCE

Vol. III. No. 1. 1955.

CENTRAL A sian Review and other papers issued by the Central Asian Research Centre are under the general editorship of Geoffrey Wheeler, 66 King's Road, London, S.W.3 and David Footman, St. Antony's College, Oxford.CENTRAL A sian Review aims at presenting a coherent and objective picture of current developments in the five Soviet Socialist Republics of Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, Kirgizia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan as these are reflected in Soviet publications.The subscription rate is Thirty Shillings per year, post free. The price of single copies is Seven Shillings and Sixpence.

Distribution Agents:Messrs. Luzac & Co. Ltd.,

46, Great Russell Street,LONDON W.C.1.

CENTRAL ASIAN REVIEW

CONTENTS

PageIndustry

Thirty Years of Industrial Development in Turkmenistan 1

Sredazneft : Central Asian Oil Authority 8

Central Asian Fisheries 14

Communications

Bail ways and Waterways in Kirgizia 20

Agriculture

Silk : A Traditional Industry 26

Life on the New Lands of Kazakhstan 32

Economics

Central Asian Budget Debates and Plans 37

Public Services

Health Services in Central Asia 45

Electric Power in Kazakhstan 55

Archaeology

1953 Expeditions in Kirgizia 61

Cultural Affairs

Higher Education in Uzbekistan 68

Islamic Studies in Russia : Part I I 76

Vq|. III. No. 1.

1955

Turkmenistan facing page 2

Uzbekistan ,, ,, 8

Fergana Valley ,, ,, 10

Kirgizia ,, ,, 20

Tadzhikistan » ,, 26

Kazakhstan ,, „ 56

Altai Kegion „ ,, 58

Illustrations

West-Kazakhstan Steppe ,, ,, 32

Archaeological sketches 62

Maps

C E N T R A L A S I A N R E V I E W

V O L U M E I I I

EDITORIAL NOTE

During 1955 c e r t a in m o d if ic a tio n s -w ill be in tro d u ced in to C entral. A sian Review i n resp on se to c r i t i c i s m s and su g g e stio n s from re a d e rs .

As a lre a d y announced in No.4 o f V o l . I I th e system o f grouping a r t i c l e s under r e p u b lic s i s b e in g abandoned in fav o u r o f grouping by s u b je c t s . I t i s hoped th a t t h i s -w ill r e s u l t i n a more com prehensive tre a tm en t o f economic and to some e x te n t o f c u l tu r a l developm ents. The growing p a r t p lay ed by C e n tra l A sia in a ll-U n io n economy i s ten d in g to in c r e a s e c e n t r a l c o n tr o l o f C e n tra l A sia and K azakhstan as an in te g r a te d r e g io n a l economic u n i t . The same tend ency i s o b serv a b le to a l e s s e r degree in c u l t u r a l c o n tr o l and d ir e c t io n . The new system w i l l n o t , however, p reclu d e th e trea tm en t o f econom ic and c u l t u r a l developm ents in in d iv id u a l r e p u b lic s where t h i s seems a p p ro p r ia te .

P la n s a re in p ro g re ss f o r th e com plete r e v is io n o f th e maps is s u e d w ith th e Review . The new maps w i l l in c lu d e more p lace-nam es and p h y s ic a l f e a t u r e s , and t h e i r s c a le s w i l l be co o rd in a te d to f a c i l i t a t e r e fe r e n c e .

F in a l ly , a b ib l io g r a p h ic a l n o te w i l l be added as a permanent f e a t u r e . T h is w i l l in c lu d e b r i e f n o t ic e s o f some o f th e books and a r t i c l e s on C e n tra l A sian s u b je c t s ap p earin g i n th e USSR and i s d esign ed to in tro d u ce r e s e a r c h s tu d e n ts to a w ider range o f m a te r ia l th an i t i s f e a s ib le to in c o rp o ra te i n th e body o f th e Review .

INDUSTRY

I N D U S T R Y

T H I R T Y Y E A R S O P I N D U S T R I A L

D E V E L O P M E N T I N T U R K M E N I S T A N

In T s a r i s t tim es th e T ran scasp ian t e r r i t o r y had few in d u s t r ie s . There were in d eed some c o tto n -g in n in g m il ls in th e i r r ig a t e d d i s t r i c t s round Ashkhabad, Merv (M ary), B airam -A li and Chardzhou; b y -p ro d u cts o f c o tto n in th e form o f c o tto n -s e e d o i l and soap were made a t B a ira m -A li; th e is la n d o f C heleken, o f f th e e a s t sh ore o f th e C aspian , produced some crude o i l ; Ashkhabad and K iz y l-A rv a t had ra ilw ay workshops, and Krasnovodsk and Chardzhou had s h ip -r e p a ir in g y a rd s . Wine was made a t Ashkhabad and th e re were some f lo u r m il ls and b r ic k and lim e w orks.But a l l th e se u n d ertak in gs were sm all con cern s and th ey su p p lied m arkets th a t were p u re ly l o c a l .

W ith th e e s ta b lish m e n t o f th e Turkmen SSR in 1924, th e in d u s tr ia l , p ic tu r e began g ra d u a lly to change. The au thors o f th e F iv e -Y e a r P la n s thought in term s o f s e t t in g up new in d u s tr ie s b e s id e s expanding th o se th a t a lre a d y e x is te d . Much more c o tto n was grown so th a t more g in n in g m il ls were needed. P ro s p e c to rs , g e o lo g is ts and m ining e n g in e e rs d isco v e re d re s o u rc e s underground o f which l i t t l e had h i th e r to been known. New o i l f i e l d s were found and d e p o s its o f c o a l , su lp h u r, sodium s u lp h a te , io d in e , brom ine and o z o c e r i te . New l i g h t in d u s tr ie s were s ta r te d , and g la s s , fo o tw ear, s i l k , wool and c o tto n f a b r i c s , canned f i s h , fu r s and c a rp e ts were put on th e m arket. Today, some o f the in d u s tr ie s o f Turkm enistan have an a ll-U n io n i n t e r e s t : crude o i l ,su lp hu r, s u lp h a te s , f is h -c a n n in g , s i l k and c o tto n , k a ra k u l s k in s , and c a r p e ts . O thers a re im p ortan t f o r C e n tra l A sia on ly , and to some e x te n t fox W estern S ib e r ia : g lassw are , p o t te r y , f u r f a b r i c s , conveyorb e l t in g , and c e r t a in b u ild in g m a te r ia ls .

A g la n ce a t th e map o f th e Turkmen re p u b lic shows th a t i t i s s u b s ta n t ia l ly a v a s t d e s e r t , f r in g e d by a ra ilw ay system shaped l i k e th e l e t t e r U. And, n a tu r a l ly , i t i s a lon g t h i s ra ilw a y system - w ith one e x c e p tio n - th a t th e re p u b lic has grown in d u s t r i a l ly .

Turkm enistan’ s w estern boundary l i e s along th e C aspian S e a . Of r e c e n t y e a rs i t s w ater l e v e l has f a l l e n so low th a t what was once th e K ara-B ogaz-G ol bay has now become a la k e . As t h is la k e i s a lm ost

INDUSTRY

e n t i r e l y surrounded by h o t d e s e r t co u n try , i t s w aters evaporate r a p id ly , and to p rev en t i t s d ry ing up co m p lete ly , more w ater has to be pumped in from th e s e a . E v ap o ra tio n le a v e s b eh in d d e p o s its o f sodium su lp h a te , and th e s e have been e x p lo ite d . Large q u a rr ie s are b e in g worked and a su lp h a te kom binat has b een b u i l t . P ro d u ctio n methods have, however, proved somewhat u n s a t is fa c to r y , owing la r g e ly to th e sh o rtag e o f s o f t w ater, and th e a u th o r i t ie s r e c e n t ly d ecid ed to in tro d u ce a new tech n iq u e .

Some f i f t y m ile s sou th o f th e la k e l i e s Krasnovodsk, a busy r a i l term inu s and s e a p o r t . Nearby l i e th e N ebit-D ag o i l f i e l d s ; th e se f i e l d s , whose ou tpu t i s som ething l ik e m il l io n ton s a y e a r , were d e sc r ib e d in a r e c e n t is s u e o f t h i s Review ( V o l . I I , N o.2 ) . Krasnovodsk a ls o has f a c t o r i e s f o r canning, s a l t in g and smoking f i s h .

U n t i l r e c e n t ly c o a l was mined i n th e Yagman f i e l d which l i e s betw een Krasnovodsk and N ebit-D ag . M ining ceased when th e seams were worked o u t, b u t some g e o lo g is ts th in k th a t th e re i s s t i l l enough c o a l in th e f i e l d to ju s t i f y i t s b e in g reopened. T h is a re a a ls o c o n ta in s s u p p lie s o f n a tu r a l g a s , and t h i s i s b e in g used in N eb it-D ag f o r b o th i n d u s t r i a l and dom estic p u rp oses.

I t has a lre a d y b een m entioned th a t b e fo re th e R ev o lu tio n th e re were ra ilw a y workshops a t K iz y l-A rv a t. S in c e th en th ey have b een g r e a t ly e n la rg e d and th ey a re now one o f th e r e p u b l ic 's b ig g e s t en g in e e rin g w orks. Of th e se works a corresp ond en t o f Turkmenskaya I s k r a w r ite s th a t h e re th e long-condem ned p r a c t ic e o f shock-w ork ( shturm ovshchina) has r a i s e d i t s head and th e w orking quotas a re n o t u s u a lly ach iev ed u n t i l th e l a s t te n days o f th e month. And th e works d id n o t f u l f i l t h e i r 1953 programme. At K iz y l-A rv a t th e re a re a ls o f a c t o r i e s f o r p ro c e s s in g meat and cann ing f i s h . At Bezm ein cement i s made.

A hundred and f o r t y m ile s down th e ra ilw a y l in e l i e s th e r e p u b l i c 's c a p i t a l , Ashkhabad (s e e V o l . I , N o.2 o f t h i s R eview ). I t i s a growing in d u s t r i a l c i t y , and i t produces a wide range o f m an u factu res.

A h ig h p ro p o rtio n o f th e c i t y ' s la b o u r f o r c e i s engaged i n m eta l w orking and e n g in e e r in g . The K rasn y i M olot and K rasn y i M e t a l l i s t f a c t o r i e s make w a te r -ta n k s , o i l b a r r e l s , hardware and ho llow -w are. An o f fs h o o t o f th e l a t t e r fa c t o r y has r e c e n t ly been l a i d down and i t w i l l have fo u n d rie s and e n g in e e r in g shops f o r producing t o o ls , hollow -w are and o th e r m eta l goods f o r th e g e n e ra l m arket. O ther f a c t o r i e s tu rn out a g r ic u l t u r a l im plem ents and d ie s e l e n g in e s . There a re s e v e r a l shops th a t r e p a ir motor v e h ic le s , and a t th e c i t y ’ s N o .l shop a new diamond b o r in g m achine, i n s t a l l e d i n 1953 , has r a is e d th e ou tpu t o f c y lin d e rs two and a h a l f tim e s .

2

T U R K M E N SOVI ET S OCI AL I S T R E P U B L I C

INDUSTRY

A ccording to th e lo c a l p re s s th ese f a c t o r i e s do n o t always produce t h e i r goods q u ick ly enough and t h e i r q u a lity i s n o t up to stan d ard . Turkmenskaya I s k r a s a id th a t t y th e 20 th May 1954 th e K rasn y i M olot p la n t had d e liv e re d only 1 .5 6 5 b a r r e l s and 16 tan k s out o f i t s annual quota o f 5000 b a r r e ls and 166 ta n k s . S t i l l w orse, th e K rasn y i M e t a l l i s t p la n t had n o t even begun to make tanks a t a l l , though th ey were needed u rg e n tly . "Goods produced by th e se f a c t o r i e s a re o f v ery poor q u a lity , b u t th e c h ie f o f a departm ent a t th e M in is try o f L o ca l In d u s t r ie s , Comrade P e in b e rg , in s te a d o f o rg a n iz in g the m anufacture o f b a r r e l s f o r p etro leu m p ro d u cts , j u s t i f i e s the f a c t o r i e s ' d ir e c to r s by say in g th a t th ey la c k the n e c e s sa ry machine t o o l s . "

A nother o f Ashkhabad's le a d in g in d u s tr ie s i s t e x t i l e s . C o tto n , s i l k and wool a re p ro ce ssed h e re . Workers a t th e D z e rz h in sk ii m i l l , where c o tto n i s b o th spun and woven, produced in 1952 about 1^ m il l io n m etres o f f a b r i c more than t h e i r a l lo t t e d q u a n tity - an in c r e a s e o f 4 1 .7 p e r c e n t over 1950. In 1953 they d id s t i l l b e t t e r and in th e f i r s t q u a rte r o f 1954 th ey tu rn ed out 471)000 m etres above t h e i r quota, and a t 97*6 p e r c e n t o f th e p rev io u s c o s t . T h is m il l has i t s own hou sin g e s t a t e , s t i l l under c o n s tr u c t io n . L a s t y e a r 12 b lo c k s o f 10 f l a t s each were ready f o r o ccu p atio n ; roads were a sp h a lte d and some thousand young t r e e s p la n te d alon g them. Gardens have b een l a i d out and have about 7 0 ,0 0 0 shrubs growing i n th e b ed s.

S i l k i s r e e le d a t th e E ig h th o f March m i l l . T h is m i l l was s t a r t e d 26 y e a rs ago and s in c e th en has handled more th an 500 m i l l io n r u b le s ' w orth o f raw m a te r ia l . Output in c re a s e d as tim e went on and i t i s now 6-g- tim es what i t was i n th e f i r s t y e a r . Q u a lity has improved to o . N e v e rth e le ss th e m i l l d id n o t re a ch i t s 1953 ta r g e t and, a cco rd in g to th e p r e s s , i t shared w ith a s im ila r m i l l a t Chardzhou th e r e s p o n s ib i l i t y f o r a lo s s o f s e v e r a l hundred thousand r u b le s .

Wool p ro c e s s in g ta k e s th e form o f wool w ashing and ca rd in g , and th e making o f k n i t t e d w ear. Ashkhabad f a c t o r i e s a re equipped w ith modem au tom atic m achines f o r k n i t t in g h o s ie ry , b u t Turkmenskaya I s k r a say s th a t th e q u a li ty i s p oo r. I t a l le g e s th a t th e works have no p rop er dyeing shops and hence r e s o r t to m a k e sh ifts ; f a b r i c s a re dyed i n a b o i l e r and hung out to dry on a fe n c e in th e y ard . What i s more - "sh o ck work i s th e u su a l r o u t in e , th e o rg a n iz a tio n o f work i s f a r from s a t i s f a c t o r y , and a g e n e ra l s la c k n e s s p r e v a i l s . "

One o f th e c i t y 8 s new est in d u s t r ia l p la n ts i s a la rg e fo o tw ear f a c t o r y . I t i s equipped w ith u p -to -d a te au tom atic m achinery and went in to p ro d u ctio n e a r ly i n 1954* I t i s exp ected to tu rn out som ething l i k e 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 p a ir s o f b o o ts and shoes every y e a r . A new m echanized

3

IN D U ST R Y .

g la s s fa c t o r y was a ls o due to s t a r t p ro d u ctio n in 1954*

A shkhabad's fo o d s tu ffs in d u stry in c lu d e s a m eat-packing fa c t o r y , some f is h -c a n n in g p la n ts , d i s t i l l e r i e s , wine f a c t o r i e s and some o th e r fo o d -p ro c e ss in g u n d ertak in g s. There are 121 workshops - f o rc o b b le r s , t a i l o r s , lo ck sm ith s, m echanics, and b ic y c le r e p a ir e r s - most o f w hich l i e i n th e c e n tre o f th e c i t y .

Some 150 m ile s n o rth o f th e c a p i t a l , i n th e h e a r t o f th e Kara-Rum d e s e r t , su lp h u r i s mined a t D arvaza and S e m y i Zavod (R u ssia n f o r "su lp h u r f a c t o r y " ) . I t i s sm elted a t th e l a t t e r town, and as th e re i s no ra ilw a y h e re , th e cak es a re tra n sp o rte d to th e c a p i t a l by road . The b u ild in g o f houses f o r th e m iners a t th e se two p la c e s was r e c e n t ly re p o rte d .

A l i t t l e over 200 m ile s e a s t o f Ashkhabad l i e s the co tto n -g ro w in g v a l le y o f th e Murgab r iv e r . Here - a t Io la ,ta n , B a iram -A li and the ra ilw a y ju n c t io n o f Mary - a re th ree o f th e r e p u b l ic 's la r g e s t g in n in g m i l l s . A ll th re e were r e f i t t e d w ith u p -to -d a te m achinery in 1953 > in c lu d in g new down s e p a ra to rs which have r a is e d output by 18 to 20 p er c e n t . At th e Mary and B a iram -A li m il ls c o tto n -s e e d i s now weighed a u to m a tic a lly - an in n o v a tio n th a t i s sav in g a l o t o f la b o u r . Mary a ls o has f a c t o r i e s f o r canning f r u i t and m eat, and a new m eat-cann ing p la n t was due to be opened in 1954 a t Sandykachi, sou th o f I o la t a n . ( Readers o f V o l . I I No.3 o f t h i s Review w i l l r e c a l l th a t Mary l i e s on th e l in e o f th e p r o je c te d Kara-Kum c a n a l, the e a s te r n p o rt io n o f w hich i s a lre a d y under c o n s t r u c t io n .)

N o rth -e a s t o f Mary, 140 m ile s away, i s th e ra ilw a y ju n c tio n , r iv e r p o r t and in d u s t r ia l town o f Chardzhou. I t l i e s on th e Amu-Darya r i v e r (O xus) and, as h as a lre a d y been n o ted , i t p o sse sse d s h ip -r e p a ir in g yards b e fo r e th e R e v o lu tio n . Today, c o tto n g in n in g and e n g in e e r in g a re i t s main in d u s t r ie s . B e s id e s i t s lo c o m o tiv e -re p a ir w orks, and shops f o r s e r v ic in g a g r ic u l t u r a l m achinery and motor v e h ic le s , Chardzhou i s to have a la r g e e x c a v a to r w orks, w hich, i n s p i te o f b e in g under c o n s tr u c t io n f o r seven y e a rs , were s t i l l n o t com pleted by A p r il 1954* N e v e rth e le ss th ey were s u f f i c i e n t l y advanced to s t a r t b u ild in g th e "PZU- Chardzhou 1 " 300 h .p . d ie se l, su c tio n -d re d g e rs f o r use on th e Kara-Kum c a n a l, in a d d itio n to t h e i r ro u tin e ta s k o f s e r v ic in g d ie s e l en g in es and r e p a ir in g e x c a v a to rs f o r c o tto n grow ing. The d e lay i n com pleting th e works has b een commented on in th e new spapers, which p o in t out th a t a lth ou g h two o f f i c i a l b o d ies - th e Turkmen a u th o r ity f o r th e m ech an izatio n o f e x c a v a tio n and th e D ir e c to r a te o f W ater Supply C o n stru c tio n o f th e M in is try o f A g r ic u ltu re - a re jo i n t l y re s p o n s ib le f o r t h e i r c o n s tr u c t io n , n e ith e r o f them w i l l commit i t s e l f to say in g

4

INDUSTRY

when th e works w i l l be com pleted.

Chardzhou’ s No. 1 c o tto n -g in n in g m il l i s among th e la r g e s t in th e r e p u b lic , and, l i k e th o se a t o th e r im p ortan t g in n in g c e n tr e s , has r e c e n t ly been r e f i t t e d w ith modern m achines, in c lu d in g new d ie s e l en g in es which have in c re a s e d output c a p a c ity by 50 p e r c e n t . But acco rd in g to Turkmenskaya I s k r a , d e s p ite th e new m achinery, th in g s were n o t going w e ll a t th e m i l l . "Frequ ent a c c id e n ts and b reak ag es o f m achinery a re re p o rte d from N o .l Chardzhou c o tto n -g in n in g m i l l ; th e se have become a read, sco u rg e. During th e f i r s t s i x months o f 1953, 26 a c c id e n ts r e s u lt in g in suspensions o f work f o r 2 to 3 hours each took p la c e , and how many o th e rs were th e re o f l e s s than an hour?" The m i l l c s d ir e c to r and c h ie f en g in eer a re s a id to a t t r i b u t e th e se a c c id e n ts to o b s o le te equipment.

The p ro c e s s in g o f ju t e i s som ething new f o r Turkm enistan, and i t i s a t Chardzhou th a t a ju t e m i l l has been s ta r te d . O ther in d u s t r ia l u n d ertak in gs in th e town in clu d e a s ilk -w in d in g m i l l , ta n n e r ie s , co tto n -w o o l and k n i t t e d wear m i l l s , and f r u it -c a n n in g f a c t o r i e s .There i s a ls o an oxygen fa c to r y which su p p lie s b o th in d u stry and a g r ic u l tu r e . E a r ly i n 1954 7 ,0 0 0 c u b ic m etres o f oxygen were d e liv e re d to th e MTS o f th e Chardzhou and Tashauz o b la s ts .

In th e s o u th -e a s te rn c o m e r o f th e re p u b lic su lp h u r, copper and s a l t a re mined round Gaurdak and K ugitang-Tau . The sulphur i s sm elted l o c a l l y . There a re some c o a l d e p o s its a t K u gitang-Tau b u t as i t has no ra ilw a y , t h e i r w orking i s on a sm all s c a le . T h is may however change b e fo r e long as a b ran ch l in e was s t a r t e d h ere e a r ly in 1954* Meanwhile houses are b e in g b u i l t f o r m iners a t Gaurdak, b e s id e s a d isp en sary , a k in d e rg a rte n and a c re c h e .

In th e n o r th -e a s te r n p a r t o f th e re p u b lic th e b ig g e s t town i s Tashauz. S itu a te d on th e Amu-Darya r iv e r , i t was to have been th e s t a r t in g p o in t o f th e p r o je c te d Main Turkmen C anal, b u t in th e ab sen ce o f news about t h i s g ig a n t ic u n d ertak in g , th e fu tu re development o f Tashauz must be co n sid e re d as u n c e r ta in . At p re s e n t i t has two c o tto n g in n in g m i l l s , b o th o f which were re c o n s tru c te d i n 1953 , r e s u l t in g i n a 20-25 p e r c e n t in c r e a s e o f o u tp u t. U y-products from th e se m i l l s are made in to c o tto n -s e e d o i l and soap a t o th e r f a c t o r i e s i n th e town, b u t a t th e o i l f a c t o r y p ro d u ctio n has been somewhat i r r e g u la r .

Such i s th e g e n e ra l p ic tu r e o f th e r e p u b l i c 's in d u stry tod ay . S t a t i s t i c s o f th e output o f th e v ario u s in d u s tr ie s in 1950 show th e fo llo w in g p e rcen tag e in c r e a s e s over 1945 -

5

INDUSTRY

Crude o i l 220Sulphur 60E l e c t r i c power 68Raw s i l k 74Soap 150K n itte d wear 670C otton wool 150C otton yarn 130

In 1952 , however, a lth ou gh the in d u s t r ia l programme was in the main c a r r ie d o u t, th e re were 20 u n d ertak in gs th a t d id n o t produce t h e i r q u o tas . The sh o rtag e was estim a te d a t some 155 m il l io n r u b le s .

I t seems th a t in d u s t r ia l p ro g ress in g e n e ra l has been much hampered by th e backw ardness o f th e b u ild in g in d u s try . There have been s e r io u s sh o rta g e s o f tim b er, b r ic k s , c o n c re te b lo c k s , t i l e s and cem ent, as a r e s u l t o f which th e G en eral D ir e c to r a te o f I n d u s t r ia l B u ild in g la t e r ia l s com pleted on ly 59 p e r c e n t o f i t s 1953 programme. I t was much th e same w ith th e M in is try o f C iv i l Housing C o n stru c tio n , though th ey d id somewhat b e t t e r a t 87 p e r c e n t . The tro u b le appears to be th a t th e r e a re n ot enough f a c t o r i e s producing b u ild in g m a te r ia ls . A ccording to one r e p o r te r - MA ra p id development o f th e b u ild in g m a te r ia ls in d u stry i s thus n e ce ssa ry h e r e . In a d d itio n to th e goods i t a lread y p rod u ces, th e re i s an u rgen t need f o r ceram ic b lo c k s , t i l e s , tim b er s u b s t i t u t e s , in s u la t in g m a te r ia ls e t c . E xp erien ce has shown th a t though betw een 1946 and 1950 p ro d u ctio n programmes were f u l l y c a r r ie d o u t, to d a y 's demand g r e a t ly exceed s th e s u p p ly ."

As to th e fu tu r e o f th e r e p u b l i c 's in d u stry , th e re a re some am bitiou s p r o je c t s i n hand. I t i s proposed to g e n e ra te tw ice th e amount o f e l e c t r i c power th a t i s b e in g g en era ted tod ay . P o w e r-s ta tio n s a re p lanned f o r th e o i l f i e l d a re a , f o r Ashkhabad, Chardzhou and th e Mary o b la s t . T h is w i l l e n t a i l the development o f th e c o a l f i e ld s a t K u gitan g- Tau, Tuarkyr and Yagman. The output o f b r ic k s i s to be t r e b le d . Large foo tw ear and fu r n itu r e f a c t o r i e s , d a ir ie s and b a k e r ie s a re to be b u i l t a t Ashkhabad and Chardzhou, and a superphosphate f a c t o r y a t Gaurdak. The p re s e n t p ro d u ctio n o f canned v e g e ta b le s i s to be m u lt ip lie d by n in e in 1955 and th e c o tto n m il ls and k n itte d -w e a r f a c t o r i e s are to double t h e i r o u tp u t. The s i l k - r e e l i n g m il ls a re to be supplem ented by new p la n ts which w i l l sp in and weave s i l k , and th e re i s to be a s im ila r in n o v a tio n in the p ro c e s s in g o f w ool. And, f i n a l l y , th e re i s th e Kara-Kum Canal p r o je c t w hich can h a rd ly f a i l to e x e r t a s tro n g in flu e n c e on th e r e p u b l ic 's economy.

6

INDUSTRY

Sou rces

1 . Z .G . P r e ik in . Turkmenskaya SSR. Moscow, 1954*

2 . C e n tra l A sian P r e s s .

INDUSTRY

I N D U S T R Y

S R E D A Z N E P T : T H E C E N T R A L

A S I A N O I L A U T H O R I T Y

O rg an iza tio n and development - A ndizhanneft - K a lin in n e f t - Term ezneft - R e fin in g .

The S re d a z n e ft a u th o r ity ( i . e . C e n tra l A sian O il a u th o r ity ) works fo u r te e n o i l f i e l d s i n U zbek istan , K ir g iz ia , and T a d z h ik is ta n through an o rg a n iz a tio n o f th re e s u b s id ia r ie s - A ndizhanneft, K a lin in n e f t , and T erm ezneft - to g e th e r w ith s i x a n c i l la r y b o d ie s - S red azn efterazv ed k a (C e n tr a l A sian O il P ro sp e c tin g a u th o r i ty ) , S re d a z b u m e ft (C e n tr a l A sian O il D r i l l in g a u th o r i ty ) , S r e d a z n e f te s tr o i (C e n tr a l A sian O il B u ild in g a u th o r i ty ) , Sred azn eftezavod y (C e n tr a l A sian O il R e f in e r i e s ) , and two e n g in e e r in g works which c o n s tr u c t and re c o n d it io n equipm ent.

The Fergan a o i l f i e l d s were f i r s t worked in 1904 , b u t b e fo r e 1935 t h e i r t o t a l annual p ro d u ctio n n ev er exceeded 6 0 ,0 0 0 to n s . In th e Surkhan-D arya b a s in o i l was d isco v e re d in in d u s t r i a l q u a n t i t ie s i n 1934 : th e f i r s t o f th e s e f i e l d s - Khaudag - was brought in t o o p e ra tio n i n 1935> th e second - Uch-Kzyl - in 1936 , and th e t h i r d - K o k aity - in 1951* Betw een 1944 and 1947 th e d isco v e ry o f la r g e new re s o u rc e s in th e n o r th e a s te r n p a r t o f th e Fergana V a lle y brought a f r e s h assessm en t o f th e p o t e n t i a l i t i e s o f th e C e n tra l A sian o i l f i e l d s . These d is c o v e r ie s made i t p o s s ib le to s e t th e crude o i l p ro d u ctio n t a r g e t f o r 1950 a t 1 , 246,000 to n s , seven tim es th e 1940 f ig u r e , (U zb ek istan 1 ,1 0 6 ,0 0 0 to n s , K ir g iz ia 8 0 ,0 0 0 to n s , T a d z h ik is ta n 6 0 ,0 0 0 to n s ) . S e v e ra l g e o lo g is ts , among them O.D. V ig a lo v and I . P . Zubov, r e c e iv e d S t a l i n p r iz e s f o r t h e i r work in p ro s p e c tin g th e new f i e l d s .

The developm ent o f crude o i l p ro d u ctio n i s in d ic a te d i n th e fo llo w in g t a b le , which has been com piled on th e b a s i s o f p re-w ar s t a t i s t i c s , p ro d u ctio n ta r g e t s f o r 1950, and e s tim a te s c a lc u la te d on a b a s i s o f average p erce n ta g e in c r e a s e s f o r 1952, 1953 and 1954 :

8

U Z B E K SOVI ET SOCI ALI ST R E P U B L I C

Royal Geographical Society

INDUSTRY

Crude O il Output in C e n tra l A sia

Y ear M e tr ic Tons

19051910191519201925193019341935 1940 1945 1950 193219531954

3 3 .7 0 0 28,500 3 0 ,6 0 016.700 1 8 ,9 0 0 3 9 ,2 0 063,000

160,000185,000295,000

A ndizhanneft

A ndizhaim eft c o n tr o ls seven f i e l d s , fo u r in U zb ek istan - a t Andizhan, Yuzhnyi Alamyshik, P a lv a n ta sh , and Khodzhiabad, and th r e e in K ir g iz ia - a t C hangyrtash, M a i l i -S a i , and Is b a s k e n t .

The Andizhan f i e l d l i e s f i f t e e n k ilo m e tre s to th e sou th o f Andizhan town. G e o lo g ic a l survey and g e o p h y sica l in v e s t ig a t io n le d to th e d isco v e ry o f o i l in d ic a t io n s h e re i n 1937* The f i r s t o i l was o b ta in e d i n 19455 th e f i e l d came in to re g u la r p ro d u ctio n i n 1947* I t y ie ld e d more th an th e a ss ig n e d quota in 1953 -

E x p lo ra to ry d r i l l i n g i s s t i l l in p ro g re s s ; as th e r e s u l t o f work i n 1953 many new w e lls came in to o p e ra tio n in 1954* The g e o lo g ic a l in v e s t ig a t io n s and d r i l l i n g were c a r r ie d out so th orou gh ly th a t every o th e r w e ll d r i l l e d y ie ld e d o i l . E ig h ty p e r c e n t o f th e Andizhan w e lls axe b o red w ith tu rb in e d r i l l s ; t h i s d r i l l , in use f o r th e f i r s t tim e i n C e n tra l A sia , a llo w s th e ro ck to b e removed w ith ou t th e b i t b e in g l i f t e d ou t - an o p e ra tio n u s u a lly ta k in g s e v e r a l h o u rs .

P ro s p e c tin g began a t Yuzhnyi Alamyshik - 23 k ilo m e tre s e a s t o f th e Andizhan o i l f i e l d - a s e a r ly as 1 932 , and in d ic a t io n s were met w ith i n 1937* O il was n o t, however, o b ta in ed i n in d u s t r i a l q u a n tity u n t i l 1945 and o p e ra tio n s began i n e a rn e s t on ly i n 1947* The p re s s d e s c r ib e s i t as th e b e s t f i e l d o f th e -whole S re d a z n e ft a u th o r ity .The 1953 quota was reach ed b e fo re th e end o f th e y e a r .

9

INDUSTRY.

S e v e r a l w e lls a re re m o te -c o n tro lle d from a s in g le p a n e l. One d e sp a tch e r has th e ta s k o f w atching th e lo ad in g on th e e n g in e s , and sends a m echanic i f th e lo a d in g f a l l s o r r i s e s e x c e s s iv e ly . A nother a p p ara tu s , th e "dynamograph", which i s sw itch ed i n o r out o f th e c i r c u i t a u to m a tic a lly , makes i t p o s s ib le to observe th e deep o i l puntps. Remote c o n t r o l has made i t p o s s ib le to reduce th e s t a f f o f t h i r t y - t h r e e o p e ra to rs to t h i r t e e n in one s e c t o r o f t h i s f i e l d . The "M olchanov” ap p aratu s a u to m a tic a lly s in k s and l i f t s p ip es in w e lls in t h i s f i e l d , w hereas b e fo r e th e cou p lin g and uncoupling had to be done by hand. Time, la b o u r , and ou tpu t c o s ts have a l l been saved by t h i s and s im ila r d ev ices. Prom 1946 h y d ro c h lo r ic a c id has b een pumped in to th e w e lls to d is s o lv e ro c k : 49 w e lls were t r e a te d w ith 471 to n s o f a c id in 19 5 0 .

E x p lo r a t io n a t P a lv a n ta sh - e le v e n k ilo m e tre s sou th o f L en in sk - began in 1943* T e s t - d r i l l i n g found o i l in 1945 and p ro d u ctio n s ta r te d i n 1 946 . N atu ra l gas d e p o s its were a ls o d isco v e re d ; a p ip e - l in e now su p p lie s in d u s t r i a l and m u n icip al o rg a n iz a tio n s w ith f u e l . P a lv an tash i s th e l a r g e s t Uzbek f i e l d . I t ach iev ed 128 p e r c e n t o f i t s quota in 1951 , 105 p e r c e n t i n 1952 , and i n 1953 i t reach ed th e ta r g e t b e fo re th e end o f th e y e a r . T e s t - d r i l l i n g i s s t i l l b e in g c a r r ie d o u t.

The Khodzhiabad f i e l d - tw enty-two k ilo m e tre s e a s t o f Andizhan - s t a r t e d o p e ra tio n s i n 1951? and i s s t i l l expanding. Prom 1953 the f i e l d has b een s u b je c te d to b o th w ater f lo o d in g and p re ssu re m aintenance by gas i n je c t i o n . A ll w e lls a re o p era ted by sch ed u le ; some, on ly p e r io d ic a l ly tapped, now y i e l d as much o i l in e ig h t days a s th ey d id in tw e n ty -fo u r . The h y d ro c h lo r ic a c id p ro c e s s i s used .

The C hangyrtash f i e l d s l i e e ig h te e n k ilo m e tre s so u th -w est o f D zhalal-A bad , betw een th e Karaunkur and K ugart r iv e r s - t r i b u t a r i e s o f th e K ara-D arya. O il was d isco v e re d in 1927 and th e f i e l d s were f i r s t e x p lo ite d te n y e a rs l a t e r , b u t y ie ld e d on ly some few te n thousand ton s o f o i l . D uring th e war p ro d u ctio n slow ed down, and f o r two o r th re e y e a rs a f t e r th e war th e d e c lin e co n tin u ed . Almost a q u a r te r oi th e w ells had to be abandoned b ecau se o f m issin g equipm ent, and crude o i l output d e cre a se d by 1 8 .9 p e r c e n t from 1946 to 1 948 . Prom 1948 , however, th e y i e l d r o s e , dou bling th e 1940 f ig u r e i n 1951* The 1951 f ig u r e was 3 *8 tim es th e 1948 f ig u r e b u t f e l l s h o rt o f th e quota; t h i s was none the l e s s a ch ie v e d b e fo re tim e i n 1952 and 1953 • Labour p r o d u c t iv ity has in c re a s e d 10 p e r c e n t and c o s t s have b een low ered 5 p e r c e n t p e r crude to n . S p e c ia l ly d esign ed b o r in g -ro d s , pumps and com pressors a re su p p lie d to th e f i e l d , and l i g h t e r , sm a ll-d ia m e te r pum p ing-jacks have made i t p o s s ib le to i n s t a l sm a lle r en g in es and have le d to a sav in g in power. T h is i s su p p lied by a d ie s e l e l e c t r i c p o w e r-s ta tio n .A p p lic a tio n o f h y d ro c h lo r ic a c id to th e hard lim esto n e s t r a t a o v e rly in g

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INDUSTRY

th e o i l zones has been, made h e re , b u t has n o t in v a r ia b ly b een s u c c e s s fu l .

The same method ap p lied in 1952 a t M a i l i -S a i and Is b a s k e n t - 57 and 26 k ilo m e tre s n o rth o f Andizhan r e s p e c t iv e ly - brought an in c r e a s e o f 47 to n s o f o i l p er ton o f a c id used. These f i e l d s were p ro sp e c te d a f t e r th e war; o i l was found a t M a i l i -S a i in 1946 and worked from 1948 ; a t Isb a sk e n t i t was found in 1949 and f i r s t e x p lo ite d in 1951*

K a lin in n e ft

K a lin ir m e ft c o n tr o ls fo u r o ld -e s ta b lis h e d f i e l d s in th e sou th ern Fergana V a lle y : Chimion and Shor-Su in U zbek istan , and Kim andN efteabad i n T a d z h ik is ta n . Chimion l i e s some tw enty k ilo m e tre s sou th o f M argelan. I t i s th e o ld e s t f i e l d worked by th e S re d a z n e ft , b e in g f i r s t e x p lo ite d i n 1904* I t s t i l l g iv e s a sm all output o f crude o i l . Sh o r-Su tw enty-tw o k ilo m e tre s so u th -w est o f Kokand - was put in to o p e ra tio n in th e e a r ly t h i r t i e s . I t i s b e in g g ra d u a lly exhau sted .

Kim (fo rm e rly Sel-R ok h o) l i e s e ig h te e n k ilo m e tre s s o u th -e a s t o f M elnikovo s t a t io n and seven ty-tw o k ilo m e tre s e a s t o f Leninabad. I t was re -eq u ip p ed a f t e r th e war and exceeded i t s 1953 quota; c o s t s were low ered 4»5 p e r c e n t on each to n o f o i l . The "Molchanov” ap p aratu s ( v . su p ra) i s in u se , and secondary re co v e ry has r a is e d th e y ie ld o f fo u r te e n o ld w e lls in t o ■ which a i r i s pumped by com pressors.

N efteab ad - e ig h ty -o n e k ilo m e tre s e a s t o f Leninabad - l i e s in an a re a o f long-known o i l seep ag es. I t was e x p lo ite d b e fo r e th e war, b u t on ly y ie ld e d 7 ,0 0 0 crude to n s in 1937* S in ce 1950 th e f i e l d h as b een m echanized. M etal d e r r ic k s have re p la c e d wooden ones and a s in g le c o n tr o l p a n e l o p era ted tw enty au tom atic e l e c t r i c p u m p in g-jacks. A ir punping and o th e r secondary re co v e ry methods are u sed . The quotas f o r 1953 and 1954 were o v e r f u l f i l l e d ; th e town has p rosp ered s in c e th e war and now h as cinem as, s c h o o ls , a s p o rts c lu b , a c re c h e , and a sm a ll l ib r a r y . The two Tadzhik f i e l d s produced 2 5 ,0 0 0 to n s o f crude o i l in 1947 , 6 0 ,0 0 0 in 1950 and a re co n tin u in g th e in c r e a s e .

T erm ezneft

T erm ezneft c o n t r o ls th e th re e Surkhan-D arya o i l f i e l d s , a l l in U zb ek istan . Khaudag, f i f t e e n k ilo m e tre s n o rth o f Termez, s ta r te d p ro d u ctio n in 1935 b u t has d e c lin ed through a drop i n p re s s u re . Secondary re co v e ry methods a re b e in g a p p lie d . U ch-K zyl, e ig h t k i l o m etres n o rth o f Termez, was s ta r te d in 1936 , b u t f a i l e d to j u s t i f y th e hopes p la c e d in i t . I t i s now e x p lo ite d jo i n t l y w ith Khaudag. F i r s t

1 1

INDUSTRY

in d ic a t io n s o f o i l a t K ok aity - s ix k ilo m e tre s e a s t o f Khaudag - were en cou n tered i n 1943- I t was brought in to p ro d u ctio n i n 1951* The a re a has re s o u rc e s o f n a tu r a l g a s , ’whose e x p lo i ta t io n i s under c o n s id e ra t io n .

The Term ezneft o i l has a h igh p a r a f f in c o n te n t, which makes r e f in in g and th e o b ta in in g o f h ig h -g rad e g a s o lin e and k e ro s in e from i t d i f f i c u l t . In 1950 th e whole output was s t i l l b e in g b u rn t a s a f u e l w ith ou t b e in g r e f in e d , though in th e f i r s t s i x months o f 1954 th e p re ss spoke o f an " e x tr a " t r a in - lo a d o f o i l b e in g s e n t to th e ra ilw a y a t M elnikovo.

R e f in in g

Some S re d a z n e ft o i l i s r e f in e d a t V an n ovsk ii, t h i r t y - f o u r k i l o m etres e a s t o f Kokand. The r e f in e r y was to be en larg ed and re c o n s tru c te d i n th e p o st-w ar F iv e -Y e a r P la n s . The d ir e c t o r , T .P . S e rg in , re p o rte d a sav in g o f s e v e r a l m il l io n ru b le s in 19535 th e y ie ld o f petroleu m p ro d u cts ro s e by 7 p er c e n t on th e p rev io u s y e a r , and c o s ts f e l l by 4 *5 p e r c e n t .

There a re a ls o r e f i n e r i e s a t Kim, M elnikovo, Kanibadam, L eninsk , and Andizhan. The Kim r e f in e r y , b u i l t in 1914? has ju s t been r e b u i l t .Hassman (v . so u rc e s ) s t a t e s th a t th e la r g e s t C e n tra l A sian r e f i n e r i e s are a t F erg an a , w ith an annual f i r s t d i s t i l l i n g c a p a c ity o f 2m. ton s and a c ra c k in g c a p a c ity o f 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 to n s .

The d isc o v e ry o f th e n o r th -e a s te r n Fergan a f i e l d s ( i . e . th e A ndizhanneft f i e l d s ) betw een 1943 and 1946 brought th e announcement o f a new "G re a te r Fergana p r o je c t . " Deeper t e s t - d r i l l i n g and w ider e x p lo ra t io n s were s a id to b e about to tu rn th e a re a in to a m ajor f i e l d o f o i l p ro d u ctio n . I t i s d i f f i c u l t to judge how f a r th e p r o je c t has been r e a l iz e d , b u t i t i s ad m itted th a t some f i e l d s have proved f a i l u r e s w hile th e most p ro d u ctiv e a re p ro g re ss in g on ly m od erately . No new f i e l d s have b een b rou g h t in to p ro d u ctio n in th e l a s t th re e y e a rs .

N otes

(1 ) Output p la n f o r 1950( 2 ) 24 p e r c e n t in c r e a s e on th e 1950 f ig u r e quoted i n Pravda Vostoka

o f 7 .1 1 .5 2( 5 ) E s tim a te d f ig u r e s

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Sou rces

1 . U zb ek istan . Academy o f S c ie n c e s o f th e Uzbek SSR. T ash kent, 1950 .

2 . T a d z h ik is ta n . P . L u k n its k ii . Moscow, 1951*

3 . S o v e ts k i i U zbekistan . Kh. A bdullayev. Moscow, 1948 .

4* Osvoyeniye n ag n eta te ln y k h skvazhin i u v e lich e n iy e p r i to k a n e f t i . M in is te rs tv o N efty an o i P rom y sh len n osti. Moscow, 1953*

5« K ir g iz iy a . S .N . R yazan tsev . Moscow, 1951*

6 . C e n tra l A sian p r e s s .

7 . H. Hassman. E rd o l i n d er Sow jetunion . Hamburg, 1951*

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INDUSTRY

I N D U S T R Y

C E N T R A L A S I A N F I S H E R I E S

Guryev and th e n o rth e rn C aspian - The so u th ern C aspian - The A ra l Sea The la k e s - Development o f in la n d f i s h e r i e s - C on clu sion .

A l l th e C e n tra l A sian re p u b lic s a re s a id to c o n ta in expanses o f w ater in which are f i s h in m arketable q u a n t i t ie s , b u t on ly in K azakhstan and Turkm enistan does f is h in g form an im portant p a r t o f th e n a t io n a l economy.

Guryev and th e n o rth e rn C aspian

K azakhstan, indeed , p rov id es n in e p er c e n t o f a l l th e f i s h caught in th e USSR. Of t h i s , fo r ty -tw o p e r c e n t i s caught in th e C aspian , whose n o rth e rn and more sh a llo w w aters y ie ld th ir ty - tw o kilogram m es o f f i s h p er h e c ta r e ; th e A rc t ic S ea - th e most f e r t i l e o f the c o a s t a l w aters - y ie ld s o n ly sev en teen kilogram m es p e r h e c ta r e . The p r in c ip a l m arketable f i s h in th e n o rth e rn C aspian are s p ra t , bream, roach , sazan , zander, h e r r in g and stu rg e o n . The w aters are ice -b o u n d in w in ter , when s e a l are d riv en over th e i c e from s p e c ia l ly equipped v e s s e ls ; in summer th ey are d riv en in to s ta t io n a r y stu rgeon n e ts .

Guryev i s th e c h ie f f is h in g c e n tr e . B e fo re th e R ev o lu tio n f i s h in g was m ainly in th e r i v e r and d e lta o f th e U ral r i v e r . In th e S o v ie t p e r io d a Machine F is h e r y S ta t io n (MRS) was e s ta b l is h e d and f is h in g spread to th e se a , and in w in te r to th e sou th ern C asp ian . A la r g e p ro c e s s in g and canning f a c t o r y (d e s c r ib e d below ) has been b u i l t , and v a rio u s ic h th y o lo g ic a l i n s t i t u t e s and a f i s h e r i e s tekhnikum have been founded in th e town. The average annual c a tc h o f th e f i s h e r i e s in th e 194-6-1950 F iv e -Y e a r -P la n was one m ill io n c e n tn e rs .

The Kaganovich f is h -c a n n in g kom binat i s one o f th e la r g e s t underta k in g s o f th e food in d u stry o f th e USSR, and has a se p a ra te a r t i c l e in th e S o v ie t E n cy clo p aed ia , o f which th e fo llo w in g i s an abridged t r a n s l a t io n . The kom binat was s t a r t e d in 1 9 3 0 -51 and began work in 1933* I t c o n s is t s o f s i x e n te r p r is e s : a canning fa c t o r y , a p ro ce ss in g fa c t o r y ,a r e f r i g e r a t io n p la n t , a b y -p ro d u cts f a c to r y , a cooperage and a box works, and a steam-power p la n t . F is h i s fro z e n , c h i l le d , smoked, s a l te d , d r ie d and tin n e d . Red and b la c k c a v ia r , te c h n ic a l f a t s and f is h -m e a l are

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produced.

In th e kom binat1 s v e s s e ls and in i t s shore and r iv e r f i s h e r i e s , tra w lin g , and th e c a s t in g and h au lin g in o f th e s e in e s i s done m e ch a n ica lly . E l e c t r i c c ra n e s unload th e f i s h and c o n v e y o r-b e lts and t r o l l e y s ta k e i t to be p ro ce ssed . Washing and tin n in g i s s im ila r ly done by m achinery. A p ro d u c tio n -lin e system b r in g s l i v e f i s h to be weighed and to be boxed in the r e f r i g e r a t io n shop. Crushed i c e i s mixed w ith th e f i s h by conveyor b e l t in g , and to g e th e r th ey a re packed in to r e f r i g e r a t o r van s.

The in tro d u c tio n o f m ech anization has taken p la c e s in c e th e war and has t r e b le d th e output o f tin n e d f i s h . I n 1 946 f r e s h fro z e n f i s h formed on ly 1 2 .2 p e r c e n t o f the t o t a l ou tp u t; in 1950 i t form ed 4 2 .7 p e r c e n t . The annual output o f th e canning fa c to r y i s s ix t y m ill io n t in s o f f i s h .

I n th e immediate a re a o f Guryev th e re a re tw enty f i s h in g k o lk h o z e s ; th e re i s a f is h -p r o c e s s in g f a c t o r y a t Chertom bai w ith o f f lo a d in g p o in ts a t M okrinsk, K ru g lin sk and N ovinsk.

The so u th ern C aspian

The so u th ern C aspian i s l e s s f e r t i l e th an th e n o rth e rn w aters - i t y ie ld s 18 p e r c e n t o f th e t o t a l c a tc h - b u t does n o t f r e e z e in w in te r . M arketab le f i s h caught a re m ain ly s p r a t , p ik e -p e rc h (z a n d e r) , s tu rg eo n , h e r r in g , ro ach and sazan . S p r a ts are th e most im p ortan t c a tc h ; a tech n iq u e o f u sin g e l e c t r i c l i g h t to a t t r a c t them to th e n e ts has r e c e n t ly b een developed by a S t a l i n p r iz e -w in n e r - P r o fe s s o r B o riso v - and has brought some s u c c e s s .

The Turkmenryba a u th o r ity works kom binats a t Krasnovodsk and K iz y l-S u and f a c t o r i e s a t G asan -K u li and on O g u rch in sk ii i s la n d . A new kom binat i s to be b u i l t i n Ashkhabad f o r p ro ce ssed f i s h . The Turkmenryba sh ip s , and th o se o f th e Union o f Turkmen P is h in g K olkhozes (Turkm enrybak-kolkhozsoyuz) a re s e r v ic e d by an MRS a t Krasnovodsk. P a r t i c u la r ly during th e summer s p r a t - f i s h in g seaso n , th e se e s ta b lis h m e n ts cannot meet th e s t r a i n when th e f l e e t moves to th e la r g e r c a tc h e s o f th e northern, w a te rs . Both in 1952 and 1954 th e tu rn -rou n d o f th e depot sh ip s was too slow to meet th e needs o f th e t r a w le r s . In summer, th e c a tc h i s n o t on ly la r g e r , b u t must be im m ediately s a l t e d and boxed to p rev en t decay. T h is was sometimes im p o ss ib le , as th e depot sh ip s were n o t a t hand w ith s u p p lie s o f s a l t , wood and n a i l s . T raw lers under r e p a ir a t th e MRS were r e le a s e d b e fo re th ey were read y; one sh ip was d e ta in e d f o r a month; o th e rs were n o t

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INDUSTRY

f i t t e d out -with th e equipment n e c e ssa ry f o r f is h in g b y e l e c t r i c l i g h t a cco rd in g to B o r is o v 's tech n iq u e .

Fisherm en a t se a - sometimes f o r f iv e or s i x months - a re n o t d ep riv ed o f w e lfa re s e r v ic e s . A s p e c ia l sh ip - th e N in eteen th P a rty C ongress - c a r r ie s out t h i s work and o rg an izes p o l i t i c a l ed u catio n c o u rs e s . The d ie s e l “f lo a t in g b a s e “ Mikoyan a ls o c a r r ie s " c u l t u r a l " w orkers on b oard .

The A ra l S ea

F is h in g in th e A ra l Sea i s m ainly f o r bream (2 9 p e r c e n t o f th e average c a tc h ) , sazan (2 8 p e r c e n t ) , roach ( l 6 p e r c e n t ) , ca rp , p erch , s h e e t - f i s h , l in g and a c ip e n se r n u d iv e n tr is - a type o f s tu rg eo n . The A ra l F is h in g T ru st ( o f U zbekistan ) was taken to ta s k by an a r t i c l e in Pravda Vostoka o f 9 - 6 .5 3 f o r n e g le c t in g o th e r s p e c ie s - a lbum u s c h a lc o id e s , p e le cu s c u l t r a t u s , and a sp iu s a sp iu s , o f which la rg e u n u t il iz e d re s e rv e s are s a id to e x i s t . The c h ie f breed ing-grou nd s are th e Amu-Darya and Syr-D arya d e l ta s . Only te n p e r c e n t o f th e f i s h i s caught h e re ; and th e rem aining n in e ty p er c e n t i s caught i n th e se a o f f th e d e l ta s . The fish erm en a re blam ed f o r t h e i r la c k o f i n i t i a t i v e in se ek in g new grounds; t h is tendency i s encouraged by th e p r e d ic t a b i l i t y o f th e f i s h movements, which are much more r e l i a b l e than in th e C aspian .

There a re n in e te e n kolkhozes i n th e n o rth e rn A ra l - the Kazakh w aters - serv ed by MRS in A ra lsk and Kuvan-Darya, an ic h th y o lo g ic a l i n s t i t u t e and th e A ra l h a tch e ry . The ic h th y o lo g ic a l i n s t i t u t e had n o t in Ju n e 1953 produced a p la n f o r ap p ly ing B o r is o v 's tech n iq u e in th e A ra l, and m ech an ization i s g e n e ra lly re ta rd e d - only 8 -9 p e r c e n t o f th e c a tc h i s made w ith modem equipment; n e ts a re c a s t by hand and h au led in on w in d la sse s .

In A ra lsk , th e on ly p o in t where th e ra ilw a y tou ches th e s e a , th e re a re a canning f a c t o r y , e lev en f i s h - s a l t i n g works and two r e f r i g e r a t io n p la n ts .

The Uzbek w aters y ie ld 60 p e r c e n t o f th e average annual c a tc h o f 350 c e n tn e rs . There a re te n f i s h in g kolkhozes se rv ed by th e Muinak MRS. There i s a canning kom binat a t Kazakdaxya and p ro c e ss in g f a c t o r i e s a t Muinak, U sh sai and U gin. New tra w le rs and ta c k le were brought h ere t h is y e a r from th e S ea o f Azov and from A ra lsk .

The A ra l c a tc h i s p a r t i c u la r ly im portan t f o r th e supply o f the s e t t l e r s in th e new g r a in la n d s . In th e month o f Septem ber 1954 te n ton s o f th e b e s t f i s h were s e n t to th e K u stan a i o b la s t a lo n e*

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INDUSTRY

The la k e s : B alk h ash , A lak o l, Z a isa n , Issy k -K u l

The w estern w aters o f Lake Balkhash are sh a llo w er and l e s s s a l t th an th e e a s te r n ; f i s h in g i s m ostly co n fin ed to th e s e re g io n s , e s p e c ia l ly th o se o f B e r ty s and B u ru b a ita l (o r B u r ly u -B a ita l ) . 70 p erc e n t o f th e c a tc h i s sazan - a q u a rte r o f th e a ll-U n io n c a tc h - 22 p er c e n t p ik e , and th e rem aining 8 p e r ce n t m arinka ( s c h iz o th o ra x ) . There axe canning kom binats a t Balkhash and 1/fyn-Aral, where ra ilw a y s tou ch th e la k e , a p ro c e s s in g fa c t o r y a t A lgazy, and an MRS a t M yn-Aral.These axe opexated by th e Balkhash t r u s t . A ll th e f l e e t i s now m otorized and equipped w ith kapron ( i . e . n y lon ) n e t s . S p e c ia l m otor- b o a ts c a s t and ta k e up th e tr a w ls .

The c a tc h in Balkhash co u ld b e in c re a s e d by new s to c k in g o f th e w a te rs . T h is i s a ls o tru e o f Lakes Z a isan , A lak o l and o th e r sm a ll s t r e tc h e s o f w ater. In Z a isan , stu rg eo n , w hite salm on, id e , taim en and p ik e (4 0 p e r c e n t o f t o t a l c a tc h ) axe cau g h t. A ttem pts axe b e in g made to in tro d u ce o n d atra and sazan , and th e l a s t few y e a rs have seen a g r e a t in c r e a s e in f i s h in g . The la k e had on ly fo u r b o a ts i n 1952, b u t tw enty s h ip s and te n m o to r-b o a ts s t a r t e d th e season in A p r il 1954* There a re 18 f i s h in g a r t e l s on th e r iv e r I r t y s h n e a r th e la k e serv ed by a f a c t o r y a t P av lo d ar, w hich i s in p ro ce ss o f r e c o n s tr u c t io n . The cu rin g house has a lre a d y been b u i l t ; the s a l t in g and r e f r i g e r a t io n works a re to be com pleted soon.

F iv e s p e c ie s a re f is h e d in Lake Issy k -K u l; osman, sazan, m arinka, chebak, sm all h e r r in g - and r e c e n t ly , t r o u t . There a re n in e f i s h in g k olkh ozes on th e la k e and a f is h -p r o c e s s in g kom binat.

The development o f in la n d f i s h e r i e s

From tim e to tim e th e development o f fish -p o n d s i s urged i n th e C e n tra l A sian p r e s s , b u t l i t t l e i n t e r e s t appears to be aroused . In Turkm enistan f i s h in g i s p o s s ib le in th e Murgab and Amu-Darya b a s in s , and in la k e s in th e Tashauz o b la s t . Seven o rg a n iz a tio n s a re re s p o n s ib le f o r f i s h in g them, b u t i n 1953 some made on ly 26 p e r c e n t o f th e p lanned c a tc h , th e r e s t even l e s s . K olkhozes i n T a d z h ik is ta n a re encouraged to c o n s tr u c t ponds and s to c k them w ith t r o u t and carp from th e S ta lin a b a d h a tc h e ry . An a r t i c l e in Kommunist T a d z h ik is ta n a a d v ise s farm ers th a t ducks r a i s e th e f i s h p ro d u c tiv ity o f a pond by t h i r t y o r f o r t y p e r c e n t . B u t, th e a r t i c l e c o n tin u e s , f ish -p o n d s are n o t tak en s e r io u s ly in T a d z h ik is ta n ; some kolkhozes have n o t l a i d out ponds, o th e rs o v e rs to c k t h e i r ponds, o th e rs n ev er c le a n them. F is h e r ie s , th e a r t i c l e co n clu d es, must be a r e a l p a r t o f th e economy o f th e co u n try .

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INDUSTRY

K ir g iz ia has a h a tch e ry , b u i l t in 1953, in th e Chu V a lle y . I t s d ir e c to r in a l e t t e r to Sovetskaya K ir g iz iy a in November 1954 announces th a t in sp rin g 1955 th e h a tch e ry w i l l b eg in to r e s to c k Lake Is s y k -K u l w ith sazan and carp and to supply kolkhozes w ith m irro r carp and t r o u t . He asks f o r d e r e l i c t lan d to be g iv en to the h a tch e ry to make in to in d u s t r ia l f i s h e r i e s . S im ila r p r o je c t s a re under way in U zb ek istan . A la r g e r e s e r v o ir a t Uch-Kzyl i s to be sto ck ed w ith over fo u r m il l io n m irro r ca rp , sazan and b a r b e l .

The A ra l i s b e in g sto ck e d w ith f i s h from th e C aspian and elsew here i n th e Union. In sp rin g 1954 s p r a ts (s a la k a ) were brought from E s to n ia . Prom November onwards f o r th re e o r fo u r y e a rs grey m u lle t i s to be brought from th e C aspian in th e rm o s ta tic c a r s to a c c l im a t i z e th e f i s h on th e jo u rn ey to th e low er A ra l tem p eratu res. A ra l bream a re to be s im i la r ly tra n sp o rte d to Lake Is sy k -K u l, where t r o u t were brought from Lake Savan in 1936 to re p le n is h r e s e r v e s . The f i s h a re to be r e le a s e d i n th e deeper, a t p re s e n t, u n fish e d w aters .

The u n w illin g n e ss o f fish erm en to f i s h in u n fa m ilia r a r e a s i s a g e n e ra l so u rce o f c r i t i c i s m . To f in d new grounds an e x p e d itio n o f 350 sh ip s from th e V olga-C aspian T ru s t and from A strakhan, D agestan and Turkm enistan kolkhozes i s to f i s h th e sou th ern C aspian from November 1954 to A p r il 1955 , u sin g th e l a t e s t tech n iq u e - ny lon (kapron) n e ts f o r grey m u lle t and B o r is o v ’ s e l e c t r i c l ig h t tech n iq u e f o r s p r a t . T h is l a t t e r r e q u ir e s s p e c ia l lam p -so ck ets and p r o te c t iv e mesh: in 1953 theTurkmen MRS did n o t supply th e mesh, and more b u lb s were broken than th e re were r e s e r v e s .

L a r g e -s c a le o rg a n iz a tio n i s an advantage i n th e se g r e a te r underta k in g s . But i t i s e v id e n tly im p o ssib le i n such an in d u stry as f is h in g to stan d ard ize methods o r r e s u l t s , or to make th e o rg a n iz a tio n e n t i r e ly com prehensive. In d iv id u a l fish erm en are c o n s c r ip te d in to th e ran k s o f a f i s h in g kolkhoz o r "b rig a d e ” and a re s e t a quota which th ey must g iv e to th e Government, b u t th e knowledge th a t th ey can i f th ey w ish o b ta in an im mediate s a le f o r t h e i r f i s h has i t s e f f e c t . Is sy k -K u l fish erm en have been known to make up th e S t a t e quota w ith sm all f i s h , and to s e l l the la r g e r and more d e s ir a b le f i s h in th e b a z a a r ; th e quota i s s e t by w eight. The u n p r e d ic ta b i l i ty o f th e s iz e o f a c a tc h does n o t f a c i l i t a t e the " f u l f i l l i n g o f norm s." I t i s hard to a t t r a c t fish erm en to con form ity by d e s c r ib in g h ig h wages - 9> 590 r u b le s and 5> 590 ru b le s f o r th re e months a re exam ples on Lake Issy k -K u l - when th ey know th a t hard work w i l l n o t n e c e s s a r i ly b r in g them s u c c e s s .

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INDUSTRY

Sou rces

1 . S o v ie t E n cy clo p aed ia .

2 . C e n tra l A sian p re s s .

1 9

COMMUNICATIONS.

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S

R A I L W A Y S A N D W A T E R W A Y S I N K I R G I Z I A

In tro d u c tio n - I . R ailw ays: - Fergana V a lle y a re a - P ishpek s e c t io n o f th e T u rksib - I I . Waterways on Lake Issy k -K u l.

The t o t a l le n g th o f ra ilw a y l in e i n K ir g iz ia i s l e s s th an a q u a rte r the t o t a l le n g th o f h a rd -su rfa c e d ro a d s . N e v e rth e le ss th e ra ilw a y s , se rv in g th e eco n o m ica lly most im portant a re a s p la y an im p ortan t p a r t in th e economy o f th e r e p u b lic . Thus alth ou gh ra ilw a y s p e n e tra te only the f r in g e o f K ir g iz t e r r i t o r y , th e Fergan a V a lle y , an im p ortan t c o t to n growing and m ining a re a , and th e Is s y k -K u l b a s in and Chu V a lle y - th e main a g r ic u l t u r a l re g io n o f K ir g iz ia - a re con n ected r e s p e c t iv e ly to th e Fergan a V a lle y ra ilw a y loop o f U zb ek istan , and to th e T u rksib l i n e . F o r th e r e s t o f th e r e p u b lic roads are th e b a s ic means o f com munication (se e CAR V o l . I I , No.4 ) , and th e steam er s e r v ic e on Lake Is s y k -K u l i s an im p ortan t l in k betw een th e towns o f the Issy k -K u l b a s in and th e p o rt o f Rybachye, th e head o f th e P ishp ek s e c t io n o f th e T u rk sib .

I R ailw ays

The Fergan a V a lle y a re a

The two tongues o f K irg iz t e r r i t o r y which e n c i r c le th e Fergan a V a lle y a re an im p ortan t a g r ic u l tu r a l and m ining a r e a . As d ir e c t com m unication betw een t h i s re g io n , and n o rth e rn K i r g iz ia and th e c a p i t a l i s d i f f i c u l t e i t h e r by r a i l o r road owing to th e mountainous co u n try , the K ir g iz towns o f th e Fergan a V a lle y a re conn ected by spurs to th e Uzbek and Tadzhik ra ilw a y system .

The m ining town o f Su lyu kta can th u s only be reach ed by r a i l from Dragomirovo s t a t io n in T ad z h ik is ta n by a fo r ty -k ilo m e tr e narrow-gauge l i n e . The tra n s p o r t w orkers o f S u ly u k ta s t a t io n a re re p o rte d in August 1954 to have o v e r f u l f i l l e d th e seven-m onth p la n and to have made c o n s id e ra b le econom ies. K y zy l-K iy a , an o th er im p ortan t co a l-m in in g town, i s con n ected by a f o r t y - e ig h t k ilo m e tre spur to Skob elevo , a ju n c t io n in U zb ek istan ; as f a r as K yzy l-K iya s t a t io n t h is l in e i s broad gauge b u t the rem ain in g th re e k ilo m e tre s to th e m ines sure narrow gauge. Through th e

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combined e f f o r t s o f the m iners and th e railwaym en good r e s u l t s have been ach iev ed K y zy l-K iy a . Loading and u nload ing o p e ra tio n s have b een speeded up and in te n s iv e lo ad in g i s w idely p r a c t is e d .

An im p ortan t bran ch l i n e in t h i s a re a i s th a t running from Osh through K arasu ju n c t io n ov er a tongue o f Uzbek t e r r i t o r y to D zhalal-A bad and on to Kok-Yangak. From K arasu a l in e runs in to U zbek istan and jo in s th e Fergan a V a lle y ra ilw a y lo o p . The d esp atch o f h e a v ie r t r a in s over th e d i f f i c u l t s t r e t c h o f l in e to Osh has become a re g u la r p r a c t i c e . In August 1954 Sovetskaya K ir g iz iy a re p o rte d th a t th e lo a d in g and u nload ing p la n f o r t h i s s t a t io n had been r a is e d , and the tim e tak en f o r th e s e o p e ra tio n s has been c o n s id e ra b ly sh o rten ed . S ig n a l boxes have been b u i l t , and a goods y ard has been p lan ned . I t was c la im ed th a t th e re was n o t a s in g le month in 1953 when th e railw aym en o f Kok-Yangak did n o t o v e r f u l f i l t h e i r m onthly t a r g e t s . T h is achievem ent was s a id to be p a r t ly due to th e co o p e ra tio n o b ta in ed by th e railwaym en from th e tr a n s p o r t departm ent o f th e m ines. In s p i te o f th e in c re a s e d c o a l output from th e Kok-Yangak mines th e re were no d elay s in th e d esp atch o f c o a l .

D zhalal-A bad , one o f th e la r g e s t s t a t io n s i n so u th ern K ir g iz ia , o v e r f u l f i l l e d i t s lo a d in g p la n f o r 1952 ; during th a t y e a r 1 ,972 t r a in s w ith lo a d s over and above th e norm were moved to and from D zhalal-A bad . In A p r il 1954 th e re were r e p o r ts o f keen " s o c i a l i s t co m p e titio n " among th e engine d r iv e r s o f t h i s s t a t io n , a l l o f idiom had by th en d riv en t r a in s w ith lo a d s tw enty p e r c e n t above th e norm. The s t a t io n has b een re d e c o ra te d and many t r e e s have b een p la n te d on th e w aste lan d n e a r th e s t a t io n . The s t a t io n p la tfo rm s have b een a sp h a lte d and a m e n itie s e s ta b l is h e d f o r th e com fort o f th e engine crews and gu ard s. At th e same tim e, however, i t i s re p o rte d th a t though c o n s id e ra b le q u a n t i t ie s o f f r e i g h t a r r iv e a t t h i s s t a t io n th e re a re no f a c i l i t i e s f o r i t s s to r a g e . The goods y a rd i s s a id to be in a f i l t h y c o n d it io n and o f te n l o r r i e s cann ot g e t n e a r i t as the approach to th e y ard i s l i k e a swamp. The manager o f th e goods yard , in s te a d o f making im provem ents, f in e s th e lo r r y d r iv e r s f o r th e d e lay in c le a r in g th e f r e i g h t from th e yard .

The P ish p ek s e c t io n o f th e T u rksib

P ish p ek - th e p re -r e v o lu t io n a r y name o f Frunze has g iv e n i t s name to th a t s e c t io n o f th e T u rk sib which le a v e s th e main T u rk sib l in e a t Lugovoi ju n c t io n in K azakhstan and runs through K a lin in sk o y e and K a ra b a lty to Fru nze; eastw ard s from Frunze th e l in e runs a lo n g th e Chu V a lle y through Tokmak and B ystro vka and th en by way o f th e Boam gorge to Rybachye. I t thus n o t on ly p a sse s through th e im portan t Chu V a lle y b u t a ls o se rv e s as an o u t le t f o r th e Is s y k -K u l b a s in .

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In th e p a s t the w orking o f t h i s l i n e has been sh a rp ly c r i t i c i z e d in th e p r e s s ; i n th e y e a rs fo llo w in g the war i t appears to have been unable to cope w ith the e x tr a f r e i g h t a r is in g from th e ra p id p o st-w ar expansion i n th e K ir g iz economy. There were s a id to be numerous c a s e s o f in fr in g e m e n t o f lab o u r and " S ta t e " d is c ip l in e . The w agon -rep air workshops were beh in d i n t h e i r ou tpu t, and th o se wagons and f l a t s th a t had been re p a ire d fre q u e n tly had to be re tu rn e d f o r fu r th e r r e p a ir s . From 1950 to 1952 th e ta r g e t s f o r th e average d a ily run o f locom otiv es were f a r from b e in g f u l f i l l e d ; and through t r a in s to Lugovoi were o f te n h e ld up a t in te rm e d ia te s t a t io n s .

In 1952 th e w agon -rep air workshops a t th e P ishpek depot a t Frunze were c r i t i c i z e d f o r w orking in a most i n e f f i c i e n t way; th e re was no p rop er te c h n ic a l su p e rv is io n and no one p erso n was re s p o n s ib le f o r the r e p a ir s . E n gines under steam were kep t w a itin g lo n g e r th an the p r e s c r ib e d tim e which meant th a t engine crew s would r e c e iv e pay f o r doin g n o th in g and th a t th e en g in es w asted f u e l . The c h ie f t r a f f i c e n g in eer appeared to be more in t e r e s t e d in o v e r f u l f i l l i n g ta r g e t s f o r th e average d a ily run o f h is engines th an in tra n s p o r t in g f r e i g h t , and as a r e s u l t they would a t tim es be d esp atched w ithout h a u lin g a s in g le to n o f f r e i g h t . Meanwhile ra ilw a y s t a f f were p a id overtim e f o r doing n o th in g . C on d ition s a t P ish p ek s t a t io n y ard were s a id to be in t o le r a b le : th e y ard su r fa c e was deeply r u t te d and b ad ly paved. The approaches to the y ard were a ls o in a d e p lo ra b le c o n d itio n and th e re was s a id to be h a rd ly a day when tru c k s d id n o t b reak down w h ile tr y in g to g e t through to th e y ard . The same c o n d itio n s p re v a ile d a t -:.any ra ilw a y c r o s s in g s .

C o n d itio n s , however, seem to have somewhat improved in 1953 and 1954* I n th e f i r s t h a l f o f 1953 P ishp ek depot o v e r f u l f i l l e d i t s p la n f o r r e p a ir s to wagons and was ahead o f o th e r depots o f th e T u rk s ib . T ra in s w ith an in c r e a s e o f 200 to n s in lo a d were run to Lugovoi as a m a tte r o f c o u rse . I t ap p ears, however, th a t during 1953 t r a in s were fre q u e n tly d esp atch ed n o t load ed to t h e i r f u l l e s t c a p a c ity . The c h ie f en g in eer who was h e ld re s p o n s ib le a s s e r te d th a t during th e t h ir d and fo u r th q u a rte rs o f 1953 th e re had b een in s u f f i c i e n t f r e i g h t . T h is , however, was c o n s id e r ed no excuse as th e t a r g e t s f o r h a u lin g heavy t r a in s had a ls o n o t b een c a r r ie d out i n th e f i r s t two q u a rte rs o f th e y e a r when th e re was an abundance o f f r e i g h t . Indeed, i t was adm itted i n Ju n e 1954 th a t , in c o n tr a d ic t io n to o th e r r e p o r ts , during th e co u rse o f th e l a s t few y e a rs t r a i n lo ad s had n o t in c re a s e d b u t had rem ained a t th e same f ig u r e .

In s p i te o f a l l th ese shortcom ings d e le g a te s a tte n d in g a co n fe re n ce o f tra d e -u n io n members o f th e P ish p ek s e c t io n a t th e b eg in n in g o f 1954 c la im ed th a t th e p re v io u s y e a r 's t a r g e t s f o r lo a d in g and unloading had b een f u l f i l l e d and th a t th e ta r g e t s f o r r e p a ir s to lo co m o tiv es , wagons,

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and to th e t r a c k had a ls o heen c a r r ie d o u t. Over fo u r thousand w orkers on th e s e c t io n were co n sid ered to be " le a d e rs o f p ro d u c tio n ". During th e y e a r th e e n g in e -d r iv e rs o f P ishp ek s t a t io n had h au led 313 heavy and 1 ,8 9 4 c l a s s i f i e d t r a in s which made p o s s ib le th e d esp atch o f hundreds o f thousands o f to n s o f f r e i g h t above th e norm.

Rybachye i s fre q u e n tly m entioned in th e p r e s s . T ra in s exceed in g th e norm in w eight have been s u c c e s s fu l ly run over th e m ountainous B y stro v k a - Rybachye s e c t io n . At Rybachye s t a t io n , however, c o n d itio n s a re n o t good: th e goods y ard i s crammed w ith f r e i g h t b ecau seco n sig n ees in th e Is s y k -K u l and T ien-Shan o b la s ts o f te n d e lay ta k in g d e liv e r y .

C ases o f c o rru p tio n on th e P ishpek s e c t io n a re som etim es re p o rte d . The s t a t io n m aster a t Fru nze, f o r in s ta n c e , ord ered h is c a s h ie r s to charge fo u r ru b le s i n e x c e ss o f th e r e g u la r f a r e on every t i c k e t so ld , whereas t h i s su rch arge shou ld in f a c t on ly be p a id when th e t i c k e t i s s o ld i n advance. A l l t h i s was going on u n d etected w h ile du ring th e f i r s t two months o f 1954 on ly s i x p e r c e n t o f th e funds a l lo c a t e d f o r th e c o n s tr u c t io n o f l iv i n g q u a rte rs was used .

In Ju n e 1954 , however, i t was re p o rte d th a t th e g e n e ra l stan d ard o f e f f i c i e n c y and p ro d u c tiv ity had been r a is e d on th e P ish p ek s e c t io n o f th e T u rk s ib . The f r e i g h t hau lage p la n was c a r r ie d out on tim e . D riv e rs o f th e P ish p ek depot d ecid ed to r a i s e th e average d a ily run o f lo c o m otives by 164 k ilo m e tre s , to r a i s e th e average speed by 4* 2 k ilo m e tre s p er hour, and to cu t th e turnround tim e o f locom otiv es by 6 .8 6 h o u rs.The f u l f i lm e n t o f th e s e t a r g e t s would r e le a s e two lo co m o tiv es f o r work on o th e r s e c t io n s and e f f e c t an economy o f over a m il l io n ru b le s p e r annum.

I I Waterways on Lake Issy k -K u l

The f i r s t o rg an ized sh ip p in g s e r v ic e on Lake Is s y k -K u l was s ta r te d in 1926 to tra n s p o r t g r a in and o i l and to tow tim ber r a f t s . On l6 t h J u ly 1955 th e steam ship s e r v ic e was brou ght under th e c o n t r o l o f th e C e n tra l A sian R iv e r Steam ship a u th o r ity whose h ead q u arters a re a t Chardzhou in Turkm enistan. S in ce t h is d a te th e re appears to have b een a marked improvement i n i t s work and o rg a n iz a tio n .

Betw een 1946 and 1950 th e amount o f carg o tran sh ip p ed ro s e on ly by th re e and a h a l f p e r c e n t . E a r ly in 1953 an a r t i c l e in S o v etsk ay a K ir g iz iy a com plained o f th e in e f f i c ie n c y o f th e steam er s e r v ic e and o f i t s la c k o f c o o rd in a tio n w ith th e unload ing d ep o ts. In th e p rev io u s y e a r v a lu a b le a g r ic u l t u r a l m achinery o f te n la y as much as two months a t

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Rybachye p ie r . F re q u en tly th e management o f t h i s p ie r re fu se d to accep t f r e i g h t . Sh ip s were o f te n d elayed : th e new m o to r-v e sse l P r z h e v a ls k iiwas once k ep t w a itin g e ig h t days and th e N o .l b arg e tw enty days. The m ech an ization o f lo ad in g and u nload ing p ro c e sse s was p roceed in g to o s lo w ly . The P r z h e v a ls k ii a f t e r le a v in g r e p a ir dock s t i l l needed h e r s t e m r e c o n s tru c te d and h er compass a d ju ste d . I n A p r il 1953 i t was s ta te d th a t althou gh th e p o r t w orkers o f th e Issy k -K u l b a s in had f u l f i l l e d th e i r lo a d in g p la n by 109*6 p er c e n t and had thus made a p r o f i t o f over one and a h a l f m ill io n s above th e p la n , th e steam ship w orkers had f a i l e d to c a rry out th e p la n f o r th e shipment o f f r e i g h t . T h is f a i l u r e was put down to poor d is c ip l in e , "form alism ” in " s o c i a l i s t c o m p e titio n s" , and la c k o f i n i t i a t i v e on th e p a r t o f some o f th e tra d e -u n io n o rg a n iz a tio n s . In May, however, i t was re p o rte d th a t th e s a i l o r s o f Lake Is s y k -K u l were working to f u l f i l t h e i r y e a r ly p la n by 20 th December.

A f te r th e re o rg a n iz a tio n o f th e sh ip p in g s e r v ic e in J u ly 1953 g re a t p ro g re ss appears to have b een made. An a r t i c l e by th e head o f th e Is s y k - K u l b ran ch o f th e C e n tra l A sian R iv e r Steam ship a u th o r ity p u b lish ed in S o v etsk ay a K ir g iz iy a on 20 th O ctober 1953 gave d e t a i l s o f th e improvements th a t had tak en p la c e . The p la n f o r y e a r ly p r o f i t s had b een ach iev ed by 139 p e r c e n t a lread y in August; t h i s was made p o s s ib le by th e low ering o f tr a n s p o r t c o s ts due among o th e r th in g s to an economy o f 21 p e r c e n t o r 314- to n s in f u e l . The p o r t w orkers a t Rybachye o v e r f u l f i l l e d th e p la n f o r th e h an d lin g o f f r e i g h t by 6 *8 p e r c e n t ; t h i s r e s u l t was ach iev ed by th e b e t t e r o rg a n iz a tio n o f work and by th e in tro d u c tio n o f m ech an ization ; manual la b o u r was reduced to a minimum. A ll t h i s meant th a t th e tim e sh ip s were h e ld in p o r t w h ile b e in g load ed o r unloaded was red u ced by 50 p e r c e n t . A nother in n o v a tio n was th a t sh ip s were overhau led w h ile th ey were stan d in g i n p o r t , th u s o b v ia tin g th e w ithdraw al o f sh ip s from s e r v ic e f o r r e p a ir s w hich co u ld have been d e a lt w ith b e fo r e th ey became s e r io u s . The m otor- v e s s e l So v etsk ay a K ir g iz iy a , th e ta n k e r Manas, and th e steam er Komsomol a l l over f u l f i l l e d t h e i r monthly ta r g e t s and were w orking a t in c r e a s e d speed . The b e s t sh ip on Issy k -K u l was the P r z h e v a ls k i i , whose c a p ta in , a P a r ty member, was running h is sh ip to an h o u rly t im e ta b le and c a r r ie d out a l l running r e p a ir s w ithout p u ttin g h i s sh ip out o f s e r v ic e ; t h i s enabled him to o v e r f u l f i l th e monthly p la n f o r th e shipm ent o f f r e i g h t b y 4-0 p er c e n t . Although in g e n e ra l th e re was a f a r more e f f i c i e n t and more economic a l s e r v ic e , some p o r ts were n o t doing so w e ll : a t P rzh ev a lsk p ie r c o s tso f lo a d in g and u nload ing f r e i g h t had r is e n , and th e s h ip -r e p a ir yard s had sp en t too much on wages.

I n March 1954- th e re were s t i l l com p lain ts about c o n d itio n s a t P rz h e v a lsk p ie r and a t o th e r p o r t s . A ll lo ad in g and unloading work a t P rz h e v a lsk was re p o r te d to be s t i l l done by hand. At o th e r p o r ts sh ip s were fre q u e n tly d elay ed becau se co n sig n e e s re fu s e d to ta k e d e liv e ry o f th e i r

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f r e i g h t . But a p a rt from th e se in s ta n c e s improvement appears to be g e n e ra l. The p la n f o r th e tra n s p o r t o f f r e i g h t in to n s was exceeded by 3 .6 p e r c e n t, and th e amount o f f r e i g h t tra n sp o rte d in to n s ro s e by 11*2 compared to th e p rev io u s y e a r , and th e c o s t o f tr a n s p o r t f e l l by 2 3 .9 p e r c e n t . The A p r il p la n was f u l f i l l e d in good tim e , and th e m otor- v e s s e l Komsomol ach iev ed i t s ta r g e t to th e e x te n t o f 120 p e r c e n t . By th e end o f J u ly , i t was re p o rte d in So v etsk ay a K ir g iz iy a , th e p la n f o r th e tra n s p o r t o f f r e i g h t had been ach iev ed to th e e x te n t o f 1 0 0 .5 p er c e n t ; s i x p e r c e n t more o il -p r o d u c ts , th an s t ip u la te d in th e p la n had been shipped, b u t th e p la n f o r tim b er was on ly f u l f i l l e d to th e e x te n t o f 85 p e r c e n t .

In s p i t e o f th e improved s e r v ic e and low ered c o s t s , th e com plain t has b een made th a t i n s u f f i c i e n t lose i s made o f th e Is s y k -K u l steam ers , c l i e n t s p r e fe r r in g th e more exp ensive road t r a n s p o r t . Thus b e e r i s s e n t by road from P rz h e v a lsk to Rybachye, and c a t t l e are d riv e n upwards o f 200 k ilo m e tre s round th e la k e ■ which s e r io u s ly a f f e c t s t h e i r meat v a lu e . T h is i s in s p i t e o f th e f a c t th a t Z ag otskot ( i . e . th e c a t t l e supply a u th o r ity ) has b een n e g o t ia t in g w ith th e sh ip p in g s e r v ic e f o r two y e a rs and has e v e n tu a lly been su p p lied w ith a b arg e f o r sh ip p ing c a t t l e , w hich, however, i s n o t used .

I t i s thought th a t th e K irg iz G osplan, and th e Is s y k -K u l o b lp la n should c o n s id e r th e q u e s tio n o f th e in te g r a t io n o f in d u s try , a g r ic u ltu r e and w ater tra n s p o r t i n th e Issy k -K u l b a s in , and th a t p o r t o f f i c i a l s shou ld make a thorough study o f th e economy o f th e a d ja c e n t d i s t r i c t s and make i t clear* what f r e i g h t co u ld and should be s e n t by w ater. B e t t e r u se must be made o f lo a d in g and u nload ing m achinery and s h ip s must spend l e s s tim e in p o r ts . A lthough th e amount o f f r e ig h t s e n t by w ater has r i s e n one and a h a l f tim es s in c e 1940, i t i s thought th a t g r e a t p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r f u r th e r development e x i s t . In p a r t i c u la r when th e B zh erg alan and S o g u tin sk c o a l f i e l d s - ly in g r e s p e c t iv e ly e a s t and sou th o f Lake Issy k -K u l - s t a r t to b e worked th e sh ip p in g s e r v ic e s w i l l be c a l le d upon to p la y an even more im p ortan t r o le i n th e economy o f th e r e p u b lic .

Sou rces

C e n tra l A sian p r e s s .

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A G R I C U L T U R E

S I L K : A T R A D I T I O N A L I N D U S T R Y

H is to ry - Modem s e r i c u l t u r a l methods and re s e a rc h - Output o f raw s i l k - S i lk -p r o c e s s in g in d u stry .

S i l k has lon g been a s s o c ia te d w ith C e n tra l A sia . S i l k c u l t iv a t io n appears to have been in tro d u ced in to th e a re a from Kashmir or China b e fo re th e b eg in n in g o f th e C h r is t ia n e ra , and in th e Middle Ages one o f th e most famous o f a l l tra d e ro u te s - th e S i l k Road - p assed through th e oases o f C e n tra l A sia . On account o f the c lim a te and the abundance o f m ulberry t r e e s C e n tra l A sia i s id e a l ly s u ite d to s e r ic u l t u r e . B e fo re the R ev o lu tio n , th e b e s t s i l k goods were co n sid e re d to be th o se o f Bukhara, Kokand and Khodzhent, and s i l k c u ltu r e was th e c h ie f o ccu p atio n o f many v i l l a g e s o f th e Zeravshan, Khodzhent and Kurama d i s t r i c t s . Indeed the s i l k in d u stry was one o f th e most developed in - th e whole o f C e n tra l A sia . I t was n e v e r th e le s s an alm ost e x c lu s iv e ly dom estic in d u stry , the ta sk o f re a r in g th e silkw orm s b e in g c a r r ie d out by th e women o f th e household.In R u ssian T u rkestan , however, s e v e ra l a ttem p ts were made to e s t a b l is h s i l k m i l l s , b u t o f th e seven im portant f i l a t u r e s e s ta b l is h e d betw een 1867 and 1872 s i l l were soon c lo s e d through la c k o f funds. An im p ortan t s te p was tak en in 1871 when th e Im p e ria l Government s e t up a sch o o l o f s i l k c u ltu r e w ith a la b o ra to ry to study th e v a rio u s b reed s o f silkw orm and t h e i r d is e a s e s .

B e fo re the R ev o lu tio n , R u ss ia ranked fo u r th among th e world* s m ajor p rod ucers o f s i l k , th e Caucasus and C entral. A sia b e in g th e most im portant a r e a s . The F i r s t W orld War d e a lt a se v ere blow to the in d u stry b u t w ith th e coming o f the S o v ie t regim e a f r e s h im petus was g iv en to th e in d u stry by th e e s ta b lish m e n t o f Governm ent-sponsored b reed in g e s ta b lish m e n ts and th e e x te n s io n o f the a re a under m ulberry t r e e s . Today s e r ic u l t u r e i s developed in e le v e n re p u b lic s o f the S o v ie t Union. The main, c e n tr e s f o r th e p ro d u ctio n o f raw s i l k a re G eorgia and A zerbaidzhan in European R u ssia and T a d z h ik is ta n and U zbek istan in S o v ie t C e n tra l A sia .

The m anufacture o f s i l k f a b r i c s i s as a r u le co n fin ed to th e a reas where s e r ic u l t u r e i s p r a c t is e d , though im p ortan t s i lk -p r o c e s s in g p la n ts e x i s t in th e Moscow o b la s t , in Leningrad and e lsew h ere. In C e n tra l A sia s i l k f a b r i c s a re produced p r im a r ily in T a d z h ik is ta n and U zbek istan and to

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T A D Z H I K S O V I E T S O C I A L I S T R E P U B L I C

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a l e s s e r e x te n t i n K ir g iz ia and Turkm enistan. Over th e p a s t te n y e a rs th e in d u s try has been co n s id e ra b ly e n la rg ed and re -eq u ip p ed ; th e number o f weaving fram es has more th an doubled and the number o f au tom atic looms in c re a s e d s ix te e n tim e s . Other m achines now. in use a re fa s t-w o rk in g r e e l in g and warping m achines and p r e c is io n s p o o le rs . The s i l k w orkers a re s a id to have f u l l y m astered modem methods o f sco u rin g th e f a b r i c s . The s i l k m il ls now produce a v a r ie ty o f new h ig h -q u a lity f a b r i c s : heavy-w eight crep e and s a t in , p lu sh and v e lv e t , and a newweave c a l le d eponzh k le tk a - a m ixtu re o f s i l k and w ool. The p ro d u ctio n in d ex, i t i s claim ed, has n ev er b e fo re s to o d so h ig h and i s c o n t in u a lly r i s i n g .

Modem s e r i c u l t u r a l methods and re s e a rc h

S e r ic u l tu r e i s now run on s c i e n t i f i c l i n e s ; and new methods evolved by th e v a r io u s s e r ic u l t u r a l re s e a rc h i n s t i t u t e s and by the le a d in g w orkers a re f r e q u e n tly p u b lic iz e d in th e p r e s s . One method w hich r e c e iv e s c o n s id e ra b le prom inence i s th e f a s t fe e d in g o f th e silkw orm s. The e s s e n t ia l s o f t h i s method a re th e m aintenance o f s p e c i f i c tem p eratu res during th e v a rio u s s ta g e s o f growth, r e g u la t io n o f th e degree o f hum idity , fre q u e n t fe e d in g on f r e s h m ulberry le a v e s , and th e c le a n in g o f tr a y s a f t e r m oults. I n th e p a s t th e silkw orm s, e s p e c ia l ly in th e e a r ly s ta g e s o f growth, were k ep t a t tem p eratu res o f 3 4 *5 to 35 d egrees c e n tig ra d e . To speed up th e p ro ce ss o f growth t h i s has now b een reduced and a tem p eratu re o f betw een 28 and 32 d egrees i s m ain tain ed during th e p e rio d s o f f i r s t and second growth, 25 to 26 d egrees in th e th ir d and fo u r th , 22 to 24 d egrees in th e f i f t h s ta g e , and, during th e co co o n -sp in n in g s ta g e , about 23 d e g re e s . These tem p eratu res a re s a id to a c c e le r a t e th e growth o f th e la r v a e . The degree o f hum idity i s a ls o c a r e f u l ly re g u la te d ; th e normal hum idity during th e f i r s t and second s ta g e s o f growth i s 45 to 55 p er c e n t, in th e th ir d 50 to 60 p e r c e n t , in th e fo u r th 50 to 65 p e r c e n t , and in th e f i f t h and during co co o n -sp in n in g 65 to 75 p e r c e n t . In o rd er to speed up the e lim in a t io n o f th e accum ulated w aters from th e body o f th e silkworm , th e b u ild in g i s a ir e d f iv e o r s i x tim es i n tw en ty -fo u r h o u rs, and in h o t w eather e ig h t o r n in e tim e s . The freq u en cy o f fe e d in g i s re g u la te d a t s ix te e n tim es a day in th e f i r s t and second s ta g e s o f growth, fo u r te e n tim es i n th e th ir d , tw elve tim es in th e fo u r th , and seven to e ig h t tim es in th e f i n a l s ta g e s o f grow th. Throughout a l l s ta g e s o f growth th e l i g h t i s k ep t d if fu s e d . The advantages o f t h i s method l i e n o t on ly in th e g r e a te r y ie ld o f cocoons b u t a ls o i n a sa v in g o f th e w orkers' tim e which thus f r e e s them f o r o th e r work i n th e f i e l d s .

R ese a rch in to s e r ic u l t u r e i s b e in g v ig o ro u sly pursued, p a r t i c u la r ly in U zb ek istan . The Samarkand s e r i c u l t u r a l s t a t io n in a s s o c ia t io n w ith

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th e s i l k k o lkh ozes o f th e re p u b lic has worked out a s e r ie s o f te c h n ic a l methods w hich a re s a id to make th e p r a c t ic e o f s e r ic u l t u r e even more s c i e n t i f i c . During th e w in te r o f 1 9 5 3 -5 4 th e s t a t io n organ ized two-week co u rse s and in th e e a r ly sp rin g ten -d ay sem inars in lab o u r o rg a n iz a tio n f o r "b r ig a d e ” le a d e rs were h e ld . The Tashkent I n s t i t u t e f o r R esearch in t o S e r ic u l tu r e has re a re d s i x new s p e c ie s o f silkw orm , one o f which, th e S o v ie t v a r ie ty , i s s a id to sp in sev en teen p er c e n t more y a m than th e Baghdad v a r ie ty p re v io u s ly re a re d in U zb ek istan .

Output o f raw s i l k

In a l l fo u r C e n tra l A sian re p u b lic s s e r ic u l t u r e i s an o ld - e s ta b l is h e d and im portant b ran ch o f a g r ic u ltu r e , and e s p e c ia l ly so in T a d z h ik is ta n and U zb ek istan . In T a d z h ik is ta n , i t i s w id ely p r a c t is e d and i t s f u r th e r e x te n s io n i s c o n s ta n tly encouraged as a means o f r a is in g th e p r o s p e r ity o f th e ko lk h o zes o f th e r e p u b lic . A ttem pts a re b e in g made to develop s e r ic u l t u r e in th e kolkhozes o f th e m ountain ra io n s where, a cco rd in g to one re p o r t , " u n t i l c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n i t was q u ite unknown." R e s u lts , however, a re v a r ie d . In th e k o lkh ozes o f th e R egar r a io n where a l l th e new methods were s t r i c t l y observed , th e average h a rv e s t o f cocoons f o r each t r a y o f silkw orm eggs in 1953 was 86 kg. and i n some c a se s 94 kg. o r even 100 k g . In 1954 th e kolkhozes o f th e Leninabad r a io n reach ed t h e i r y e a r ly ta r g e t f o r th e output o f cocoons by th e 25 th August; th e average y i e l d p e r t r a y was 5 2 .6 kg . b u t in some ko lk h o zes, such a s the Malenkov, 123 kg . p e r t r a y was n o t ■ uncommon. On th e o th e r hand accord in g to a p r e s s re p o r t o f 1 5 th Ju n e 1954, th e h a rv e s t o f cocoons in the Leninabad o b la s t - one o f th e r e p u b l ic 's p r in c ip a l s e r i c u l t u r a l c e n tre s - was te n p e r c e n t l e s s th an i n 1953 and th e six-m onth p la n had n o t been h a l f f u l f i l l e d . T h is f a i l u r e to reach ta r g e t s was put down to th e in fre q u e n t fe e d in g o f th e silkw orm s: in s te a d o f th e re q u ire d seven toe ig h t fe e d in g s on ly two o r th re e were c a r r ie d out d a i ly . I t was p o in te d out th a t t h i s was due to th e s c a r c i t y o f m ulberry le a v e s , and in f a c t in th e r e p u b lic as a whole th e sh o rtag e o f m ulberry p la n ta t io n s i s , i f n o t a c u te , a t any r a te pronounced. The e x is t in g p la n ta t io n s , i t seems, a re p o o rly i r r ig a t e d , f r e q u e n tly damaged by c a t t l e and f u r th e r reduced by u n au th o rized f e l l i n g . Of l a t e th e re have b een re p o r ts o f th e p la n tin g o f v a r io u s s o r t s o f m ulberry on th e ston y m ountain s lo p e s e s p e c ia l ly in the w estern P am irs, b u t c o n s id e ra b ly more w i l l have to be p la n te d i f s e r i c u ltu r e in T a d z h ik is ta n i s to be developed to the f u l l .

A lthough i t produces a q u a rte r o f th e t o t a l output o f s i l k in C e n tra l A sia , th e re a re few p re ss r e p o r ts on th e s i l k in d u s try o f Turkm enistan . S e r ic u l tu r e i s c o n ce n tra te d in th e Ashkhabad and Chardzhou o b la s ts and s in c e 1950 p ro d u ctio n has on th e whole been s a t i s f a c t o r y ; in 1953 th e S t a t e p lan f o r raw s i l k was f u l f i l l e d by 1 0 0 .6 p e r c e n t . In

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U zb ek istan too output has been s te a d i ly in c r e a s in g : g ro ss output o f raws i l k i s s a id to have gone up !§■ tim es s in c e 194-0 when 12,055m . cocoons were produced. Today U zbek istan p ro v id es s ix t y p er c e n t o f a l l th e raw s i l k produced in th e USSR.

A ccord ing to p re s s re p o r ts p u b lish ed i n August 1954 th e kolkhozes o f th e Namangan o b la s t o f U zbek istan had f u l f i l l e d the S t a t e p la n s f o r th e output o f cocoons by 1 0 3 .3 p er c e n t f o r th e second y e a r ru nning. R e s u lts a re e s p e c ia l ly good in th e Pap and U ich in sk r a io n s . E f f o r t s a re s t i l l b e in g made to in t e n s i f y th e p ro d u ctio n o f cocoons and th e kolkhozes o f th e Namangan o b la s t have u ndertaken to d e l iv e r to th e S ta te 2 ,5 0 0 more c e n tn e rs o f cocoons than s t ip u la te d . In 1954 a ttem p ts were made to in tro d u ce a t h ir d , autumn, fe e d in g o f th e silkw orm s. U n t i l th en autumn fe e d in g s were c a r r ie d out only by th e s i l k sovkhozes run by th e Uzbek M in is try o f A g r ic u ltu re ; th e I r t y s h a r s i l k sovkhoz o f Samarkand o b la s t o b ta in ed 8 1 .4 kg . from each t r a y a f t e r th e autumn fe e d in g . High h a rv e s ts were a ls o re p o r te d from th e Khodzhiabad s i l k sovkhoz in th e Andizhan o b la s t and’from th e kolkhozes o f Tashkent and F erg an a o b la s ts - th e two o ld e s t s e r i c u l t u r a l c e n tr e s o f th e r e p u b lic . In O ctober 1954 i t was re p o rte d th a t th e S t a t e p la n f o r th e ou tpu t o f cocoons had been f u l f i l l e d and th a t the s i lk -p r o c e s s in g in d u s try in consequence would r e c e iv e 300 to n s o f cocoons more th an in 1953 .

The e x te n s io n o f m ulberry p la n ta t io n s , which form th e b a s i s o f s e r ic u l t u r e and on which i t s f u r th e r development la r g e ly depends, i s w e ll ■ under way in U zb ek istan . In th e sp rin g o f 1953? 463 h e c ta r e s were p la n te d w ith m ulberry t r e e s and 150 h e c ta r e s sown w ith m ulberry se ed s;7 5 0 .0 0 0 t r e e s were p la n te d i n l in e a r p la n ta t io n s and 2 ,1 7 8 i n c i r c u l a r p la n ta t io n s .

By th e b eg in n in g o f th e Second W orld War n in e silkw orm -breed in g e s ta b lis h m e n ts had b een s e t up in U zb ek istan ; th e se produced an n u ally5 7 0 .0 0 0 t r a y s o f silkw orm e g g s . A lthough th e p re s e n t number o f b reed in g e s ta b lis h m e n ts i s n o t s ta te d , i t appears th a t s u f f i c i e n t silkw orm eggs a re produced to o b v ia te th e need f o r im p orts from abroad and to p erm it th e e x p o rt o f eggs to n eighbou ring r e p u b lic s .

S i lk -p r o c e s s in g in d u stry

The s i lk - p r o c e s s in g in d u stry o f C e n tra l A sia appears to be ra p id ly expanding. In Turkm enistan th e output o f s i l k f a b r i c s i n 1953 re p re s e n te d an e ig h t p e r c e n t in c r e a s e over th a t o f 1 952 . S u b s ta n t ia l in c r e a s e s are a ls o re p o r te d from K ir g iz ia where 53*6 tim es more s i l k f a b r i c s were produced in 1953 than in 1 940 . The s i l k kom binats o f Frunze and Osh - th e l a t t e r an Im portant s i l k c e n tr e s in c e th e e ig h th cen tu ry - a re s a id to be working to f u l l c a p a c ity and b e a t in g a l l

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p re v io u s re c o rd s .

More d e ta i le d acco u n ts are g iv en o f th e s i l k in d u s try in U zbek istan and T a d z h ik is ta n . U n t i l th e R ev o lu tio n th e re were no m i l l s in U zb ek istan ( s i c ) , a l l th e raw s i l k having been tak en to European R u ss ia o r abroad to be m anufactured in to f in is h e d p ro d u cts ; tod ay, however, th e r e p u b lic has pow erful s i l k kom binats o f i t s own. The la r g e s t o f th e s e i s th e S t a l i n S i l k Kombinat in T ashkent, which went in to p ro d u ctio n in 1934 ; by 1947 i t was em ploying 3 0 ,0 0 0 w orkers and in 1953 was re p o rte d to be prod ucing over 14m. m etres o f s i l k f a b r i c s p er y e a r . S i l k sp in n in g and w eaving m i l l s a ls o e x i s t a t M argelan. Samarkand, and Bukhara. The M argelan s i l k kom binat, b u i l t some tw e n ty -fiv e y e a rs ago, now produces tw o -th ird s o f th e to ta l , output o f s i l k f a b r i c s in th e Fergan a V a lle y . I t was re p o r te d in 1953? however, th a t th e re-equipm ent and e x te n s io n o f th e kom binat was p ro ceed in g "u n n e c e s s a r ily s lo w ly " ; i n th e d y e in g 's e c t io n th e r e was a sh o rta g e o f dye v a ts , b u t th e re was no room to put in any new on es, and i n o th e r s e c t io n s so much had been added th a t overcrow ding p re s e n te d a s e r io u s problem . Work was a ls o b e in g impeded by th e u n s a t is f a c t o r y enforcem ent o f th e system o f p ro g re s s iv e qu otas, la c k o f c o o rd in a tio n among th e v a rio u s s e c t io n s o f th e kom binat, and u nrhythm ical w ork. The p o s i t io n , however, appears to have improved in 1954 as no co m p la in ts o r c r i t i c i s m have appeared in th e p re s s and in O ctober i t was re p o r te d th a t th e kom binat had exceeded th e Septem ber quota f o r -unbleached f a b r i c s by 1 5 ,000 m etres and f o r f in is h e d f a b r i c s by 5 0 ,0 0 0 m etres , and had produced 356 kg . o f s i l k th re a d . The hope was ex p re ssed th a t th e kom binat would re a c h i t s t a r g e t f o r 1954 ahead o f sched u le and th a t th e p r o d u c tiv ity o f la b o u r which had a lre a d y in c re a s e d by s i x p e r c e n t would be r a is e d by a fu r th e r 3»3 p e r c e n t .

I n T a d z h ik is ta n th e S ta lin a b a d s i l k m i l l i s a ls o expanding: in 1946th e kom binat had 1 8 ,5 0 0 sp in d le s and t h i s number i s s a id to have c o n s id e ra b ly in c re a s e d though no p r e c is e f ig u r e s a re g iv e n . In 1953 a new t e x t i l e wing was com pleted and 266 new w eaving m achines have been in s t a l l e d . The Leninabad s i l k kom binat - th e le a d in g in d u s t r ia l u n d ertak in g o f th e o b la s t - was b u i l t i n 1927 during th e f i r s t F iv e -Y e a r P la n , s in c e when i t has been co n s id e ra b ly expanded and re -eq u ip p ed . B r i t i s h f l y e r th rea d guide m achines f o r l in e n a re b e in g re p la c e d by r in g looms o f R u ssia n d esig n and m anu factu re. These have in te rch a n g e a b le p a r ts and th e p r o d u c tiv ity o f th e sp in d le s i s rep u ted to be sev en ty p e r c e n t g r e a te r th an th a t o f th e o ld ones. The kom binat, i t i s s a id , no lo n g er prod uces any fo u r t h - q u a l i ty weaves and on ly a minimum o f t h i r d - r a t e f a b r i c s . I n 1952 a s ix f o ld in c r e a s e in p ro d u ctio n over 1949 was reco rd ed , and on 24th Ja n u a ry 1954 i t was re p o rte d th a t th e kom binat exceed ed th e s e t t a r g e t s f o r th e l a s t q u a rte r o f 1953 *In th e f i r s t e ig h t months o f 1954 th e q u a n tity o f f a b r i c s produced over and above th e p la n was s a id to be more th an double th e whole y e a r ly output o f

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th e kom binat in 1940 . and a new dyeing p la n t which came in to p ro d u ctio n i n th e second h a l f o f 1954 i s s a id to have r a is e d th e output th re e and a h a l f tim es. By th e end o f th e y e a r th e kom binat was producing4 2 ,0 0 0 m etres p e r day (1 8 ,0 0 0 to 2 0 ,0 0 0 m etres f o r ev ery s h i f t ) , and in O ctober i t was announced th a t th e output re p re se n te d a 37* 6 p e r c e n t in c r e a s e over 1953-

The s i l k in d u s try o f C e n tra l A sia has come a lon g way s in c e th e days when th e r e a r in g o f th e silkw orm s and th e p ro c e s s in g o f th e s i l k was c a r r ie d out in th e p easan t household . Today w ith th e e s ta b lish m e n t o f s p e c ia l iz e d s i l k sovkhozes, silkw orm -breeding s t a t io n s and la r g e in d u s t r ia l p la n ts , th e s i l k in d u stry has an in c r e a s in g ly im p ortan t p a r t to p la y in th e economy o f C e n tra l A sia .

So u rces

1 . T u rk is ta n . Eugene S ch u y le r . London, I 876 .

2 . S o t s i a l i s t i c h e s k i i U zbekistan N o.11 . 1953-

3 . S o v e ts k i i U zb ek istan , Kh. A bdullayev. Moscow, 1948*

4 - U zbek istan . Academy o f S c ie n c e o f Uzbek SSR. T ashkent, 1950 .

5 . K ir g iz iy a . S .N . R yazantsev . Moscow, 1951*

6 . T a d z h ik is ta n . P . L u k n its k i i . Moscow, 1951*

7 . T ekhnologiya s h e lk a . V .V . L inde & Osipov. Moscow, 1951*

8 . S h e lk o tk a ch e stv o . N .P. Agapova & N.D. Morozova. Moscow, 1 9 5 2 .

9 . Novaya tek h n ik a te k s t i ln o g o p ro izv o d stv a v p y a to i p y a t i le tk e .G .I . P ik o v s k i i . Moscow, 1953*

10 . Spravochnik po sh e lk o sy iy u kokonomotaniyu i sh elk o k ru ch en iy u .Moscow, 19 5 0 .

1 1 . C e n tra l A sian p r e s s .

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A G R I C U L T U R E

L I F E ON T H E N E W L A N D S O F K A Z A K H S T A N

The fo llo w in g two s l i g h t l y abrid ged t r a n s la te d a r t i c l e s a re taken from th e a ll-U n io n d a ily p r e s s ; th ey are ty p ic a l, o f th e many accou n ts now ap p earin g i n S o v ie t p u b lic a t io n s d e s c r ib in g th e l i f e o f th e s e t t l e r s i n th e new sovkhozes on the g ra in lan d s o f K azakhstan .

I

We were shown a c o r r e c te d map in th e P a r ty o b la s t com m ittee a t Akmolinsk w hich showed tw en ty -seven new sovkhozes. The q u estio n was which to v i s i t . We were to ld many in t e r e s t i n g th in g s about th e I z o b i ln y i , th e D a ln i i and th e Stepnyak sovkhozes and we wanted to go everyw here, b u t t h i s was im p o s s ib le . So we chose a ro u te th a t goes alon g th e ra ilw ay tr a c k and th e banks o f th e brimming Ish im r i v e r i n th e so u th ern p a r t o f th e o b la s t , where th e m a jo r ity o f the sovkhozes have been e s ta b l is h e d .To re a c h th e new u n d ertak in gs one must plunge deep in to th e ste p p e , f o r i t i s in th o se p a r ts , fo rm e rly alm ost untrodden by human f o o t , th a t the sovkhozes have sprung up.

The d is ta n c e s a re v a s t , and a t tim es th e Kazakh step p e t eems l i m i t l e s s ; b u t now a v ig o ro u s l i f e i s p u ls a t in g h e re . I f one t r a v e ls by day one m eets t r a c t o r s , m obile p e t r o l ta n k s , and l o r r i e s . The v a s t a re a s o f b la c k e a r th a re s c a r r e d by th e l in e s o f fu rrow s. Furrows a re made fo u r to f i v e k ilo m e tre s lon g and th e w idth o f th e f i e l d s i s o f te n as much as te n to f i f t e e n k ilo m e tr e s . P lou ghing goes on day and n ig h t, b u t th e t r a c t o r d r iv e r s p r e f e r working a t n ig h t when th e c o o l a i r p rev en ts the en g in es from becom ing overh eated and so more work can be done. At n ig h t e l e c t r i c r e f l e c t o r s as b r ig h t as lig h th o u s e s throw t h e i r beams on the t r a c t o r s .

Every new sovkhoz i s rem arkable f o r i t s huge s iz e - tw enty to t h i r t y thousand h e c ta r e s o f ploughed la n d . I t i s hard to make an ex h au stiv e d e s c r ip t io n o f any one sovkhoz b ecau se ev ery th in g h e re changes so q u ic k ly . From one week to an o th er e v ery th in g lo o k s d i f f e r e n t . Not long ago th e re were empty sp a ce s , th en came th e w o rk ersr v i l l a g e s o f t e n t s , and now th e re a re groups o f wooden h o u ses. We were d ir e c te d to th e K ra sn o g v a rd e isk ii sovkhoz alon g a b e a te n tr a c k b u t t h i s had a lread y b een ploughed up and in

3 2

THE WEST - KAZAKHSTAN STEPPE

A drinking-water carti Tractors refuelling

A break for refreshment

A grain storehouse

A crossing over the Ural river

The West-Kazakhstan steppes have been the scene of many historic events- the Pugachev rebellion of 1773 started here, and here Chapayev met his death during the Civil War. These sketches by the artist Andrei Livanov, who visited West-Kazakhstan during the summer of 1954, show something of the drive for grain now in progress in Kazakhstan and of the old primitive conditions which exist side by side with modern methods.

The sketches are reproduced from Molodoi Kolkhoznik No. 10 of October, 1954.

AGRICULTURE

i t s p la c e a s h o rt and con v en ien t road had been b u i l t .

I t i s no easy ta s k to make h a b ita b le u n in h ab ited la n d s . The problem s a re how to s e t t l e th e p eop le, where to g e t w ater, how to o rg an ize t h e i r food s u p p lie s , where to put m edical, p o s ts and b a th s . The ta s k i s com plicated by th e f a c t th a t th e re a re no woods in th e neighbourhood and many la k e s c o n ta in on ly s a l t w ater. These d i f f i c u l t i e s have b een p a r t ly overcome b u t some s t i l l loom ahead. But d e s p ite th e sh o rta g e s and d i f f i c u l t i e s th e re i s a f e e l i n g o f d a ily p ro g re ss and even o f in s p ir a t io n .

Im m igrants from th e Kharkov, D nepropetrovsk, Z h ito m ir, V o ro sh ilo v g rad , P o lta v a and Odessa o b la s t s , and from Leningrad , K islo v o d sk , and Alma-Ata a re working on th e M arin o v sk ii sovkhoz. T h is sovkhoz took r o o ts l a t e r th an i t s n eig h b ou rs, on ly i n th e m iddle o f Ju n e . In a s h o r t tim e th e "M arin o v sk isH made good p ro g ress b o th i n ploughing and in th e b u ild in g o f a sm a ll s e tt le m e n t. M ention must be made o f th e work o f a good o rg a n iz e r , a S ta lin g r a d man, th e d ir e c to r o f th e sovkhoz - A n a to l i i V a s ily e v ic h Zandalov. Ey h is w e ll-p la n n e d and c a r e f u l o rg a n iz a tio n , h i s f ir m a t t i t u d e , h is ju s t requ irem en ts and a t th e same tim e k in d ly a t te n t io n to h is p eo p le , he has won t h e i r a f f e c t io n .

Some Young Communist g i r l s o f th e M arin o v sk ii sovkhoz r e c e n t ly appealed through Pravda to o th e r g i r l s to come and work on th e v ir g in la n d s . T h is c a l l has met w ith co n s id e ra b le support among th e g i r l s o f Moscow, Leningrad , th e U kraine and o th e r p a r ts o f th e co u n try , and as a r e s u l t many new w orkers have come to th e new sovkhozes. R e c e n tly a p a r ty o f Moscow g i r l s s ig n ed on w ith th e M arin o v sk ii sovkhoz; on a r r iv a l they were co m fo rtab ly s e t t l e d and s ta r te d work w ith z e a l .

Anyone c a l l in g a t th e K a ira k ty sovkhoz (D ir e c to r N ik o la i Maksimovich Mamontov) r e c e iv e s th e same im p ression o f f r ie n d s h ip and c o o p e ra tio n . In t h is sovkhoz th e r e are 270 s e t t l e r s who have come from th e U k rain e , th e Moscow o b la s t and Leningrad . There are t h ir t e e n P a rty members and 134- Young Communists. In th e c e n t r a l farm b u ild in g s th e number o f t e n t s i s d e cre a sin g and th e re i s a corresp ond ing in c r e a s e in th e number o f houses going up. I t a lre a d y has th e a i r o f a l i t t l e town w ith d e fin e d s t r e e t s - a lth ou gh i n some p la c e s th e se a re f i l l e d w ith b u ild in g m a te r ia l put th e r e f o r th e c o n s tr u c t io n o f th e fu tu re h o u ses.

The K a ira k ty w orkers ta k e an i n t e r e s t i n p u b lic and c u l t u r a l a f f a i r s as w e ll as in th e s u c c e ss o f t h e i r p ro d u ctiv e work. Very o f te n th e re a re cinem a shows and v i s t s by t h e a t r i c a l a r t i s t s . The w orkers arran g e am ateur perform ances among th em selves; t h e i r d an cers gave shows a t th e c e n t r a l farm b u ild in g s and a ls o f o r th e o u tly in g t r a c t o r b r ig a d e s .

3 3

AGRICULTURE

The Komsomol members have is s u e d a w a ll newspaper c a l le d Za Podem T s e lin y . (P lough th e v ir g in s o i l i ) > pam phlets, and a humorous p ap er. The f o o t b a l l f i e l d l i e s a lo n g sid e th e t e n t s . On th e v o l l e y - b a l l grounds a t the f i e l d s t a t io n , th e t r a c t o r and t r a i l e r men a re p rep arin g f o r m atches w ith th e b rig a d e team s.

D uring t h e i r h o lid a y s stu d e n ts and s c h o o lc h ild re n from Alma-Ata came to K a ira k ty on t h e i r own i n i t i a t i v e . F i f t e e n stu d en ts from th e Mining and M e ta llu r g ic a l I n s t i t u t e have worked from dawn to dusk b u ild in g houses f o r sovkhoz w orkers. These eager e n e r g e t ic young p eop le r e c a l l th e t r a d i t io n o f th e s tu d e n ts who worked on th e c o n s tr u c t io n a l u n d ertak in gs o f th e f i r s t F iv e -Y e a r-P la n , on the G reat Fergan a and th e Volga-Don c a n a ls

One can n ot g e t a com plete id e a o f l i f e on th e sovkhoz by lo o k in g on ly a t th e c e n t r a l farm b u ild in g , b u t one must a ls o see th e t r a c t o r b r ig a d e s . T h ir te e n k ilo m e tre s away i s to be found th e c h ie f sovkhoz b rig a d e tinder th e b r ig a d e le a d e r V lad im ir Makhanov. He re c e iv e d us a t h is fa m ily t e n t ; i t was c le a n and co m fo rtab le and c o n s is te d o f two beds and a d in in g t a b le . From th e v ery b eg in n in g o f th e d riv e th e b rig a d e le a d e r d ecided to make h i s home on th e v ir g in lands and so he se n t f o r h is w ife and son . Work and fa m ily l i f e go hand in hand. Makhanov speaks lo v in g ly o f th e lan d w hich though new i s a lre a d y dear to him. "F o rm e rly ," he s a id , " t h i s was ju s t a d e s e r t , now th e r e i s n o t a h e c ta re o f ground which has n o t been tra v e rs e d by man, t r a c t o r o r m achine. I t ' s f e r t i l e h e re ; Then you go a lo n g a t n ig h t th e a i r i s f r e s h , t h e r e 's som ething d ream -lik e about i t .Our t r a c t o r men are a l l w e ll-ch o se n - young, i n t e l l i g e n t , good ch ap s.Some o f them began t h e i r te c h n ic a l t r a in in g h ere w h ile w orking as t r a i l e r m en."

When we s t a r t e d to make a n o te o f some o f t h e i r names he in te r r u p te d us - " I f you a re w r it in g down any names d o n 't f o r g e t one p erso n , our washerwoman, M aria K ru tayeva. She works sp le n d id ly f o r u s . " T a lk in g o f th e a d u lts , we must n o t fo r g e t th e c h ild r e n - Makhanov's son, th e p re s c h o o l age Vova, the d a r lin g o f th e b r ig a d e . W ith t h e i r p a r e n ts ' p e rm issio n th e t r a c t o r men ta k e th e c h ild re n to t h e i r f i e l d s t a t io n s and th e d r iv e rs ta k e them f o r t r ip s on t h e i r l o r r i e s .

The w orkers o f th e new sovkhozes lo v e th e wide and b e a u t i f u l s tep p es o f K azakhstan . The lan d s are f e r t i l e and p rovid e an in e x h a u s t ib le sou rce f o r th e p ro d u ctio n o f v e g e ta b le s and o th e r c ro p s ; and th ey are e s p e c ia l ly s u i te d f o r th e c u l t iv a t io n o f c e r e a l s . Only a few months have e la p se d s in c e th e new sovkhozes were founded. The Government has assu red them o f f i r s t - c l a s s t e c h n ic a l a id , and th e s e new tech n iq u es and th e enthusiasm o f th e s e t t l e r s have produced th e f i r s t s ig n i f i c a n t s u c c e s s e s . K azakhstan has o v e r f u l f i l l e d i t s p la n f o r th e re c la m a tio n o f th e v ir g in and d e r e l i c t

3 4

AGRICULTURE,

la n d s . By 10th. August, 6 ,5 2 2 ,3 4 0 h e c ta re s had. been ploughed. The c r e a t io n o f sovkhozes in th e h e a r t o f t h i s land, i s tran sfo rm in g l i f e in th e se f a r - o f f s te p p e s .

I I F i r e ’

As tim e went on and. h o rse s and. c a t t l e a r r iv e d a t th e sovkhoz th e problem o f fo ra g e f o r them a ro s e , and so a h a y -c u tt in g b rig ad e was form ed which c o n s is te d alm ost e n t i r e l y o f g i r l s . The g ra s s was b o th cub and brought to th e p la c e s where th e h a y stack s were to be e re c te d , by m ech an ical methods.

On th e day in q u estio n a f a i r l y s t i f f b re e z e was blow ing, alw ays unpopular w ith th e haymakers, as i t hampered t h e i r work in b u ild in g th e s ta c k s .

The t r a v e l l i n g shop came alon g and th e man in charge d id some b r i s k b u s in e s s , e s p e c ia l ly in soap and ra z o r b la d e s . In f i v e m inutes a l l h i s s to c k had b een s o ld and e v e ry o n e 's needs s a t i s f i e d , whereupon he went o f f to r e f i l l and v i s i t an o th er b r ig a d e . Then th ey a l l troo p ed o f f to d in n er and had h a rd ly s a t down b e fo r e a c ry was r a is e d - "The step p e i s on f i r e " , and su re enough, th re e k ilo m e tre s from th e f i e l d s ta t io n o f th e haymaking b r ig a d e , a clou d o f grey smoke was r i s in g from th e c r e s t o f a lon g-sh ap ed mound.

A ll th ou g h ts o f d in n er were fo r g o t te n and one and a l l ru shed o f f in th a t d ir e c t io n . The f i r e was advancing on a wide f r o n t , fan n ed by th e wind, and i t was soon seen th a t e ig h te e n h a y sta ck s la y in th e d i r e c t p ath o f th e f la m e s , to say n o th in g o f some thousand h e c ta r e s o f c o m , a l l ready f o r c u t t in g . The g i r l s and t h e i r b rig a d e le a d e r rushed to meet the advancing f i r e w ith b u t one id e a - th a t o f h a l t in g i t somehow o r o th e r .But the flam es came on l i k e a r i s i n g t id e .

C h ie f agronom ist V a s i l i i A rsen ty ev ich Gorbachenko, who happened to be in th a t re g io n , h a s t i l y s e n t h is d r iv e r to b r in g up a t r a c t o r which was working i n th e d is ta n c e . The t r a c t o r d r iv e r o f th e f i r s t b r ig a d e , B u m os, th en engaged h is ploughs i n th e e a r th and s ta r te d w orking w ith a l l p o s s ib le speed to make a ploughed s t r ip in th e ro u te o f th e f i r e and thus p rev en t i t s advance. The g i r l s watched th e fla m e s advance to th e ploughed s t r i p and seem to surround t r a c t o r and d r iv e r . Then th e engine f a i l e d .

Gorbachenko th en s e n t h is d r iv e r w ith a l l speed to g e t h e lp from the t h ir d b r ig a d e . Bum os rem ained w ith h is t r a c t o r . The g i r l s ra n towards him and attem ped to b e a t down th e fla m e s, which were now one m etre h ig h ,

3 5

AGRICULTURE.

w ith anythin g th ey cou ld g e t h o ld o f , t h e i r s c a rv e s , ja c k e t s , and even bundles o f g r a s s , and i t became apparent th a t th e c o n f la g r a t io n was moving forw ard l e s s q u ick ly where th ey were f i r e - f i g h t i n g th an on the f la n k s . But a l l t h e i r e f f o r t s were n o t enough. Scorched and weary and ready to weep from sh e e r h e lp le s s n e s s th ey had to g iv e way s lo w ly u n t i l th e f i r e was on ly about te n m etres from th e n e a r e s t h a y sta ck . A ll seemed l o s t , b u t suddenly th e f i r s t o f th e column o f t r a c t o r s a r r iv e d and a t f u l l speed s t a r t e d to plough up th e ground and h a l t th e f la m e s .

3 6

ECONOMICS,

E C O N O M I C S

C E N T R A L A S I A N B U D G E T D E B A T E S

A N D P L A N S

I n d u s t r ia l p ro d u ctio n in 1953 - R ep u b lican budget f ig u r e s f o r 1953 - Payments to th e Government - O b last funds - A g r ic u ltu re - In d u stry - Consumer goods - E d u catio n - H ealth .

D uring th e f i r s t h a l f o f 1954 each o f th e fo u r r e p u b lic s o f C e n tra l A sia , and Kazakhstan, h e ld a re p u b lica n co n fe re n ce to , d is c u s s th e budgets o f the p reced in g and c u rre n t y e a r s . The d eb ates p rovid e a mass o f haphazard in fo rm a tio n on ev ery a sp e c t o f th e econom ies o f th e se s t a t e s , ran g in g from p la n s f o r a th r e e fo ld exp an sion o f a g r ic u l tu r a l investm ent i n K azakhstan to co m p lain ts th a t one o f th e f in a n c e m in is t r ie s sends te legram s two hundred words lo n g c o s t in g 325 ru b le s to an ad d ress in th e same s t r e e t . Much o f th e d ebates a re taken up w ith exposu res o f in e f f i c ie n c y and even c o rru p tio n . I f m isunderstanding i s to be avoided th e c r i t i c i s m s must be view ed a g a in s t th e background o f ra p id economic advance, evidence o f which i s to be found in many o f th e budget f ig u r e s and a ls o in th e Gosplan r e p o r ts on p la n f u lf i lm e n t i n 1953 f o r th e se r e p u b lic s .

The m a te r ia l f o r t h is a r t i c l e i s taken m ainly from th e budget d e b a te s , supplem ented where p o s s ib le by in fo rm a tio n from th e re p o r ts o f th e e x e cu tio n o f th e S t a t e p la n f o r 1953 is s u e d by th e S ta te P lan n in g Commission o f each r e p u b lic .

In d u s t r ia l p ro d u ctio n i n 1953

The o v e r a l l in c r e a s e in in d u s t r ia l p ro d u ctio n i n 1953 f o r eachre p u b lic i s g iv en in th e Gosplan re p o r ts as fo llo w s :

3 7

ECONOMICS

TABLE I

R ep u b lic P ercen tag e in c re a s e in P ercen tag e o f p lanp rod u ctio n over 1952 fu lf i lm e n t

K azakhstan 13 97U zbekistan 6 101K ir g iz ia 15 1 0 0 .1T a d z h ik is ta n 14 103Turkm enistan 8 101

Thus p ro d u ctio n in K ir g iz ia was 15 p er c e n t h ig h e r in 1953 th an in 1952 , i n U zbekistan 6 p er ce n t h ig h e r , w h ile th e f ig u r e s f o r the rem ainin g r e p u b lic s f a l l in betw een th ese two extrem es. N a tu ra lly th e v a lu e o f th e s e in d ic e s depends in the f i r s t p la c e on how th ey have been drawn up and second ly on th e le v e l o f p ro d u ctio n a c tu a l ly reach ed in 1952 .

The f ig u r e s g iv in g th e p ercen tag e o f p lan f u lf i lm e n t f o r 1953 f o r the v a r io u s in d u s tr ie s are o f l e s s i n t e r e s t . They show, however, th a t th e expansion o f th e economy was on th e whole c o r r e c t ly p lanned. The weak sp o t as f a r as p la n fu lf i lm e n t i s concerned (though o f cou rse n o t n e c e s s a r i ly as f a r as p ercen tag e in c r e a s e in output i s concerned) i s b u ild in g m a te r ia ls . The output o f b r ic k s in T a d z h ik is ta n was on ly 50 p er c e n t o f p la n , i n K azakhstan 80 p er c e n t o f p la n . On th e o th e r hand chrome le a th e r in K ir g iz ia was 130 p e r c e n t o f p la n , meat in Turkm enistan 130 p e r c e n t a ls o .

R ep u b lican budget f ig u r e s f o r 1953

B e fo re lo o k in g a t th e o v e r a ll f ig u r e s f o r budget revenue and exp en d itu re i t i s perhaps as w e ll to p o in t out two ways in which th e re p u b lic a n budgets d i f f e r from say the B r i t i s h b u d g et. In th e f i r s t p la c e l e s s than a f i f t h o f t o t a l Government exp en d itu re in th e re p u b lic s comes from th e re p u b lic a n bu d g ets; more than f o u r - f i f t h s come from Union fu n d s. Secon d ly , a la r g e p a r t o f in vestm ent in in d u s try i s done through th e budget, so budget a l lo c a t io n s g iv e a much f u l l e r p ic tu r e o f the re p u b lic a n economy th an th e B r i t i s h budget does o f th e B r i t i s h economy.

The f ig u r e s f o r th e 1953 budget a re g iv en as fo llo w s :

3 8

ECONOMICS.

TABLE I I

(A ll f ig u r e s in thousands o f ru b le s )

I Revenue

R ep u b lican L o ca l T o ta l

Kazakhstan 3 ,7 0 1 ,2 3 2 637,311 4 ,3 3 8 ,5 4 3U zbekistan 2 ,6 3 1 ,3 4 3 732 ,004 3 ,3 6 3 ,3 4 7K ir g iz ia 9 9 0 ,6 5 9 135,465 1 ,1 2 6 ,1 2 4T a d zh ik istan 9 8 4 ,7 4 6 1 1 8 ,1 5 3 1 ,1 0 2 ,8 9 9Turkm enistan 9 2 3 ,8 2 1 1 3 6 ,3 7 8 1 ,0 6 0 ,1 9 9

9 ,2 3 1 ,8 0 1 1 ,7 5 9 ,3 1 1 10 , 991,112

I I E xp en d itu re

R ep u blican L o ca l T o ta l

K azakhstan 1 ,8 5 4 ,8 0 9 2 ,4 8 3 ,7 3 4 4 ,3 3 8 ,5 4 3U zbekistan 1 ,2 7 8 ,8 5 9 2 ,0 8 4 ,4 8 8 3 ,3 6 3 ,3 4 7K ir g iz ia 5 1 1 ,5 9 8 614,526 1 ,1 2 6 ,1 2 4T ad zh ik is tan 5 0 3 ,9 4 3 5 9 8 ,9 5 6 1 ,1 0 2 ,8 9 9Turkm enistan 5 1 3 ,8 8 9 5 4 6 ,3 1 0 1 ,0 6 0 ,1 9 9

4 ,6 6 3 ,0 9 8 6 ,3 2 8 ,0 1 4 1 0 ,9 9 1 ,1 1 2

The t o t a l budget exp end itu re o f a l l f iv e s t a t e s added to g e th e r i s thus about 11 m i l l ia r d ru b le s , and i s thus roughly 20 p e r c e n t o f th e n e a r ly 60 m i l l ia r d ru b le budget o f th e RSFSR.

I n 1954 th e t o t a l revenues f o r K azakhstan were to be 5,350m . r u b le s , a r i s e o f over 20 p e r c e n t compared w ith re c e n t annual r i s e s o f 3 *5 p er c e n t . T h is r e f l e c t s th e e x te n t o f th e d riv e f o r g r a in expansion in K azakhstan.

Payments to th e Government

The budget d eb ates m ention a number o f in t e r e s t i n g p o in ts about f in a n c e . There i s a re c u r r in g com plain t th a t revenues are n o t p a id in on tim e . Some S t a t e e n te r p r is e s e v id e n tly use ta x m onies due to th e Government as w orking c a p i t a l f o r as lon g as th ey can . In b o th U zb ek istan and K ir g iz ia much i s s a id about t h is m a lp ra c tic e . Y e t th e p ro p o rtio n o f p lanned revenue a c tu a l ly c o l le c t e d i n b o th th e se r e p u b lic s i s h ig h , 97*6 p e r c e n t in U zb ek istan and 98*5 p e r c e n t in K ir g iz ia .T h is f a i l u r e q u ite to ach iev e th e revenue ta r g e t i s o f i n t e r e s t b ecau se

3 9

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i n many b ran ch es o f th e economy la r g e unplanned lo s s e s a re re p o rte d , which mean low er revenue payments to th e Government out o f th e p r o f i t s . In U zb ek istan , f o r exam ple, unplanned lo s s e s in in d u stry i n 1953 amounted to 125m. r u b le s , w hile th e M in is try o f Sovkhozes made on ly 12 p e r c e n t o f i t s e s tim a te d p r o f i t s . In K ir g iz ia th e M in is try o f Housing made a lo s s o f 3i>m» ru b le s in s te a d o f i t s planned p r o f i t o f 2m ., and the MTS p a id 25m. ru b le s l e s s th an planned i n ta x e s . Sovkhozes in K ir g iz ia were exp ected to make an 18m. ru b le p r o f i t , and in s te a d made a lo s s o f 3m. In K azakhstan, sovkhoz lo s s e s averaged 100m. a y e a r f o r th re e y ean s, o f w hich a c o n s id e ra b le p a r t i s s a id to be due to embezzlement. In T ad zh ik stan em bezzlers a re s a id to have made o f f w ith 2m. r u b le s . S in ce , in s p i t e o f th e se f a i l u r e s , revenue ta r g e t s are so n e a r ly ach iev ed , i t appears th a t th e Government must a llo w f o r a co n s id e ra b le degree o f non- f u l f i lm e n t o f p la n by a number o f b ran ch es o f th e economy.

O b la st funds

R ep u b lican governments e x e r c is e c o n s id e ra b le c o n tr o l over th e f in a n c e s o f th e l o c a l a u th o r i t ie s under them. Very v a r ie d trea tm en t i s meted ou t to d i f f e r e n t l o c a l i t i e s . In K ir g iz ia , f o r exam ple, l o c a l a u t h o r i t ie s r e t a in a c e r t a in p ercen tag e o f "tu rn o v er t a x " : Osh o b la s ti s a llow ed to keep 23 p e r c e n t and Frunze town 3 p e r c e n t , w h ile the T ien -Sh an and T a la s s o b la s t s keep th e whole 100 p er c e n t . From th e a g r ic u ltu r a l , ta x and from kolkhoz income ta x e s a l l th e o b la s ts e x ce p t T ien -Sh an keep 30 p e r c e n t , th e l a t t e r once more k eep in g 100 p e r c e n t . From ta x e s on b a c h e lo rs , s p in s te r s , and sm all f a m i l ie s , Osh r e ta in e d 30 p e r c e n t and th e o th e r o b la s ts 4 0 p e r c e n t , excep t T ien -Sh an which i s a llow ed 70 p e r c e n t . Of MTS revenu es, Osh and D zhalal-A bad keep 10 p er c e n t , Frunze 20 p e r c e n t , Is sy k -K u l 30 p e r c e n t, T ien -Sh an 100 p er c e n t , and T a la s s on ly 5 p e r c e n t . From p e rso n a l ta x e s Fru n ze, D zhalal-A bad, Is s y k -K u l keep 25 p e r c e n t , Osh 24 p e r c e n t , T ien -Sh an 50 p e r c e n t , T a la s s 100 p e r c e n t , b u t Frunze town on ly 10 p er c e n t .

A g r ic u ltu re

G rain expansion in K azakhstan dom inates th e econom ic sc e n e . V ast sums from b o th Union and re p u b lica n so u rce s a re b e in g poured in to th e la n d . In c lu d in g Union fun d s, 5^ m i l l ia r d ru b le s were to be sp en t on a g r ic u l t u r a l expansion in 1954> a f ig u r e la r g e r than t o t a l exp end itu re on e v e ry th in g in th e re p u b lica n budget and s e v e r a l tim es a s la rg e as th e t o t a l re p u b lic a n budget exp en d itu re i n any o f th e o th e r r e p u b lic s . (S e e T ab le I I . ) E xp en d itu re from re p u b lic a n so u rces on a g r ic u l tu r a l exp an sion (in c lu d e d o f co u rse i n th e 5 i m il l ia r d m entioned) was to be 65 p e r c e n t g r e a te r th an i n 1953* Of th e 5^ m il l ia r d , no l e s s than

4 0

ECONOMICS

2 .5 m i l l ia r d were to "be (-under Union a p p ro p ria tio n ) to expanding th e MTS netw ork.

M achinery, a g r ic u l t u r a l equipment and lab ou r a re re a ch in g K azakhstan i n a stead y stream . Exp ansion a t t h i s r a t e i s g iv in g r i s e to many problem s o f c o o rd in a tio n . D ep u ties p o in t out in th e d eb ates a g a in and ag a in th a t one o r an o th er p a r t o f th e expansion i s going to o slow ly o r too f a s t and thus cau sin g d i f f i c u l t i e s . 1 2 ,0 0 0 s p e c i a l i s t s a r r iv in g in Akmolinsk o b la s t , f o r example, found a sh o rtag e o f accommodation o f any s o r t i n th e main c e n tr e A tb asar, and even a sh o rtag e o f d rin k in g w ater. B u ild in g s were planned in 1953 i n t h is o b la s t re q u ir in g 100m. b r ic k s when th e output o f th e l o c a l b r ic k k i ln s co u ld n o t exceed 20m. p er annum.

In th e budget d is c u s s io n o f K ir g iz ia th e re was some d is c u s s io n o f r u r a l e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n , which seems to have been p ro ceed in g unevenly. I n th e C h atk a l radon o f th e T a la s s o b la s t , o f 2.75m . ru b le s a l lo c a t e d f o r th e c o n s tr u c t io n o f a p o w e r-s ta tio n in 1954 on ly 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 ru b le s had been vised by th e end o f March 1954*

There a re b ig p la n s f o r expanding c o tto n c u l t iv a t io n in U zbek istan and v a s t sums are b e in g a l lo c a te d to i r r i g a t i o n though in 1953 on ly h a l f th e i r r i g a t i o n p la n was a c tu a l ly c a r r ie d o u t. T h is seems on ly to have a c te d as a spur f o r s t i l l more e x te n s iv e p la n s in 1954> f o r c a p i t a l in vestm ent in i r r i g a t i o n was to r e c e iv e a p p ro p ria tio n s fo u r tim es as g r e a t a s th o se made in 1953 and an e x tr a 133 ,000 h e c ta r e s o f lan d were to be c u l t iv a te d . I n th e f i r s t fo u r months o f l a s t y e a r , however, on ly 14 p e r c e n t o f th e i r r i g a t i o n a p p ro p ria tio n s were tak en up. The p la n s f o r in c re a s e d c o tto n output r e s t in g on t h i s i r r i g a t i o n , and to w hich th e whole economy o f U zb ek istan i s geared , a re la r g e . Between 1 9 5 3 -5 8 c o tto n output i s p lanned n e a r ly to d ou ble, going up from n e a r ly 2-gm. to n s i n 1953 to 4§m. to n s in 1958 .

L arge c o tto n exp an sion i s a ls o p lanned f o r Turkm enistan . Output has gone up 50 p e r c e n t s in c e b e fo re th e war, and ra p id in c r e a s e s a re f o r e c a s t - 400 ,000 to n s by 1955> and th en a 50 p e r c e n t in c r e a s e in th re e y e a rs to 6 2 0 ,0 0 0 ton s by 1958 . To ach iev e t h i s t a r g e t new i r r i g a t i o n works, 10 new MTS, 5 c o tto n g in n e r ie s , and 3 4 c o t to n - c o l l e c t in g c e n tr e s a re p lanned. The Kara-Kum c a n a l i s now under way, th e r e p u b lic r e c e iv in g 100m. ru b le s from Union funds f o r i t in 1954*

The p a r t p lay ed by th e sovkhozes i s c r i t i c i z e d in one re p u b lic a f t e r a n o th e r . Sovkhozes a re meant to be an example to a l l a g r ic u l t u r a l c o l l e c t i v e farm s. Y et i n K azakhstan f o r y e a rs they have n o t f u l f i l l e d th e Gosplan d e liv e ry ta r g e ts f o r a g r ic u l t u r a l produce. The new est m achinery se n t to them in 1953 has b een p o o rly

4 1

ECONOMICS.

u sed , 15 p e r c e n t o f th e t r a c t o r s and 25 p e r c e n t o f th e combines rem ain in g i d l e . In 1953, 70 p e r c e n t o f th e sovkhozes op erated a t a lo s s and embezzlement was w id e-sp read . In U zbek istan , th e M in is try o f Sovkhozes made on ly 12 p er c e n t o f i t s p lanned p r o f i t s . In K ir g iz ia sovkhoz p r o f i t s were planned a t 18m. ru b le s and in s te a d th ey made a lo s s o f 3m. Meat c o s ts in t h is re p u b lic were tw ice what was p lanned, and many p o u ltry sovkhozes d e liv e re d on ly 20 eggs p e r hen over th e y e a r a t a p r ic e th re e tim es th a t o f th e m arket.

In d u stry

U zb ek istan , and p a r t i c u la r ly th e Tashkent a re a , i s th e hub o f in d u s t r i a l p ro d u ctio n in C e n tra l A sia . Y et even in t h i s re p u b lic th re e tim es as much money was provid ed by th e re p u b lic a n budget f o r a g r ic u ltu r e as f o r in d u s try . A g r e a t v a r ie ty o f c a p i t a l and consumer goods a re produced in c lu d in g t e x t i l e s , m achine to o ls , ch e m ica ls and to b acco p ro d u cts . The f ig u r e s f o r in c r e a s e in in d u s t r ia l p ro d u ctio n in 1953 g iv en above ( s e e T able i ) show, however, on ly a 6 p er c e n t r i s e f o r U zb ek istan , l e s s th an h a l f th a t o f th e th re e b e s t r e p u b lic s . Some p o s s ib le re a so n s f o r t h is com p arative la g g in g emerge from th e budget d e b a te s . Mismanagement o f every k in d in in d u s try i s c i t e d . Some f irm s have f a r to o many r e j e c t s , and have f a i l e d to reduce t h e i r p e rc e n ta g e . O thers have produced much l e s s th an th ey p lanned, and so made la r g e u nexpected lo s s e s . C otton g in n e r ie s , so im p ortan t i n Uzbek in d u s try , f in d t h e i r c o s ts 30m. r u b le s more th an p re v io u s ly b ecau se o f a h ig h e r ou tpu t o f low er grad es o f f i b r e and se ed s. C a r e le s s w arehousing and s to ra g e o f raw c o tto n -s e e d s a t th e g in n e r ie s have le d to lo s s e s o f 60m. r u b le s , in c re a s e d by im p e rfe c t grad ing to 80m. An in t e r e s t i n g c r i t i c i s m made i s th a t m achinery i s to o o f te n i d l e , to a t o t a l o f lgm. man hours in 1953. The Tashkent to b acco p la n t a lon e acco u n ts f o r1 0 0 ,0 0 0 man hours o f id le m achinery during th e y e a r .

K azakh stan ’ s c h ie f in d u s t r ia l p rod u ctio n i s o i l ; the in d u s try i s a la r g e c o n tr ib u to r to Government revenu e, and o v e r f u l f i l l e d th e 1953 p lan t a r g e t . I t s ou tpu t i s expanding f a s t , go ing up 30 p e r c e n t betw een 1952 and 1953* More tu rb in e d r i l l i n g and " s o c i a l i s t co m p e titio n s" a re c i t e d as th e cau se s o f t h i s in c r e a s e , b u t c a p ita l , development i s f e l t s t i l l to be la g g in g . The Kazakh o i l t r u s t works in e x t r a o r d in a r i ly d i f f i c u l t c o n d itio n s i n th e s e m i-d e s e r t o f th e N orth C aspian low lands, and e f f o r t s to im prove th e l iv i n g c o n d itio n s and a m en itie s o f employees a re h e ld up by s h o rta g e s o f a l l k in d s . S h o rtag es o f co o p e ra tiv e f a c t o r s are a ls o p re v e n tin g b o r in g equipment from b e in g f u l l y u sed .

In K ir g iz ia in d u s t r ia l exp an sion in 1953 took p la c e f a s t e r th an in any o th e r r e p u b lic , output in c r e a s in g by 15 p e r c e n t . As compared w ith 1950 , ou tpu t a t th e end o f .1954 i s p lanned to b e up 60 p e r c e n t in c lu d in g

ECONOMICS.

an in c r e a s e o f 2-g- tim es in o i l p ro d u ctio n , 30 p er c e n t f o r c o a l , 75 p e r c e n t f o r m e ta ls , and 50 p er ce n t f o r consumer goods. K ir g iz ia i s an im p ortan t co a l-p ro d u cin g r e p u b lic , b u t d ep u ties com plain th a t th e c o a l in d u stry i s n o t d eveloping as i t shou ld . New f i e l d s are n o t b e in g developed in , f o r exam ple, A ksai, a lth ou gh they would save tra n s p o r t to some o f th e T ien-Shan r a io n s , and alth ou gh m in ers ' wages have r is e n about 75 p e r c e n t s in c e 194-6, houses and am en ities la y b eh in d .D e le g a te s a ls o exp ressed much concern over the la c k o f v a r ie ty o f consumer goods, c la im in g th a t common th in g s l ik e pens and to y s which cou ld q u ite w e ll be made in K ir g iz ia a re b e in g im ported from o th e r p a r ts o f th e Union.

Consumer goods

D e le g a te s in a number o f the r e p u b lic s com plain about consum ers' needs n o t b e in g p ro p e rly s tu d ie d by th e tra d in g o rg a n iz a tio n s , and g iv e some t e l l i n g exam ples o f th e w aste to which t h i s can le a d . In T a d z h ik is ta n , f o r exam ple, consumer goods w orth 5m. r u b le s were s e n t to Garm and tu rn ed out to be e n t i r e l y u n s u ita b le f o r s a le th e r e . As a r e s u l t , th ey had to be d espatched back to S ta lin a b a d where th ey came from . R ep eated in s ta n c e s o f t h is s o r t o f th in g had le d th e tra d in g o rg a n iz a tio n s in to lo s s e s over 1953* In K ir g iz ia , th e C halvodar shoe p la n t i s g u i l ty o f th e same s o r t o f n e g le c t o f th e consu m er.. I t tu rn ed out th e r ig h t number o f shoes in 1955, b u t u n fo rtu n a te ly n o t in the s o r t s and s iz e s which p eop le wanted. As a r e s u l t i t made lo s s e s o f 8m. ru b le s and s ta r te d 1954 w ith su rp lu s s to c k s 300 p er c e n t to o la r g e .

E d u catio n

A la r g e p ro p o rtio n o f the S ta te budget a l lo c a t io n s go to h e a lth and e d u ca tio n . The T a d z h ik is ta n Government, f o r exam ple, i s devoting over 30 p e r c e n t o f i t s t o t a l o u tla y in 1954 to e d u ca tio n a lo n e . In Turkm enistan over h a l f th e budget o u tla y goes to e d u ca tio n , h e a lth , and s o c ia l s e c u r i ty .

A ccording to th e M in is te r o f E d u catio n f o r T a d z h ik is ta n , qu ick advance i s b e in g made in th e re p u b lic on th e e d u ca tio n a l f r o n t . In th e l a s t fo u r y e a rs fo u r hundred sev en -y ear sc h o o ls , and n in e ty m iddle ( i . e . te n -y e a r ) sc h o o ls have been opened. The stan d ard o f tex tb o o k s has b een r a is e d , and cu rricu lu m s brought more in to l in e w ith l o c a l n eed s.

A nother problem i s th a t o f f in d in g enough p ro p erly t r a in e d te a c h e r s . In K azakhstan, f o r exam ple, h ig h e r ed u ca tio n i s h e ld back b ecau se 60 p e r c e n t o f th e e d u ca tio n a l and w e lfa re w orkers have on ly a f i v e to seven y e a r s c h o o l t r a in in g . In T a d z h ik is ta n over 2 ,0 0 0 te a c h e r s have n o t

4 3

ECONOMICS.

a c q u ire d m id d le -sch o o l grad u atio n c e r t i f i c a t e s , a lth ou gh compulsory m id d le -sch o o l a tten d an ce has been in tro d u ce d in a f a i r number o f towns. C om plaints o f poor equipment and d elay s i n th e c o n s tr u c t io n o f sch o o ls a re made by many d e p u tie s from K ir g iz ia . Some sc h o o ls a re so o v ercrowded th a t th ey work th re e s h i f t s , w h ile th e re i s no money f o r maps and equipment o f any s o r t , l e t a lon e la b o r a to r ie s and gym nasia.

H ea lth

More was sp en t on h o s p ita l b u ild in g s in 1953 th an in 1952 . In K azakhstan th e p la n f o r in vestm ent in th e h e a lth s e r v ic e s was 100 p er c e n t c a r r ie d o u t, many new beds added to th e h o s p i ta ls , and d o cto rs and n u r s e s ' q u a l i f i c a t io n s r a is e d . N e v e rth e le ss th e re sire many co m p la in ts .In Dzhambul i t s e l f th e r e a re no p ro p er, permanent h o s p i t a l b u ild in g s , o rd in a ry houses having to serve in s te a d . E a rn e s t re q u e s ts were made by d e p u tie s f o r a p rop er h o s p ita l b u ild in g w ith 250 b ed s.

I n K ir g iz ia , 10 p e r c e n t more was sp en t on h o s p ita l c o n s tru c t io n in 1953 than in 1952 , n e v e r th e le s s th e re i s much t a l k o f u n n ecessary d e la y s . The D zhalal-A bad m a te rn ity h o s p ita l f o r example has b een under c o n s tr u c t io n ev er s in c e 1951*

Turkm enistan in v e s te d more in h e a lth in 1953 th an p re v io u s ly , b u t la r g e amounts o f money a l lo c a te d were n o t taken ip . T h is d elay a f f e c t e d p a r t i c u la r ly th e r e c o n s tr u c t io n o f Ashkhabad a f t e r i t s d e v a stin g e a r th quake in 1948 . Large Union funds were put a t th e d is p o s a l o f th e a re a f o r r e c o n s tr u c t io n b u t s e r io u s d i f f i c u l t i e s are a p p a re n tly p re v e n tin g th e work b e in g c a r r ie d o u t. Only h a l f th e h ouses p lanned have been b u i l t , and 4 0 p e r c e n t o f th e p o p u la tio n s t i l l l i v e i n tem porary sh a ck s . T h is i n a b i l i t y to cope w ith p la n s f o r w hich ample funds a re a v a i la b le i s a t t r ib u t e d to a manpower sh o rtag e , s a id to r e s u l t from poor "mass p o l i t i c a l " work. Of 4? 500 new workmen tak en on f o r r e c o n s tr u c t io n during th e y e a r no l e s s than 3 ,7 0 0 were d ism issed .

4 4

PUBLIC SERVICES.

P U B L I C S E R V I C E S

H E A L T H S E R V I C E S I N C E N T R A L A S I A

(UZBEKISTAN, TADZHIKISTAN, KIRGIZIA)

H isto ry and development - M ed ical ed u cation and re s e a rc h - Epidem ic d ise a se d - T u b e rcu lo s is - Mother and c h i ld w e lfa re - O rg an izatio n o f h e a lth s e r v ic e s - Urban s e r v ic e s - R u ra l S e r v ic e s - C o n stru c tio n programme - H ealth r e s o r t s and s a n a to r ia .

There were, i n 1913? 57 h o s p ita ls and c l i n i c s (d is p e n s a r ie s ) w ith 128 d o cto rs i n U zb ek istan . K ir g iz ia in 1914 had 6 h o s p ita ls w ith 112 bed s, 30 c l i n i c s and 16 d o c to rs , w h ile T ad z h ik is ta n had th re e m ed ical o f f i c e r s and a few o r d e r l ie s a tta c h e d to th e g a r r is o n s a t Khorog, Pendzhikent and Ura-Tyube. The p o s t-re v o lu tio n a ry expansion o f th e h e a lth s e r v ic e s has been v ery g r e a t ; by 1938 th e number o f d o c to rs in U zbek istan had reach ed 2 ,3 6 7 and by 1940 K ir g iz ia had 81 h o s p ita ls and 336 c l i n i c s w ith 4 ,6 4 4 b ed s, and 96 c re ch e s w ith 2 ,7 5 9 b ed s.

P o st-w ar expansion has b een s im ila r ly g r e a t . 4-8 new m ed ica l i n s t i t u t io n s were b u i l t in U zbek istan betw een 1947 and 1954, and a f u r th e r 100 are p r o je c te d ; by 1950 the re p u b lic had 550 m ed ical c e n tr e s and about 300 m other and c h i ld w e lfa re i n s t i t u t i o n s . In K ir g iz ia th e re were 4-06 c l i n i c s in 1952 , 160 h o s p ita ls w ith 8 ,1 0 0 beds i n 1953 , and 1 ,7 3 6 d o cto rs and 4 ,7 9 4 n u rses in 1954* The number o f c re ch e s ro s e from th e 1940 f ig u r e o f 96 to 128 w ith 4 ,7 2 4 b e d s . In T a d z h ik is ta n th e re are now 230 h o s p ita ls and c l i n i c s , s e v e r a l hundred d o c to rs , and over 2 ,0 0 0 f e ld s h e r s and n u rs e s ; h e a lth exp en d itu re has r i s e n to a p er c a p ita a l lo c a t io n o f 9 6 .2 ru b le s - over two and a h a l f tim es th e 1940 f ig u r e . In K ir g iz ia th e g e n e ra l t o t a l f o r 1952 was 148m. r u b le s - th re e tim es th e f ig u r e f o r 1940 ; th e f ig u r e s f o r 1953 and 1954 a re1 6 1 ,6 0 3 ,0 0 0 r u b le s and 190m. ru b le s r e s p e c t iv e ly .

M edical e d u ca tio n and re s e a rc h

M edical e d u ca tio n in U zbek istan i s provided by fo u r i n s t i t u t e s and f i f t e e n tekhnikums f o r m iddle-grade m ed ical p e rso n n e l. The i n s t i t u t e s (o n ly th re e o f which were in e x is te n c e in 1953) t r a i n

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4 ,5 0 0 p u p ils , most o f -whom a re s a id to Be in d igenou s in h a b ita n ts . The Tashkent M ed ical I n s t i t u t e in -which, s in c e i t s fou n d atio n , over 8 ,2 0 0 d o cto rs have q u a l i f ie d - 3 ,7 0 0 o f them betw een 1946 and 1950 - i s th e s e n io r such e s ta b lish m en t in C e n tra l A sia . Kazakhs, T adzhiks, Turkmens, and K ir g iz a tte n d i t ; th e f i r s t Uzbek p h y s ic ia n q u a li f ie d in 1924 and s in c e th en 1, 356 Uzbek d o cto rs have been t r a in e d h e re . In 1954 , 2 ,0 0 0 s tu d e n ts were in a tten d an ce , 700 o f whom were women o f C e n tra l A sian n a t io n a l i t y . 156 o f i t s s t a f f o f 377 q u a l i f ie d a t T ash ken t. 14 o f the 4 4 p r o fe s s o r s , h a l f o f th e a s s i s t a n t s and a t h ir d o f th e le c t u r e r s are Uzbeks. The i n s t i t u t e has p u b lish ed 4 ,0 0 0 p ap ers, 150 monographs and 20 sym posia s in c e i t s in c e p t io n .

S e v e r a l s p e c ia l iz e d m ed ical re s e a rc h i n s t i t u t e s work in co n n ectio n w ith th e Uzbek Academy o f S c ie n c e s and th e a ll-U n io n Academy o f M edical S c ie n c e s .

In T a d z h ik is ta n th e re a re th e S ta lin a b a d M edical I n s t i t u t e , th re e m ed ica l tekhnikums and a few tr a in in g sc h o o ls f o r n u rs e s . These e s ta b lis h m e n ts do n o t, i t seem s, meet th e need f o r q u a l i f ie d w orkers, and th e demand f o r more Tadzhik d o c to rs , e s p e c ia l ly f o r women d o c to rs , i s v ery g r e a t .

There i s a m ed ical i n s t i t u t e in Frunze, b u t th e number o f o th e r t r a in in g e s ta b lis h m e n ts in K ir g iz ia i s nowhere s ta te d . The K irg iz M ed ical I n s t i t u t e i s s a id to t r a i n hundreds o f n a t iv e d o c to rs ; one o f them - I s a Akhunbayev - i s a corresp ond ing member o f th e a ll-U n io n Academy o f M ed ical S c ie n c e s , and has been d eco ra ted by th e Government o f th e USSR.

Between th e 20 th and 25th Septem ber 1954 a jo i n t co n fe re n ce o f th e USSR Academy o f M ed ical S c ie n c e s and o f th e Uzbek M in is try o f H ealth took p la c e in T ash kent. The co n fe re n ce was a tten d ed by d e le g a tio n s from China, In d ia , In d o n es ia , Burma, P a k is ta n , M ongolia, N orth K orea, N orth Vietnam , Egypt, I r a n , S y r ia and the Lebanon. M in is te rs o f H ea lth le d d e le g a tio n s from th e o th e r C e n tra l A sian r e p u b lic s . In h is r e p o r t to th e co n fe re n ce , S . Ro Karynbayev, th e Kazakh M in is te r o f H ealth , s a id th a t 1 ,4 1 0 d o c to rs and 8 ,4 0 0 f e ld s h e r s and n u rses were a t work in r u r a l a re a s o f K azakhstan, and 471 h o s p ita ls and c l i n i c s e x is te d in the r e p u b lic . In th e ensuing debate K .R , F arkh ad i o f the Samarkand M edical I n s t i t u t e , P r o fe s s o r G.A. B a tk is , member o f th e USSR Academy o f M edical S c ie n c e s , F .U . Nurgazeva, th e K ir g iz M in is te r o f H ealth , K.A. Akhmedov, th e Tadzhik M in is te r o f H ealth , and o th e r d e le g a te s took p a r t . A lto g e th e r some t h i r t y r e p o r ts on d i f f e r e n t a s p e c ts o f th e r e g io n a l path ology o f C e n tra l A sia were read a t t h is jo i n t c o n fe re n c e . " I n th e tw e n t ie s ," s a id P r o fe s s o r Zhdanov,"c h o le r a was e lim in a te d i n th e S o v ie t Union, and sm allpox in th e t h i r t i e s ,

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w hile th e in c id e n ce o f s e v e r a l o th e r in fe c t io u s d is e a s e s in c lu d in g m a la r ia , was g r e a t ly reduced. The e r a d ic a t io n o f m a la r ia i s our most p re s s in g ta s k f o r th e n e x t few y e a r s .”

Epidem ic d is e a s e s

U n iv e rsa l v a c c in a t io n f o r sm allpox was com pleted i n 1936, and s in c e th en no c a s e o f sm allpox has been re p o rte d in U zb ek istan . The V acc in es and Serum I n s t i t u t e i n Tashkent was th e f i r s t b a c t e r i o lo g i c a l la b o ra to ry to be opened i n C e n tra l A sia . R is h ta (d ra c u n c u lo s is ) f i r s t d e sc r ib e d by A vicenna, was f o r c e n tu r ie s th e scourge o f C e n tra l A sia - about one in f iv e o f th e p o p u la tio n s u ffe r e d from i t . P ro p h y la c tic m easures and a v igorou s h y g ien e campaign, f o r which th e T r o p ic a l I n s t i t u t e , founded a t Bukhara in 192if, was la r g e ly re s p o n s ib le , have r e s u lte d in i t s e x te rm in a tio n , th e l a s t re p o rte d case i n U zbekistan b e in g i n 1931*

Plague and c h o le ra have b een co m p lete ly e ra d ic a te d i n C e n tra l A sia . C on sid erab le s u c c e ss has b een ach iev ed by r e s e a r c h in com bating le is h m a n ia s is , h elm in th in f e s t a t io n s , b r u c e l lo s i s , and g o i t r e . Trachoma, scab (m ange), f o r th e trea tm en t o f which a p ro p h y la c tic c l i n i c w ith 25 beds has b een opened i n Tashkent under P r o fe s s o r S .A . Massumov, Pendinskaya u lc e r (B o ro v s k ii d is e a s e ) , and o th e r sk in d is e a s e s a re b ein g g ra d u a lly e lim in a te d .

B e fo re th e R ev o lu tio n , e ig h t out o f every te n Uzbeks s u f fe r e d from m a la r ia . 150 a n t i -m a la r ia l in s t i t u t i o n s , headed by th e I n s t i t u t e o f M a la ria and M ed ical P a r a s ito lo g y in Samarkand a re com bating th e d ise a se in U zb ek istan . In th e l a s t 15 y e a rs 9 0 ,0 0 0 h e c ta r e s o f m arshland have been d rain ed and 2 0 ,0 0 0 k ilo m e tre s o f waterways c le a n e d . 22m. cu b ic m etres o f s o i l have been e x cav ated and over 100m. ru b le s sp en t on a n t i - m a la r ia l "h y d ro -te c h n ic a l o p e ra tio n s ” , w ith th e r e s u l t th a t i n a l l 17 ra io n s o f U zbek istan no c a s e o f m a la ria was re p o rte d in 1953* S im ila r measures have b een tak en in K ir g iz ia and T a d z h ik is ta n and th e m o r ta li ty r a te has b een sh arp ly reduced.

T u b e rcu lo s is

Between 1911 and 1914 tu b e r c u lo s is was re s p o n s ib le f o r one ten th o f th e t o t a l m o r ta li ty in U zb ek istan . The f i r s t a n t i - t u b e r c u lo s is c l i n i c was opened i n Tashkent in 1920; by 1926 f iv e were in e x is te n c e - two in Tashkent and one each a t Samarkand, Kokand and Andizhan. The Uzbek A n ti-T u b e rc u lo s is R esearch I n s t i t u t e , founded in 1936 , i s in charge o f t r a in in g , trea tm en t and p re v e n tiv e m easures. Pour p r o fe s s o r s , s i x a s s i s t a n t s and f i f t y d o c to rs , tw enty o f them Uzbeks, work in i t s c l i n i c s and r e s e a rc h departm ent. S e v e r a l new p re p a ra tio n s have been

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evo lv ed in S o v ie t la b o r a to r ie s ( s i c ) - s trep to m y cin , p ask , t i b i n , f t iv a z id , and o th e r s . T h e ir employment, combined w ith s a n a to r ia l th erap y, c o lla p s e th erap y , and s u r g ic a l treatm en t has r e s u lte d i n many com plete c u r e s .

There a re now t h i r t y a n t i - t u b e r c u lo s is c l i n i c s and 500 d o c to rs in i n s t i t u t i o n s com bating tu b e r c u lo s is in U zb ek istan . Most o f th e se c l i n i c s have X -ra y u n i t s , and m obile X -ra y teams are employed among th e r u r a l p o p u la tio n . Group exam inations are b e in g c a r r ie d o u t. A n ti- tu b e r c u lo s is u n its have b een organ ized in most urban ra io n s in p o ly c l in ic s and the m ed ical and h e a lth c e n tr e s o f f a c t o r i e s , la r g e p la n ts , and in s t i t u t i o n s . Only 1 8 ,4 0 7 p eop le were embraced by the scheme o f p ro p h y la c tic and X -ray exam in ation i n 1944> i n 1948 t h e i r number was 1 4 0 ,0 0 0 and in 1953 over a m il l io n . B. C.G. v a c c in a tio n o f c h ild re n i s becom ing u n iv e r s a l; on ly1 ,0 0 0 new -born in fa n ts were immunized in 1938 , b u t by 1953 such im m unizations had become th e u su a l p r a c t ic e in Uzbek m a te rn ity wards.

M other and c h i ld w e lfa re

The deputy M in is te r o f H ealth in U zbek istan , Z.M. Dzhamalova, has s ta te d th a t in th e l a s t e ig h te e n y e a rs th e number o f p e d ia t r ic s p e c i a l i s t s has r i s e n s i x tim es and th e number o f g y n a e c o lo g is ts th re e tim e s .M ate rn ity homes, women's c l i n i c s , c re c h e s , and o th e r m other and c h i ld w e lfa re c e n tr e s form a p a r t i c u la r ly im p ortan t p a r t o f th e M in is tr y 's b u ild in g programme.

M idw ifery c e n tre s have b een organ ized in ko lk h o zes, w h ile c l i n i c s - and i n la r g e r r u r a l c e n tr e s , m a te rn ity h o s p ita ls - have a lre a d y been c r e a te d i n g r e a t numbers.

The p o l ic y in K ir g iz ia i s to a l l o t th e b e s t a v a i la b le houses in the v i l l a g e f o r th e accommodation o f th e se s e r v ic e s ; and such c e n tr e s are to be m u lt ip lie d in th e n ear f u tu r e .

O rg a n iz a tio n o f h e a lth s e r v ic e s

C o n tro l i s e x e r c is e d ov er a l l in s t i t u t i o n s through a system lin k in g town and r a io n c o u n c ils w ith th e re p u b lica n and, u lt im a te ly , w ith th e a l l - Union M in is try o f H ealth . Bu reaucracy i n t h i s system i s w id ely c r i t i c i z e d . The K ir g iz m in is try i s s a id to have is s u e d 2 2 ,0 0 0 d i f f e r e n t d ir e c t iv e s , o rd ers and in s t r u c t io n s in 1953 , a lthough th e M in is te r , h e r deputy, and o th e r o f f i c i a l s seldom v i s i t e d th e v a rio u s d i s t r i c t s o f th e r e p u b lic . The co n fe re n ce o f h e a lth w orkers i n Frunze i n J u ly 1954 a ls o found f a u l t w ith th e m in is t r y 's b u r e a u c r a t ic methods and in e f f e c t iv e n e s s in c a r ry in g out r e s o lu t io n s ta k e n .

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H o sp ita ls in th e r a io n towns o f T a d zh ik istan a re s a id to la c k th e p rop er m in is try c o n t r o l ; t h is produces an ir r e s p o n s ib le a t t i tu d e towards work and th e p a t ie n ts . P lu ra lis m i s the g r e a t tem p tatio n in th e p re s e n t sh ortag e o f d o c to rs . Ur. U.R. Mullovandov, a p h y s ic ia n a t th e StaJLinabad c h i ld r e n 's h o s p ita l , appeared b e fo re th e Tadzhik Supreme C ourt in J u ly 1954 on th e charge o f s y s te m a t ic a lly abu sin g h is o f f i c i a l p o s i t io n . He worked n o t only a t th e h o s p ita l , b u t a ls o a t th e Tadzhik Prom strakhsovet ( c o u n c i l f o r in d u s t r ia l in su ra n c e ) , tau gh t in two m ed ical sch o o ls and h e ld th e p o s it io n o f a d i s t r i c t d o c to r . He had no tim e l e f t to v i s i t p a t ie n ts ; i t was h is p r a c t ic e to demand s u b s ta n t ia l b r ib e s b e fo r e sending p eop le to s a n a to r ia .

The Tashkent town c o u n c il has h eard com p lain ts o f th e uneven d is t r ib u t io n o f the c i t y ’ s m ed ical s e r v ic e s . R ead ers ' l e t t e r s to Pravda V ostoka com plain o f th e apathy and n e g lig e n ce o f th e s t a f f o f th e c i t y ' s c l i n i c s and h o s p i ta ls , and of the in e f f i c ie n c y o f th e p h arm acists - who a re o f te n w ith ou t th e p re s c r ib e d m ed icin es. Members o f th e c o u n c il and o f th e Uzbek M in is try o f H ealth seldom v i s i t th e m ed ical c e n tr e s o f T ash ken t.

Urban s e r v ic e s

H ealth s e r v ic e s , however, a re more e f f i c i e n t in th e towns o f C e n tra l A sia than i n th e h in te r la n d . There are now 2 6 ,8 0 0 beds in th e h o s p ita ls and c l i n i c s o f Uzbek towns - 29 tim es th e 1914 f ig u r e , acco rd in g to R. Sagatov , Uzbek M in is te r o f H e a lth . Frunze has 60 h o s p ita ls , m a te rn ity homes, c l i n i c s , and c re c h e s . None th e l e s s th e re i s an a cu te need f o r more beds in some Tashkent h o s p ita ls , acco rd in g to c r i t i c i s m s made by members o f th e town c o u n c il . In K irg iz and Tadzhik towns, th e sh o rtag e o f d o cto rs and p a r t i c u la r ly o f ep id em iologists, i s im p airin g s e r v ic e s . The h o s p ita l a t Tokmak has no X -ra y u n it ; th e m a te rn ity and i s o l a t i o n wards a re in a d e q u a te ly accommodated, accord in g to D r. B rag in , th e h o s p i t a l 's c h ie f p h y s ic ia n .

Town c o u n c ils a re a ls o re s p o n s ib le f o r g e n e ra l s a n ita r y c o n d itio n s and hygiene propaganda. The s t a t e o f th e s t r e e t s and yard s o f Tashkent has provoked sharp c r i t i c i s m o f th e town c o u n c il . In T a d z h ik is ta n , d o cto rs i n charge o f town s a n it a t io n a re s a id m erely to r e g i s t e r v io la t io n s o f th e law and make no attem p t to e r a d ic a te them. The l o c a l c o u n c ils pay l i t t l e a t t e n t io n to th e problem s o f w ater supply and s a n i t a t io n in towns, s e tt le m e n ts and kolkhoz k is h la k s . The s a n it a t io n o f th e Leninabad, Ura-Tyube, P r o le ta r s k , Zakhmatabad and Shurak a re a s i s p a r t i c u la r ly d e f i c i e n t .

The f e a r o f ep idem ics g iv e s im petus b o th to t h i s work and to th e work

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o f p ro p ag atin g knowledge o f hygiene and p r o p h y la c t ic s . T h is propaganda form s th e s u b je c t o f c o n s ta n t a r t i c l e s in th e C e n tra l A sian p r e s s . D epartm ental heads in K ir g iz ia and th e Red C ross com m ittees are c r i t i c i z e d as p la y in g a sm all p a r t in propaganda a c t i v i t i e s . The form th a t th e se a c t i v i t i e s tak e was d e s c r ib e d to th e Frunze co n fe re n ce o f p u b lic h e a lth w orkers by Dr. Sarchenko, an e p id e m o lo g ist. She s a id th a t i n h e r radon ( th e P r o le ta r s k r a io n o f Frunze) a hygiene group o f 60 members had been org an ized to prop agate p re v e n tiv e m easures. The group d is t r ib u te d pam phlets, gave ta lk s and arranged v a c c in a t io n . She su g g ested th e c r e a t io n o f s p e c ia l epidem ic c e n tr e s w ith a q u a l i f ie d ep id em o lo g ist in ev ery m ed ical i n s t i t u t i o n .

Dr. Samenchenko, a t th e same co n fe re n ce , sadd th a t th e second p o ly c l i n i c in Frunze had org an ized a s e s s io n tak en by academ ic s p e c i a l i s t s . He sadd th a t propaganda had produced g r e a te r r e s p e c t f o r hygiene and s a n i t a t io n in many f a c t o r i e s .

R u ra l s e r v ic e s

M ed ical a s s is ta n c e in r u r a l a re a s i s t r e a te d a s a sp e c ia l, problem , a s th e d is ta n c e s to be covered a re o f te n v a s t . Ambulance a i r c r a f t a re much in u se . In T a d z h ik is ta n , f o r exam ple, th e re a re th re e a i r ambulance s t a t io n s , a t S ta lin a b a d , Lsninabad, and R ulyab. B e fo re th e war t h e i r main fu n c t io n was tra n s p o r tin g u rgent c a s e s f o r o p e ra tio n , b u t now th ey ta k e s p e c i a l i s t s to a s s i s t l o c a l d o c to rs . The number o f s o r t i e s i n 1953 was 700 (a s compared w ith 432 in 1940)> 52 o p e ra tio n s were perform ed and 300 p a t ie n ts v i s i t e d by t h is s e r v ic e .

The number o f beds in r u r a l h o s p ita ls in U zb ek istan i s now 9 ,0 0 0 - as compared w ith 142 in 1914* D e ta ile d in fo rm a tio n i s a v a ila b le f o r developm ents in th e Khorezm o b la s t , which had one h o s p ita l o f 50 b ed s, one c l i n i c , and 6 d o c to rs b e fo re th e R ev o lu tio n . I n 1954 i t had 177 h o s p i t a ls , c l i n i c s , and i n s t i t u t e s o f p re v e n tiv e m ed icine w ith 1 ,3 0 5 b ed s,162 d o cto rs and 750 f e ld s h e r s , n u rses and midwives. Sh o rtag e o f s t a f f , however, cau ses many c a s e s to be d e a lt w ith by n o t f u l l y q u a l i f ie d p e r so n n e l. At th e N izh n e-C h irch ik h o s p ita l , f o r exam ple, th e re a re e ig h t q u a l i f ie d d o c to rs , b u t they a l l h o ld s e v e r a l appointm ents and the c l i n i c a l work i s i n th e hands o f f e ld s h e r s .

M ed ical s e r v ic e s have n o t y e t b een organ ized in ev ery MTS and kolkhoz - some o f -whom are o b lig e d to go e ig h t to te n k ilo m e tre s f o r m ed ical a s s is ta n c e Many ko lk h o zes, however, a re provid ed w ith f i r s t - a i d c h e s ts by the M in is try o f H e a lth . D uring th e c o tto n h a rv e s t , th e town and la r g e r r u r a l h o s p ita ls send d o cto rs in to th e cou n try to o rg an ize s p e c ia l m ed ica l s e r v ic e s - k in d e rg a r te n s , c re c h e s and h e a lth propaganda u n i t s . 150 d o cto rs were se n t

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out in 1953*

T ad z h ik is ta n s u f f e r s from th e same sh ortag e o f p erso n n el in r u r a l a r e a s . There are 32 d o cto rs in Kurgan-Tyube, "but n o t one in th e surrounding r a io n o r in two d i s t r i c t h o s p ita ls ; th e same i s th e s i t u a t io n e lsew h ere, as f o r example, in th e I s f a r a r a io n . In th e Leninabad o b la s t 18 out o f 27 d i s t r i c t h o s p ita ls a re w ith ou t d o c to rs .In th e K o s h te li , Rushan, Shugnan, and Tadzhikabad ra io n s th e re i s one d o cto r in each r a io n , whereas in th e Ordzhonikidzeabad, Leninabad, and o th e r o b la s t town ra io n s th e re a re from 15 to 20 d o c to rs . In the R ak h atin ra io n , only 2 o f th e 8 m ed ical c e n tre s have a f u l l complement o f q u a l i f ie d p erso n n el - 35 members o f th e s t a f f have l e f t in th e l a s t two y e a r s .

82 p e r c e n t o f Tadzhik d o cto rs l i v e in th e towns, and o f th e lo w er- grade p erso n n el - f e ld s h e r s , o r d e r l ie s , and midwives - only 20 p e r c e n t work in r u r a l a r e a s . The S t a l i n and Lenin kolkhozes o f th e R ak h atin r a io n have a m ed ical s t a f f e n t i r e ly w ithout q u a l i f i c a t io n s . S p e c i a l i s t s ten d to s ta y in th e towns and do n o t v i s i t p a t ie n ts : G-ussinov, th esurgeon a t th e Sharkhar ra io n h o s p ita l never o p e ra te s th e re , and o b lig e s h is p a t ie n ts to go to th e o b la s t town. T h is i s d i f f i c u l t f o r them as many kolkhozes do n o t p rovid e tra n s p o r t f o r th e s ic k .

S u p p lies a re a ls o a problem . S e v e ra l drugs a re n o t to be found in r u r a l a re a s , and h o s p ita ls in th e K irovabad and Zakhmatabad ra io n s la c k f u e l and food s u p p lie s .

R u ra l h e a lth s e r v ic e s in K ir g iz ia were to be re o rg a n iz e d in 1954* H o sp ita ls and c l i n i c s were to be opened in many MTS and sovkhozes. M idw ifery s e r v ic e s a lread y e x i s t th e re i n c o n s id e ra b le numbers, th ey are to be in c re a s e d . Most o f th e newly q u a l i f ie d d o cto rs from th e K ir g iz M ed ical I n s t i t u t e a re to be se n t to the r a io n towns o f th e Osh, B z h a la l- Abad, T ien -Sh an and Issy k -K u l o b la s t s .

The K irg iz nomads had l i t t l e chance o f a c c e s s to th e p re re v o lu tio n a ry h o s p ita ls which were m ostly in th e tow ns. By 1940 50 h o s p ita ls had been b u i l t in r u r a l a r e a s . By 1946 th e re were 70 h o s p ita ls 120 c l i n i c s , 330 m ed ical a s s is ta n c e and m idw ifery c e n tr e s , 45 d e n ta l c l i n i c s , and 20 X -ra y u n its i n th e r u r a l h in te r la n d , w ith more th an 450 d o cto rs and 1 ,0 0 0 o r d e r l ie s , midwives and n u rse s . By 1952, 121 o f th e 160 h o s p ita ls o f K ir g iz ia were in the co u n try . New h o s p ita ls were opened in S ta lin s k o y e , P e tro v k a , Dzhety-Oguz and A la-B eke in 1953 > e a r ly i n 1954 new c l i n i c s were under c o n s tr u c t io n in Novo-Voznesenka and Dzhety-Oguz, and seven m ed ical c e n tr e s had been o rg an ized in th e g ra z in g la n d s .

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The s i t u a t io n in the T ien -Sh an o b la s t n e v e r th e le s s p re s e n ts fe a tu r e s s im ila r to th o se o f the Tadzhik r u r a l a r e a s . M edical i n s t i t u t i o n s la c k n e c e s sa ry equipment and. s u r g ic a l in stru m e n ts . A speaker a t th e Frunze c o n fe re n c e , Comrade Dzhumaliev, s a id th a t on ly 60 o f th e 155 d o cto rs p r e s c r ib e d were working in th e o b la s t . The M in is try , however, o f te n t r a n s f e r r e d men to o th e r a re a s from th e T ien -Sh an o b la s t and had no new c o n s tr u c t io n s under c o n s id e ra t io n th e r e d e s p ite c o n s id e ra b le a l lo c a t io n s f o r t h i s pu rp ose.

C o n s tru c tio n programme

I t i s in d eed a u n iv e r s a l com plaint th a t b u ild in g programmes are n o t b e in g c a r r ie d o u t. Only h a l f th e amount a l l o t t e d f o r b u ild in g new h o s p ita ls i n r u r a l U zbek istan was used in 1953 - in th e Kashka-Darya o b la s t on ly 18 p e r c e n t . In Tashkent p r o je c t s are b e in g com pleted ex trem ely s lo w ly . The Tadzhik M in is try o f H ealth , d e s p ite th e a llo tm e n t o f c o n s id e ra b le funds, d id n o t b u ild a s in g le new i n s t i t u t i o n f o r many y e a r s . The p o ly c l in i c a t Kurgan-Tyube i s accommodated in a sm a ll e ig h t - roomed house which a ls o c o n ta in s th re e c l i n i c d is p e n s a r ie s and a bran ch o f th e departm ent o f f o r e n s ic m ed icin e . The m ed ical s c h o o l a t Naryn has no perm anent b u ild in g . In 1954 som ething was done to remedy th e s i t u a t io n . Twenty new h o s p ita ls were put under c o n s tru c t io n in th e S ta lin a b a d o b la s t a lo n e ; b u t th e budget a l lo c a t io n i s s t i l l n o t f u l l y used.

In K ir g iz ia l e s s than 33 p e r c e n t o f th e q u a r te r ly b u ild in g quota was ach iev ed in th e f i r s t q u a rte r o f 1954* In Septem ber Sov etsk ay a K ir g iz iy a n o ted th a t th e c o n s tr u c t io n o f c l i n i c s in th e S v erd lo v r a io n o f Frunze and i n Kadamzhai, and o f h o s p ita ls a t P rzh ev a lsk and T a la s s was f a r beh ind sc h e d u le .

H e a lth r e s o r t s and s a n a to r ia

R e s o rt tre a tm e n t p la y s a p a r t i c u la r p a r t i n S o v ie t m ed icin e, and C e n tra l A sia c o n ta in s spas known throughout th e Union. Many o f them a re d esign ed to meet th e needs o f tu b e r c u lo s is p a t ie n t s , who a re p a r t i c u la r ly numerous in th e a re a .

The main Uzbek r e s o r t i s a t C hartak , 25 k ilo m e tre s from Namangan;950m. ru b le s were sp en t on i t i n 1953• The w aters c o n ta in io d in e , brom ine, and c h lo r in e s a l t s , and stro n tiu m , l ith iu m and ir o n in sm all q u a n t i t ie s . They a re used f o r th e tre a tm en t o f rheum atism , nervou s, and i n t e s t i n a l d is e a s e s . 170 p a t ie n ts were t r e a te d i n 1953} and more th an 340 i n th e f i r s t e ig h t months o f 1954* Three new b lo c k s a re under c o n s tr u c t io n . A highway l in k s C hartak w ith Namangan, and th e c o n s tr u c t io n o f an a r t i f i c i a l la k e and a la r g e park w i l l , i t i s hoped, make i t the most

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p op ular r e s o r t in C e n tra l A sia .

A h o t sp rin g 20 k ilo m e tre s from Tashkent i s used fo r th e trea tm en t o f s k in and i n t e s t i n a l d is e a s e s . The w ater, which re a ch e s a tem perature o f 50° c e n tig ra d e i s b o t t le d and a e ra te d . A sanatorium i s b ein g b u i l t a t th e sp rin g s i n th e Chimion o i l f i e l d 30 k ilo m e tre s from Fergana; such sp rin g s and th e A shi-K ul, Dam-Kul, Khodzhakef la k e s have been p ro sp ected by a team under P ro fe s s o r Yevseyev. Mud from th e la k e s i s u t i l i z e d in trea tm en t in Tashkent and Fergan a h o s p ita ls . F o r c h ild re n th e re a re over 20 s a n a to r ia and a m ountain r e s o r t a t Takhim arlan.

The p r in c ip a l r e s o r t in T ad z h ik is ta n i s Khodzha-Obi-G-arm whose w aters are e f f e c t i v e i n t r e a t in g rheumatism, v a r ic o s e v e in s , women's a ilm e n ts , s k in d is e a s e s , r a d i k u l i t i s , b r u c e l lo s i s , and th e e f f e c t s o f wounds. The r e s o r t , which had 1 ,0 0 0 v i s i t o r s in 1953, i s b e in g m odernized by th e c o n s tru c t io n o f new b lo c k s o f accommodation, new b a th s , a "steam emanatorium" and new X -ray and p h ysio th erap y -u n its .There a re a ls o r e s o r t s a t Ak-Syon and Sh ak h an istan .

In K ir g iz ia the sou th sh ore o f Lake Is s y k -K u l i s r i c h i n h o t sp rin g s p a r t i c u la r ly on th e n o rth e rn s lo p e s o f th e T e rs k e i A la tau m ountains, and th e re a re h e a lth r e s o r t s a t Dzhety-Oguz, Ak-Su, K o i-S a ry , C holpovala, and a t D zhalal-A bad, which to g e th e r have over 2 ,0 0 0 v i s i t o r s a y e a r .

There have b een co m p la in ts about th e s e r v ic e provided by th e r e s o r t s . One needs an hour to lu nch a t th e Is s y k -K u l r e s o r t - and the food i s t a s t e l e s s . The shop s e l l s no c ig a r e t t e s o r c o n fe c t io n a ry . To g e t a h a ir c u t , one has to go te n k ilo m e tre s to Pokrovka. The e l e c t r i c i t y i s on ly tu rned on f o r two o r th re e hours a day; c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s are n e g le c te d . At Ak-Su and K o i-S a ry no tra n s p o r t i s p rovided ; v i s i t o r s have to h itc h -h ik e to th e s a n a to r ia on l o r r i e s . About th e m ed ica l s e r v ic e p rovid ed a t th e K ir g iz r e s o r t s , n o th in g has been re p o rte d .

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So u rces

1 . S o v ie t E n cy clo p aed ia .

2 . Akademii Nauk U zbekskoi SSR. I n s t i t u t Ekonom iki. T ashkent, 1950 .

3 . S o v e ts k i i U zb ek istan . Kh. A bdullayev. Moscow, 194-8.

4 - T a d z h ik is ta n . U.U. B a rd ie r . S ta lin a b a d , 1939*

5 . K ir g iz ia . S .N . R yazantsev . Moscow, 1951*

6 . C en tra l. A sian p r e s s .

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P U B L I C S E R V I C E S

E L E C T R I C P O W E R I N K A Z A K H S T A N

H y d ro e le c tr ic p o w e r-s ta tio n s on th e I r t y s h r iv e r - H y d ro e le c tr ic p o w e r-s ta tio n s on th e Alm a-Atinka and U lba r iv e r s - In te r -k o lk h o z p o w e r-s ta tio n s - D i f f i c u l t i e s in r u r a l s e r v ic e s - Town s e r v ic e s - C on clu sion .

B efo re th e war, e l e c t r i c i t y in Kazakhstan was a phenomenon o f town l i f e and was p rovid ed by therm al p o w e r-s ta tio n s . P ost-w ar developm ent has extended s e r v ic e s to r u r a l a re a s , e s p e c ia l ly s in c e th e b eg in n in g o f th e d riv e f o r g r a in in th e new and v ir g in la n d s . T h is has in v o lv e d th e b u ild in g o f many new p o w e r-s ta tio n s , th e m a jo r ity u sin g w ater power. Such a development was en v isaged b e fo re th e wax, and i t s r e a l i z a t i o n i s s t i l l in p ro g re s s . Thermal p o w e r-sta tio n s e x i s t a t Karaganda, T em ir- Tau, P e tro p av lo v sk , S e m ip a la tin sk , B alkhash , Alma-Ata, and in f a c t o r i e s a t Chimkent and A ktyubinsk. S m a lle r s ta t io n s serv e v a r io u s in d u s tr ie s and r u r a l a r e a s . These have been supplemented by th e b u ild in g o f h y d r o e le c tr ic p o w e r -s ta tio n s . The p o t e n t ia l h y d r o e le c tr ic power o f th e r e p u b lic has been e s tim a te d a t more th an 18m. k i lo w a t ts .

H y d ro e le c tr ic p o w e r-s ta tio n s on th e I r t y s h r iv e r

The h y d r o e le c t r ic p r o je c t s on th e r iv e r I r t y s h have a lre a d y been d e s c r ib e d i n V o l . I , N o.3 ("H arn essin g th e I r t y s h " ) and V o l . I I , N o .l ("T h e Bukhtarma Dam P r o je c t " ) o f C e n tra l A sian Review . New in fo rm a tio n throw s l ig h t on th e c o n s tr u c t io n o f th e Bukhtarma dam, which began in 1953* Work seems to be co n fin ed to th e r ig h t bank o f th e r i v e r . A s e tt le m e n t o f wood and b r ic k houses - some c o n c re te b u ild in g s a re l a t e r to be b u i l t - has b een la id out f o r th e dam w orkers a t Serebryan ka. A s c h o o l, a h o s p ita l , ca n te e n s , shops and a c lu b serv e th e in h a b ita n ts . The I r t y s h i s b ord ered by high? in a c c e s s ib le g r a n ite c l i f f s . A ra ilw a y and a road ( l a t e r to g iv e a c c e s s to th e p o w e r-s ta tio n ) have been b la s t e d through, n e c e s s i ta t in g th e e x ca v a tio n o f two m i l l io r c u b ic m etres o f ro ck and s o i l . The ra ilw a y b r in g s to th e s i t e t i p - l o r r i e s , m a ch in e -to o ls , p ip in g and tu b in g , b r ic k s , cem ent, g la s s , and tim b er from th e O s in s k ii lumber camps.

Work i s now i n p ro g re ss on th e e x c a v a tio n o f th e r ig h t bank

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fo u n d a tio n p i t . The c h ie f en g in e e r, A. B ak u lin , has s a id th a t i t -w ill be n e c e s sa ry to e r e c t a ram part to p r o te c t th e p i t from th e w aters o f th e fa s t - f lo w in g I r t y s h w hile a c o n c re te bed i s l a i d f o r th e dam.5 0 0 ,0 0 0 c u b ic m etres have been b la s te d to b u ild t h i s ram part, which was begun i n Septem ber 1954* Two au tom atic c o n c re te p la n ts w i l l f i l l th e p i t ; power l i n e s have b een brought to th e s i t e to work them. When the new norm al l e v e l o f th e r iv e r has been e s ta b l is h e d , a dyke o f wood, s to n e and e a r th w i l l s e a l o f f much o f th e r iv e r bed .

Power from th e h y d r o e le c tr ic s t a t io n i s to work th e A lta i m in era l re s o u rc e s and to h e lp th e m ech anization o f a g r ic u ltu r e in E a s t - K azakh stan .

The f i r s t p r o je c t on th e I r t y s h to be com pleted was the power- s t a t io n a t Ust-Kam enogorsk, which began o p e ra tio n i n 1953* The f a l l o f w ater i s now about 2 ,0 0 0 cu b ic m etres p e r second w hereas b e fo re i t was 3 ,0 0 0 - 3 ,5 0 0 c u b ic m etres p er second. C onsequently, th e f lo o d in g o f th e I r t y s h p la in in sp rin g and simmer, on w hich th e f e r t i l i t y o f th e p la in depends, no lo n g e r ta k e s p la c e . T h is seems to have b een overlooked in c o n s tr u c t in g th e new s t a t io n . B e fo re 1953 th e 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 h e c ta r e s o f la n d flo o d e d an n u a lly by th e I r t y s h produced hay, i n q u a n t i t ie s e s tim a te d v a r io u s ly a t 1 8 -2 0 and 3 4 c e n tn e rs p e r h e c ta r e , which su p p lie d kolkhozes o f th e K iro v , P re d g o m e n sk ii and T a v r ic h e s k ii ra io n s o f th e E ast-K azak h stan o b la s t and most k o lkh ozes o f th e S e m ip a la tin sk , P av lod ar and Omsk o b la s t s .

I n 1953 on ly h a l f th e u su a l amount o f hay was o b ta in e d i n t h i s a re a and th e damming o f th e r iv e r had ad verse consequences as f a r as i t s co n flu e n ce w ith th e 0 b . I t i s proposed to in c r e a s e th e f a l l o f w ater a t th e p o w e r-s ta tio n and to f lo o d th e p la in a r t i f i c i a l l y tw ice a y e a r in f u tu r e . T h is seems as y e t im p o ssib le becau se th e w orking o f th e p la n t in v o lv e s c o n ta in in g th e I r t y s h sp rin g f lo o d -w a te rs .

The s t a t io n i s i n some c a s e s n o t f u l f i l l i n g i t s in ten d ed purpose.An a r t i c l e in K azakhstanskaya Pravda d e s c r ib e s th e v i l l a g e o f B iryukovka, fo u r k ilo m e tre s from Ust-Kamenogorsk, a s b e in g w ith ou t l ig h t o r r a d io .The in h a b ita n ts a t t h e i r own c o s t and by t h e i r own la b o u rs l a i d power l i n e s . These have o n ly to be sw itched to a tra n sfo rm e r 400 m etres from th e v i l l a g e , b u t t h i s has n o t y e t b een done.

H y d ro e le c tr ic s t a t io n s on th e A im a-A tinka and U lba r iv e r s

Alma-Ata i s su p p lie d w ith e l e c t r i c i t y by th e h y d r o e le c tr ic scheme on th e r i v e r A im a-A tinka, o f which th e f i r s t p la n t - O zem aya W o.l - has been com pleted . The r iv e r fe e d s a la r g e la k e in th e Z a i l i i s k i i A la tau m ountains, and has a f a l l o f 600 -7 0 0 m etres in th re e o r fo u r k ilo m e tre s ;

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p la n s were made to use i t f o r e l e c t r i c power during th e war, and su rveys were c a r r ie d ou t as e a r ly as 1 9 43 -4 - The f i r s t power- s t a t io n was "b u ilt where the r iv e r le a v e s the la k e . C o n stru c tio n o f th e dam and p la n t took ov er th re e y e a r s . The work was d i f f i c u l t , n o t on ly had i t to be done a t an a l t i tu d e o f 2 ,6 0 0 m etres, b u t p ip e - l in e s had to be l a i d through th e m ountains to co n n ect s e v e ra l p la n ts in a g r id , h ig h te n s io n l in e s had to be l a i d to l in k th e p la n t w ith Alma-Ata, and tw en ty -fo u r k ilo m e tre s o f roads had to be made. 2 ,0 0 0 ton s o f p ip in g was l a i d in f iv e months in s te a d o f in th e p r o je c te d te n .

The w ater fe e d in g Ozem aya N o .l p asses through a tu n n el to O zem aya N o.2, now under c o n s tru c t io n , and th en to o th e r p la n ts ; th e re a re to be n in e , a l l a u to m a tic a lly o p erated , when th e p r o je c t i s f u l f i l l e d . Ozem aya N o .l was f in is h e d in 1953* I t has th e la r g e s t tu rb in e in th e A lm a-A tinka p r o je c t , and has doubled th e output o f hydroe l e c t r i c i t y in K azakh stan .

A s im il a r "c a s c a d e " s e r ie s o f p o w e r-s ta tio n s was com pleted in 1954 on th e U lba r iv e r i n th e A lta i to serv e Leninogorsk (fo rm e rly R id d e r) .There a re th re e p la n ts ; Isb im akaya, Kharezovskaya and U lba, a l l in th e E ast-K azak h stan o b la s t . Remote c o n tr o l was f i r s t i n s t a l l e d a t Ish im sk ay a ; a l l th r e e p la n ts a re now c o n tr o lle d from a s in g le p a n e l a t the Ulba s t a t io n . The g r id has a v i t a l im portance f o r th e A l t a i n o n -fe rro u s m eta l w orks.

In te r -k o lk h o z p o w e r-s ta tio n s

In th e r u r a l a re a s o f K azakhstan, sm all 5 0 -1 0 0 k ilo w a tt power- s t a t io n s , se rv in g one o r two k o lk h o zes, a re most commonly found.E x p erien ce has shown, however, th e wisdom o f c r e a t in g h y d r o e le c tr ic p la n ts o f medium s iz e to serv e s e v e r a l kolkhozes b ecau se th e p o t e n t ia l power o f an average sm a ll r iv e r i s betw een 1 ,0 0 0 and 1 ,5 0 0 k ilo w a tts .The c o s t p er k ilo w a tt o f a sm all p la n t i s double th a t o f a la r g e r s t a t io n . M oreover, manual la b o u r h as to be used in c o n s tr u c t io n a s th e re i s i n s u f f i c i e n t power f o r com plete m ech an izatio n ; and la b o u re rs a re n o t alw ays to be found, p a r t i c u la r ly i n th e summer. F in a l ly , m aintenance o f a sm all s t a t io n i s a s c o s t ly as th a t o f a much la r g e r one. The s o lu t io n proposed th e r e fo r e i s to b u ild m edium -sized in te r -k o lk h o z p la n ts . The c o s t o f a 1 ,2 0 0 - 3 ,0 0 0 k ilo w a tt p la n t shou ld be n o t more th an 3 - 4 ,0 0 0 ru b le s p er k ilo w a tt , w h ile th e c o s t o f a 100 k ilo w a tt p la n t , such as th a t a t Ak-Su, may re a ch 6 ,0 0 0 ru b le s p e r k ilo w a tt .

In summer 1953 th e U k ra in ian branch o f G id r o s e le le k tr o (R u ra l Hydro- e l e c t r i c i t y a u th o r ity ) com pleted a survey f o r th e e r e c t io n o f f iv e i n t e r kolkhoz p o w e r-s ta tio n s , which are to have c a p a c i t ie s v a ry in g from 1 ,2 0 0

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to 3 ,0 0 0 k i lo w a t ts . The la r g e s t - A ntonovskii on th e Lepsa r i v e r - w i l l supply k o lkh ozes o f th e Sarkand, A ndreyevskii and Ak-Su ra io n s o f the Taldy-Kurgan o b la s t . The o th e rs - Abakumovskii on th e r iv e r Ak-Su, U sp en sk ii on th e O rta-T en tek , Budennovskii on th e Kok-Su and N izhne- T e n te k s k ii ( t o be op erated by rem ote c o n tr o l) - w i l l serv e a g r ic u ltu r e i n th e A la -K u l, B z e rz h in s k ii and K a p a ls k ii ra io n s o f th e same o b la s t .One in te r -k o lk h o z s t a t io n has a lre a d y been com pleted on th e r i v e r T entek; i t was b u i l t by th e M olotov, K o ig eld y , and T h ir t i e t h A nniversary o f th e Kazakh SSR kolk h ozes o f th e K o k p e tin sk ii r a io n , S e m ip a la tin sk o b la s t .

On th e r i v e r Sharyn, e ig h te e n k ilo m e tre s from Zhalanash, th e Ak- T og ai h y d r o e le c t r ic p la n t has been voider c o n s tr u c t io n s in c e O ctober 1953*I t w i l l supply s i x kolkhozes o f th e Kegen r a io n o f th e Alma-Ata o b la s t .1 3 0 .0 0 0 c u b ic m etres o f s o i l have been excav ated and 2 ,0 0 0 c u b ic m etres o f c o n c re te w i l l be needed f o r th e dam. Power i s provided by a m obile d ie s e l p la n t . Houses, a ca n te e n , m ed ical c e n tr e , shop, l ib r a r y and p u b lic b a th s have been b u i l t , and a th ir te e n -k ilo m e tr e road has been made l in k in g th e s i t e w ith th e main road .

Meshke (Dzhambul o b la s t ) has a h y d r o e le c tr ic p la n t w ith a c a p a c ity o f 520 k i lo w a t ts , se rv in g seven k o lk h o zes. I t began o p e ra tio n i n 1954*

W ith in th e n e x t few y e a rs th e Sem irechye g r id i s to b r in g e l e c t r i c i t y to 65 p er c e n t o f th e kolkhozes o f th e Taldy-Kurgan o b la s t . P la n s have b een drawn up f o r two h y d r o e le c tr ic p la n ts w ith a combined c a p a c ity o f4 .0 0 0 k ilo w a tts on th e r iv e r T erek h ta i n th e r e c e n t ly re c la im ed a re a s o f th e o b la s t . The U krain ian b ran ch o f G id ro s e le le k tro i s p lan n in g th re e m o re sta tio n s w ith s i x s u b -s ta t io n s and a t o t a l c a p a c ity o f 1 5 ,0 0 0 k ilo w a tts to be comprehended by th e Sem irechye g r id .

D i f f i c u l t i e s in r u r a l s e r v ic e s

In Septem ber 1953 th e re were 1 ,5 6 0 p o w e r-s ta tio n s , th erm al o r hydroe l e c t r i c , in th e r u r a l a re a s o f K azakhstan and 61 were under c o n s tr u c t io n .1 1 ,0 0 0 en g in es i n ko lk h o zes, sovkhozes, MTS and MZhS, were w orking on e l e c t r i c i t y . N e v e rth e le s s , fo r ty -n in e kolkhozes o f a sched u led 114 f o r 1953 rem ained w ith ou t e l e c t r i c i t y . Even sm all p o w e r-s ta tio n s ta k e th re e to fo u r y e a rs to b u ild , and many s t a r t work b e fo r e th ey are com pleted; th e s e are soon i n need o f r e p a ir s . The lo s s e s o f th e South-K azakhstan bran ch o f th e K a z s e le le k tr o (Kazakh R u ra l E l e c t r i c i t y a u th o r ity ) were more th an lm. ru b le s in th e l a s t th re e y e a r s . 1.5m . r u b le s ’ worth o f b u ild in g m a te r ia ls were l e f t to d e te r io r a t io n and t h e f t i n th e open a i r . In sp rin g 1954 some 200 r u r a l p o w e r-sta tio n s were i d l e . Many suspend a c t i v i t i e s f o r la c k o f f u e l ; such are th e Novyi P u t, Krasnoye Znamya, and T w elfth O ctober A nniversary kolkhoz s t a t io n s o f th e K okchetav o b la s t . In

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th e same oh l a s t sh o rta g e o f en g in e e rs sto p s work.

Some p la n ts when "b u ilt a re n o t f u l l y u t i l i z e d . E l e c t r i c i t y s u p p lie s l i g h t h u t n o t power to th e Ahai kolkhoz (K a r a ta l ra io n , Taldy-Kurgan o b la s t ) . E ig h t engines have b een in s to r e unused f o r th re e y e a r s . The F i r s t o f May kolkhoz (Taldy-K urgan r a io n ) b u i l t a 125 k i l o w att h y d r o e le c tr ic s t a t io n a t a c o s t o f 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 ru b le s b u t on ly 20 k i l o w atts have been used f o r th e l a s t two y e a rs and on ly a t h ir d o f th e v i l l a g e has e l e c t r i c i t y . The Sarkand r a io n p la n t s u p p lie s th re e k o lk h o zes, y e t on ly h a l f o f th e p la n t 's power i s u t i l i z e d a t p r e s e n t ; the same i s tr u e f o r o th e r s t a t io n s in th e r a io n - such as th a t a t C herkasskaya. At S h e t-T e n te k (D z e rz h in s k ii ra io n ) a 106 k ilo w a tt p la n t was opened l a t e in 1953 to supply two ko lk h o zes, b u t they on ly use 20 p er c e n t o f i t s power and th e employment o f a s t a f f o f n in e te e n g iv e s a h igh c o s t to th e k ilo w a tt-h o u r . The Taldy-Kurgan o b la s t as a whole has 29 p o w e r-s ta tio n s b u t on ly h a l f o f th e c a p a c ity i s used .

The p o w e r-s ta tio n a t th e K a r l Marx kolkhoz (D u v a lin s k ii ra io n , Dzhambul o b la s t ) was opened in 1952 . But power i s h a rd ly used, and on ly h a l f th e kolkhoz i s l i t by e l e c t r i c i t y . The tu rb in e o f te n s to p s ; some o f th e l i n e s are ir o n w ire which w astes much power.

Town s e r v ic e s

S e r v ic e i s no l e s s a sou rce o f com p lain t in th e tow ns. The A la-K u l f is h -c a n n in g fa c t o r y has had i t s own p la n t f o r th e l a s t th re e y e a r s . But th e p la n t i s n o t i n o p e ra tio n ; th e p ro c e s s e s a re a p p lie d m anually and th e w orkers' homes l i t by p a r a f f in lam ps. The M in is try o f F i s h e r ie s p le a d s in answer to com p lain ts th a t e l e c t r i c c a b lin g and o th e r m a te r ia ls a re u n o b ta in a b le .

The T e k e l i p o w e r-s ta tio n has n o t had a day w ith ou t a break-dow n in th e supply o f l i g h t . Shops and g arag es in th e town have e l e c t r i c i t y , b u t th e c l i n i c , th e pharmacy and p r iv a te houses a re w ith ou t i t . In Akmolinsk n o t or.ly i s e l e c t r i c i t y n o t a v a i la b le f o r dom estic consum ption, b u t p a r a f f in lamps a re u n o b ta in a b le . E l e c t r i c i t y i s n o t a v a i la b le f o r dom estic vise i n many s t r e e t s and houses o f Karaganda. R ea d ers ' l e t t e r s in K azakhstanskaya Pravda blame " r e d ta p e " and b u reau cracy f o r th e d e f i c ie n t s e r v ic e .

Most s u r p r is in g are th e com p lain ts from Alma-Ata, th e c a p i t a l , su p p lie d by th e r e c e n t ly com pleted s t a t io n Ozem aya No. 1 . Many d i s t r i c t s - p a r t i c u la r ly th e suburbs - la c k e l e c t r i c i t y . C it iz e n s a re ad v ised to la y t h e i r own l in e s to th e m ains; th en th ey w i l l be g iv e n the power. The r e p o r te r accu ses th e E n ergosbyt (Energy Supply a u th o r ity )

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and th e power l i n e s a d m in is tra tio n o f apathy.

"Apathy” , however, may n o t he an a lto g e th e r ju s t i f i e d ch a rg e . I t seems l i k e l y th a t b o th in th e cou n try and i n th e towns th e re i s a s e r io u s sh o rta g e o f c a b le and o th e r e l e c t r i c a l equipment which p re v e n ts th e f u l l u t i l i z a t i o n o f a v a ila b le power re s o u rc e s . Such c a b le as th e re i s i s g iv e n by p r i o r i t y to in d u stry , and to th e h e a v ie r in d u s t r ia l u n d ertak in g s. Even th e new lan d s o f K azakhstan - f o r whose m echanized c u l t iv a t io n some form o f power i s e s s e n t ia l - ta k e second p la c e . Cable was, u n t i l the R ev o lu tio n , im ported from abroad in to R u ss ia o r m anufactured i n f iv e German-owned f a c t o r i e s . The S o v ie t E n cy clo p aed ia s t a t e s th a t i n th e y e a r 1950 th e USSR produced " s e v e r a l te n s o f tim e s" th e 1913 q u a n tity o f c a b le . On c o n s id e ra t io n o f the in c r e a s e i n demand f o r e l e c t r i c c a b le i n th e USSR betw een 1913 and 1950 t h i s sta tem en t seems r a th e r m ild , e s p e c ia l ly when ta k in g in to accou n t the enormous e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n schem es. The output o f e l e c t r i c i t y i n K azakhstan in 1913 was 1 ,3 0 0 ,0 0 0 k ilo w a tt-h o u rs ; in 1940, 633m. k ilo w a tt-h o u r s . The p re s e n t F iv e -Y e a r P la n c a l l s f o r 1,810m . k ilo w a tt-h o u rs i n 1955* I n th e l i g h t o f t h i s , th e d i f f i c u l t i e s in the e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n o f K azakhstan may n o t be e n t i r e l y a t t r ib u t a b le to o r g a n iz a t io n a l d e f e c ts .

So u rces

1 . Kazakhskaya SSR. S .A . K u ta f ie v . Moscow, 1953-

2 . K azakhstan . N.N. P algov . Moscow, 1953*

3 . O cherki po Razmeshcheniyu P rom yshlennosti SSSR. R .S . L iv s h i t s .Moscow, 1954*

4 . S o v ie t E n cy clop aed ia .

3 . C e n tra l A sian p re s s .

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A R C H A E O L O G Y

1 9 5 3 E X P E D I T I O N S I N K I R G I Z I A

The fo llo w in g i s a s l i g h t l y ab rid ged t r a n s la t io n o f an a r t i c l e by A .P. Okladnikov p u b lish ed i n V estn ik Akademii Nauk SSSR o f Septem ber 1954*

Programme o f e x p lo ra t io n - I . H is t o r ic a l monuments: - E le v e n th to th ir te e n th -c e n tu r y rem ains a t S re te n k a - The Balasagu n tem ple - A n cien t c i t y o f Uzgen - T u rk ic nomadic in v ad ers - I I . S ton e Age monuments: - Chu V a lle y and Lake Is s y k -K u l - T ien -Sh an m ountains.

In 1953 an a rc h a e o lo g ic a l and eth n ograp h ic e x p e d itio n i n th e K irg iz SSR resumed work begun by a rc h a e o lo g ic a l e x p e d itio n s o f th e I n s t i t u t e o f th e H isto ry o f M a te r ia l C u ltu re o f th e Academy o f S c ie n c e s o f th e USSR, and th e I n s t i t u t e o f Language, L ite r a tu r e and H isto ry o f th e K ir g iz s u b s id ia ry o f th e Academy. The e x p e d itio n c o n s is te d o f f iv e a r c h a e o lo g ic a l team s: th e f i r s t stu d yin g monuments o f p r im it iv ecommunal s o c i a l s t r u c tu r e ; th e second e x c a v a tin g s i t e s w ith in the c o n fin e s o f mediaeval. B alasagu n, p re v io u s ly in v e s t ig a te d by A.N. Bershtam * s e x p e d itio n ; th e th ir d e x ca v a tin g m ediaeval tow n-type s e t t l e ments i n so u th ern K ir g iz ia a t Uzgen; th e fo u r th in v e s t ig a t in g monuments o f th e nomad p o p u la tio n in th e T ien -Sh an ; and l a s t l y a s p e c ia l team in v e s t ig a te d th e rem ains o f e le v e n th , tw e lf th , and th ir te e n th -c e n tu r y s e tt le m e n ts n e a r S re te n k a in the S t a l i n r a io n o f th e Frunze o b la s t . Two ethnography, and one anthropology team were a ls o in clu d ed in the e x p e d it io n . The new in v e s t ig a t io n s have c le a r ly shown th e need to e s t a b l i s h permanent c e n tr e s o f in v e s t ig a t io n on a much w ider s c a le than b e fo r e .

I H is t o r ic a l Monuments

E le v e n th to th ir te e n th -c e n tu r y rem ains a t S re te n k a

Among th e more im p ortan t a rc h a e o lo g ic a l d is c o v e r ie s o f the in v e s t ig a t io n , m ention i s e s p e c ia l ly due to th e rem arkable s e tt le m e n t

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n e a r th e v i l l a g e o f S re te n k a , inhere th e rem ains o f th re e b u ild in g s -were in v e s t ig a te d . These b u ild in g s are o f th e e le v e n th to th ir te e n th c e n tu r ie s A .D ., and were in h a b ite d f o r a c o n s id e ra b le tim e, b e in g a t l e a s t tw ice r e b u i l t . ( F i g . l . ) B u ild in g N o .l in th e second p e rio d o f i t s h a b ita t io n ( t w e l f t h to th ir te e n th c e n tu r ie s ) was a s tru c tu re o f c o n s id e ra b le d im en sion s, d iv id ed in to th ree p a r a l l e l rows o f rooms running from south to n o r th . In some o f th e rooms a f a c in g o f m u ltico lo u re d t i l e s s t i l l l i e s i n t a c t on th e f lo o r i n r ic h n e s s o f ornament n o t i n f e r i o r to any o f the b e s t exam ples o f t h i s type o f f lo o r -c o v e r in g in C e n tra l A sia . A part from th e f l o o r , a d is t in g u is h in g fe a tu r e o f th e b u ild in g i s th e rem ains o f an i n t r i c a t e t e r r a - c o t t a f a c in g on a r c h ite c tu r a l , d e t a i l s , execu ted w ith e x c e p t io n a l d e lic a c y and m astery . The ornament on th e t e r r a - c o t t a s la b s i s b o th g eo m etric and n a t u r a l i s t i c , th e geom etric elem ent b e in g re p re s e n ted by t r ia n g le s in r e l i e f , sunken c i r c l e s , rhonibi, polyhedrons o f many sm a ll fragm en ts o f t i l e , and c r e s c e n ts ; th e n a t u r a l i s t i c elem ent p r in c ip a l ly by s t y l i z e d f o l ia g e w ith f a n t a s t i c t e n d r i ls a lon g th e ed ges.

W ith in th e b u ild in g were found two heavy c y lin d e rs about f o r t y c e n tim e tre s h ig h , c a s t i n g i l t bronze (F ig . 2 ) . Both c y lin d e r s are unique a r t e f a c t s in m ed iaeval K ir g iz ia . They are c lo s e ly cov ered w ith v ery d e l i c a t e ornament in c lu d in g d eco ra ted bands o f engraved in s c r ip t io n s in A ra b ic . The p r o je c t in g f ig u r e s o f l io n s , a s i t were w alking round th e c y lin d e r , a re a com p lete ly unusual f e a t u r e . I n t h e i r tech n iq u e , th ese s c u lp tu r a l r e p r e s e n ta t io n s r e c a l l th e b e s t exam ples o f th e c a s t in g work o f e le v e n th to th ir te e n th -c e n tu r y C e n tra l A sia , and are m a ste rp ie ce s o f t h e i r k in d .

I n th e same p la c e were found examples o f g la s s work, bronze m ed a llio n s, ornaments and d is c s w ith l e t t e r i n g in the

form o f A rab ic l ig a t u r e in s c r ip t io n s , -which had o b v io u sly serv ed as orn am entation on some a r c h i t e c t u r a l d e t a i l s . In b u ild in g N o .l were a ls o d isco v e re d numerous ir o n a r t e f a c t s , in c lu d in g an ir o n v e s s e l .

No l e s s rem arkable a re th e o b je c t s found in b u ild in g N o.2 ; a c a s t copper m ed a llio n w ith r e p r e s e n ta t io n s o f anim als sym bolizing th e tw elv e- y e a r ca le n d a r c y c le , ornam entation o f w hite E a s te rn T u rkestan n e p h r ite , and fragm en ts o f th e head o f a C hinese dragon m odelled in c la y - an a r c h i t e c t u r a l d e t a i l p rob ab ly used to f i n i s h th e r o o f - r id g e . R o o fin g

l l S I t e iFig. 2.

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t i l e s were a ls o found h e re , ty p ic a l ly C hinese in tech n iq u e and shape. T h is a l l j u s t i f i e s d a tin g th e l a t t e r p e r io d o f the s e t t le m e n t 's e x is te n c e to a tim e when K id an i, o r K a r a -K ita i , im m igrants from d is ta n t N orth China s e t t l e d in Sem irechye b r in g in g w ith them t h e i r n a t iv e C hinese c u l tu r e . O bviously th e re was some k in d o f K a r a -K ita i s e t t l e ment h ere a t th a t tim e - p o s s ib ly th e h ead q u arters o f a fe u d a l r u le r , i f n o t o f t h e i r supreme r u le r - Gurkhan.

The B alasagu n temple

The e x c a v a tio n s a t B alasagu n have uncovered a b r ig h t page in the h is t o r y o f Sem irechye, when p io n e e rs o f a g r ic u l t u r a l c o lo n iz a t io n had ju s t a r r iv e d th e re from Sogd iana. The e x ca v a tio n s have a ls o thrown l i g h t on th e ensuing ev en ts in th e l i f e o f e le v e n th -c e n tu ry Balasagu n, when i t was tak en by th e nomads. In 1953> e x c e l le n t ly p re se rv e d rem ains were d isco v e re d h e re o f a Buddhist tem ple o f th e e ig h th to n in th c e n tu r ie s A .D ., r i c h l y ornamented w ith w a ll-p a in t in g and s c u lp tu re . The a r c h i t e c t u r a l l in e s o f th e tem ple, th e p e c u l i a r i t i e s o f th e s t y le o f i t s p a in tin g s and s c u lp tu re approxim ate i t b o th to th e analogous monuments o f Sogdiana, in th e f i r s t in s ta n c e w ith th e tem ples o f a n c ie n t ly a n d z h ik e n t, and to th e cave tem ples o f E a s te r n T u rk estan . The e x ca v a tio n s o f th e B alasagu n tem ple have a ffo rd e d abundant m a te r ia l f o r th e e lu c id a t io n o f th e economy o f th a t tim e, which was p r im a r ily a g r ic u l t u r a l .

A g r ic u ltu re - th e b a s i c o ccu p atio n o f th e b u ild e r s o f th e tem ple, th e Sogd ians o f th e l o c a l Buddhist community - i s c l e a r ly re p re se n te d by th e heavy m il l - s to n e s d isco v e re d in th e b u ild in g and a ls o used in i t s c o n s tr u c t io n . T hese, to judge by t h e i r d im ensions, must have been s e t in m otion by w ater power o r anim al t r a c t io n . S t i l l more i n t e r e s t in g i s th e i n t a c t wooden plough, th e most a n c ie n t implement o f t h is type known i n C e n tra l A sia , which was found s e t in an an g le o f a w a ll to s tre n g th e n i t .

The a n c ie n t c i t y o f Uzgen

Much th a t i s new in th e h i s t o r i c a l topography o f Uzgen and th e a d ja c e n t a re a has been c o n tr ib u te d by th e team working th e r e . I t has been d is c lo s e d th a t th e c i t y occup ied i t s maximum a re a i n th e e le v e n th ce n tu ry A.D. when i t was th e c a p i t a l o f a l l Maverannakhr (T ran so x an ia ) A s e r ie s o f s e tt le m e n ts and stro n g h o ld s has b een in v e s t ig a te d which r e v e a l a p ic tu r e o f l i f e in t h i s re g io n from th e e a r ly c e n tu r ie s A.D. The d is t r ib u t io n o f s e tt le m e n ts i s con n ected w ith th e a n c ie n t aryk netw ork. M ediaeval Uzgen s to o d a t the ju n c t io n o f fo u r ro a d s : th en o rth e rn road le d to th e Chu V a lle y , th e n o rth -w este rn went i n th e

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d ir e c t io n o f th e modem D zhalal-A bad, and f u r th e r a lon g th e K ara-D arya, and th e s o u th -e a s te rn con n ected Uzgen w ith a re a s in th e d ir e c t io n o f K ashgar.

T u rk ic nomadic in v ad ers

No l e s s e x p re s s iv e i s th e m a te r ia l a ffo rd e d by th e e x ca v a tio n s on th e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f th e way o f l i f e and c u ltu re o f th e nomad T u rk ic p e o p les who a cen tu ry l a t e r d estro y ed th e tem ple (Ed: I t i s n o t c le a rw hether t h i s r e f e r s to th e B alasagun tem ple d e sc r ib e d above o r to an o th er), smashed th e im ages o f th e gods, lo o te d th e sa c re d v e s s e ls , and then s e t t l e d w ith in i t s w a lls w ith h e a rth s f o r t h e i r cau ld ro n s and b a r r e l shaped p i t s to keep t h e i r meat in . I t i s a ls o c l e a r ly p o s s ib le to e s t a b l i s h how, l a t e r , i n th e second h a l f o f th e n in th and in th e te n th ce n tu ry , th e nomad T u rk ic p eop les g ra d u a lly s e t t l e d on th e lan d and became t i l l e r s o f th e s o i l .

I I S ton e Age Monuments

The stu dy o f monuments o f th e epoch o f p r im it iv e communal s o c ia l s t r u c tu r e has done much to f i l l gaps in th e study o f K i r g i z i a ’ s arch aeo lo g y and h is t o r y . To t h i s end i t was f i r s t o f a l l n e c e s sa ry to b e g in s y s te m a tic se a rch e s f o r monuments o f th e more d is ta n t p a s t o f K ir g iz ia , f o r t r a c e s o f human a c t i v i t y i n th e e a r ly s ta g e s o f p r im itiv e communal s t r u c tu r e in th e S ton e Age.

U n t il now, a p a rt from d o u b tfu l i s o la t e d f in d s , n o t one S ton e Age o r even E a r ly Bronze Age monument was known i n K ir g iz ia , th a t i s , o f th e p e rio d when ston e-w orkin g tech n iqu e was s t i l l in i t s e a r ly s ta g e s . As a r e s u l t o f e s p e c ia l ly c a r e f u l se a rch e s in th e Chu V a lle y , by Lake Issy k -K u l, and i n th e T ien -Sh an , such monuments were f i n a l l y d isco v e re d in 1953-

Chu V a lle y and Lake Issy k -K u l

The se a rch f o r t r a c e s o f P a l e o l i t h i c and N e o li th ic man was begun by e x p e d itio n s i n th e n e a re r en v iro n s o f Frunze and Tokmak, where o b je c t s were soon d isco v ered t e s t i f y i n g to th e e x is te n c e o f an a n c ie n t c u ltu r e in th e Chu V a lle y , th e exponents o f w hich made wide use o f sto n e in fa s h io n in g t h e i r w orking t o o ls . Such o b je c t s were found, f o r in s ta n c e , on th e h igh t e r r a c e - l i k e s lo p e s a lon g th e Alamedin and Shamsi r iv e r s , where sto n e c h ip s and p eb b les were found worked by the ■ usual S ton e Age m ethods. T ra ce s o f human a c t i v i t y o f th e same le v e l o f c u ltu r e were en cou n tered n e a r th e Boam d e f i l e , on a h ig h and a n c ie n t

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te r r a c e above th e r iv e r Chu on i t s l e f t bank, and a ls o f a r t h e r up t h is r iv e r n e a r Rybachye.

In th e in v e s t ig a t io n s o f th e en v iro n s o f Tokmak, n ear which l i e th e ru in s o f Balasagu n (n e a r S ta ra y a P okrovka), ston e ch ip s were found in th e same stratu m as crude p o t te r y . The same p ic tu r e was p re se n te d by in v e s t ig a t io n s on th e n o rth e rn shore o f Lake Issy k -K u l, where the c u l tu r a l stra tu m o f an a n c ie n t v i l l a g e was found in a ra v in e n e a r Cholpon-A ta, c o n s is t in g o f ash es m ingled w ith bones o f an im als, fragm ents o f c la y v e s s e ls o f p r im itiv e make and crude ch ip p in g s . These f in d s can be r e la t e d to th e N e o li th ic o r E a r ly Bronze Age.

T ien-Shan m ountains

Analogous monuments were d isco v ered in th e T ien-Shan a t a h e ig h t o f 2 ,4 0 0 to 2 ,5 0 0 m etres above s e a - le v e l . The most i n t e r e s t i n g and e x p re ss iv e o f them were found on th e a n c ie n t te r r a c e s o f th e Naryn v a l le y . In what appears to be t r a c e s o f N e o li th ic s e tt le m e n ts a s ig n i f i c a n t amount o f worked sto n e was c o l le c t e d , in c lu d in g hammered p e b b les , sm a ll ch ip p in g s and s la b s r e c a l l in g a r t e f a c t s found i n the Chu V a lle y . These f in d s were made s i x k ilo m e tre s above Naryn on the l e f t bank o f th e r iv e r o f th e same name, and s im ila r f in d s were made on b o th banks o f the r iv e r a t Naryn i t s e l f .

On a t e r r a c e - l i k e s lo p e e ig h t m etres h ig h , a t th e co n flu e n ce o f the r iv e r Sharktm a w ith th e r iv e r Naryn, n ear th e town o f Naryn, a w e ll-e x p re ss e d c u l tu r a l s tra tu m was found i n a quarry a t a depth o f s ix t y to e ig h ty c e n tim e tre s . Animal bones la y to g e th e r w ith p eb b les chipped a p a rt by human hands, p ie c e s o f c h a rc o a l, fragm en ts o f crude p o tte ry and a w e ll-p o lis h e d d i s c - l i k e sto n e a r t e f a c t which p rob ab ly serv ed as a s u n -d ia l .

The s e tt le m e n ts on th e r i v e r Sharktm a, l i k e th e f in d s a t S ta ra y a Pokrovka n e a r B alasagu n, and a t Cholpon-A ta, most p rob ab ly r e l a t e to th e end o f th e t h ir d and th e b eg in n in g o f th e second m illen iu m B .C . - th e b eg in n in g o f th e E a r ly Bronze Age in K ir g iz ia . C u ltu ra l rem ains very c lo s e to th e se in c h a r a c te r have a ls o b een found in e x c a v a tin g a s e r ie s o f cav es in th e T ien -Sh an , in c lu d in g th e cav es on th e famous m ountain A la-M yshik and th e T e k e -S e k ir ik g r o tto n e a r Naryn.

The s p e c ia l e x p e d itio n to th e r iv e r Sarydzhaz, famous in l i t e r a t u r e f o r i t s ca v e s, u ndertaken by Kh. A lnysbayev, one o f th e members o f th e e x p e d itio n i n th e company o f V . I . R a tsek , th e famous m ountaineer and e x p lo re r o f th e m ountains o f C e n tra l A sia , brought v ery in t e r e s t i n g r e s u l t s . The Ala-Chunkar cave on th e r iv e r Sarydzhaz

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proved to have serv ed im m em orially as a p la c e o f re fu g e f o r a n c ie n t man.I t l i e s a t a h e ig h t o f about 3? 500 m etres above se a l e v e l and i s 4-5 m etres lo n g , 1 .5 to 7 *5 m etres wide, w h ile th e v a u lt o f th e cave goes from 12 m etres n e a r th e e n tran ce to 1 .5 m etres a t th e b a ck . T h is i s so f a r th e on ly cave in K ir g iz ia where ro ck drawings a re p re se rv ed o f g o a ts , b u l l s , snakes and human f ig u r e s . These drawings axe execu ted in re d .

D uring e x c a v a tio n in the cav e , hammered p eb b les were found and ch ip p in g s w ith d i s t i n c t l y v i s ib le s ig n s o f workmanship. I t i s thus f o r th e f i r s t tim e e s ta b l is h e d th a t man l iv e d in th e T ien -Sh an h e ig h ts a t a v ery rem ote p e rio d in d eed .

S t i l l more in t e r e s t i n g and u nexpected was th e d isco v e ry in th e T ie n - Shan o f t r a c e s o f an a n c ie n t c u ltu r e o f a s ta tu r e co n s id e ra b ly su rp ass in g th a t d isp la y e d by a l l th e f in d s m entioned above. W hile e x p lo rin g the v a l le y o f th e l i t t l e m ountain stream On-Archa, a t r ib u ta r y o f th e Naryn, th e p a r ty found i t s a t t e n t io n a t t r a c t e d by an a n c ie n t te r r a c e o f p e b b les and b o u ld e rs r i s in g more than 30 to 40 m etres above th e r ig h t bank o f th e r i v e r bed and c le a r ly n o t corresp ond ing to th e n a tu r a l con tou rs o f t h i s a r e a . I n a deep ho llow , excav ated in th e c o n s tru c tio n o f th e Frunze - Naryn road , a heavy rounded sto n e la y i n an u n d istu rb ed s t a t e among la r g e p e b b le s , in a p o s it io n about 25 m etres low er th an th e upper p a r t o f th e t e r r a c e . One p r o je c t in g edge had been worked w ith a chopping a c t io n and made in to a lon g b la d e in th e shape o f a s l i g h t l y b u lg in g c r e s c e n t . A second edge rem ained untouched and cou ld have serv ed as a s o r t o f handg r ip . T h is i s undoubtedly a crude chopping implement s im ila r to the most a n c ie n t Stone Age to o ls o f th e hand-chopper ty p e . I t i s d is t in g u is h ed, however, from th e u su a l hand-choppers in Europe and elsew here by th e fo rm a tio n o f i t s w orking end, which has th e shape n o t o f a prolonged p o in t , b u t o f a broad p r o je c t in g b la d e . A r te fa c ts o f t h i s k in d made o f whole p e b b le s , and a t f i r s t g lan ce r e c a l l in g a rc h a ic n u c le i , a re w e ll known as " p e b b le - to o ls " .

T ogeth er w ith th e a r t e f a c t d e sc r ib e d above, o th e r s to n e s worked by man were found on th e On-Archa in th e same sh a le d e p o s its o f th e a n c ie n t t e r r a c e , in c lu d in g a sm all s c r a p e r - l ik e to o l o f a form no l e s s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y a r c h a ic . I t took th e shape o f a p r im it iv e , s c ra p e r l i k e in stru m en t made from a f l a t p eb ble s p l i t a p a rt by a s tro n g c ro s s blow a t th e s id e s . The roughly c re sc e n t-sh a p e d p r o je c t in g edge o f the to o l , formed as a r e s u l t o f t h i s o p e ra tio n , had th en been worked w ith crude b u t q u ite a c c u ra te ch ip p in g t o o ls .

S c r a p e r - l ik e in stru m en ts o f t h i s k in d , made from whole p e b b les s p l i t by one c ro ss -b lo w are w id ely d is tr ib u te d to g e th e r w ith "p e b b le - t o o ls " in so u th ern and s o u th -e a s te rn A sia , where th ey are c h a r a c t e r i s t i c

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o f , f o r example, th e Lower Old Stone Age, p r e - S c h e l l ia n and S c h e l l ia n rem ains.

The a n c ie n t - th a t i s a t l e a s t Lower Old Stone Age - d ate o f th e f in d on th e On-Archa i s a t t e s t e d n o t only by th e tech n iqu e o f m anufacture and form o f th e to o ls found, b u t a ls o by th e g e o lo g ic a l co n d itio n s o f t h e i r provenance. I t i s p a r t i c u la r ly notew orthy th a t t h is p re c io u s f in d was made in th e v ery h e a r t o f th e "M ountains o f Heaven" a t a h e ig h t o f about 2 ,5 0 0 m etres above se a l e v e l .

These f in d s re p re s e n t th e most a n c ie n t t r a c e s o f man n o t on ly in K ir g iz ia b u t in a l l C e n tra l A sia - the w orking to o ls o f i t s f i r s t in h a b ita n ts d a tin g from th e in fa n cy o f mankind. I t can th e r e fo r e be s ta te d w ith co n fid en ce th a t f u r th e r in v e s t ig a t io n s in se a rch o f P a le o l i t h i c and N e o li th ic rem ains in K ir g iz ia w i l l a f fo r d r e s u l t s im p ortan t f o r th e r e c o n s tr u c t io n o f th e h is t o r y o f the s e tt le m e n ts by man o f C e n tra l A s ia . V alu ab le r e s u l t s may a ls o be exp ected from th e study o f l a t e r s ta g e s o f K i r g i z i a 's p a s t .

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C U L T U R A L A F F A I R S

H I G H E R E D U C A T I O N I N U Z B E K I S T A N

System o f h ig h e r ed u ca tio n - Q u a li f ic a t io n s f o r e n tra n ce - Number o f i n s t i t u t i o n s - U n iv e r s i t ie s - T e c h n ic a l VUZ - Tekhnikums - T each ert r a in in g e s ta b lish m e n ts - Language o f in s t r u c t io n - P o l i t i c a l h ig h e r e d u ca tio n .

The e d u ca tio n a l system o f U zbek istan i s ad m in istered in acco rd ance w ith th e r e g u la t io n s and s t a t u t e s p e r ta in in g throughout th e S o v ie t Union. Readers are r e fe r r e d to "P rim ary and Secondary E d u ca tio n i n K azakhstan" in C e n tra l A sian Review V o l . I I , No. 2 f o r a d e s c r ip t io n o f many fe a tu r e s and a diagram o f th e whole S o v ie t system o f e d u ca tio n .

The system o f h ig h e r ed u catio n

In th e S o v ie t Union h ig h e r ed u catio n i s g iv en by i n s t i t u t i o n s o f two ty p e s . On th e f i r s t l e v e l th e re a re th e u n iv e r s i t ie s and s p e c ia l iz e d i n s t i t u t e s o f u n iv e r s i ty stan d ard ; th e se in c lu d e t e c h n ic a l and m ed ica l i n s t i t u t e s , academ ies o f th e a r t s , and secondary te a c h e r t r a in in g c o l le g e s . A l l th e se a re known as VUZ - i . e . h ig h e r e d u c a tio n a l e s ta b lis h m e n ts . The second le v e l com prises s im ila r e s ta b lis h m e n ts w ith l e s s e r stan d ard s f o r th e t r a in in g o f m echanics, a g r ic u l t u r a l w orkers, p h arm acis ts and d is p e n se rs , and te a c h e rs f o r prim ary sch o o ls and k in d e rg a r te n s . The S o v ie t term f o r th ese i s "m id d le-grad e s p e c ia l iz e d e d u c a tio n a l e s ta b lis h m e n ts " , b u t i n p r a c t ic e th ey a re o f te n s a id to g iv e h ig h e r e d u ca tio n . C o l le c t iv e ly th ey a re r e fe r r e d to as tekhnikum s, w hether in f a c t th ey g iv e te c h n ic a l ed u catio n o r n o t .

Of th e s e two ty p es o f i n s t i t u t i o n , some a re under a ll-U n io n and o th e r s , in c lu d in g a l l te a c h e r - t r a in in g e s ta b lis h m e n ts , under re p u b lic a n c o n t r o l . T h is i s an im portant d i s t i n c t io n . The head o f every e s ta b lish m e n t and h is d ep u ties and th e dean o f ev ery f a c u l t y a re ap p o in ted by th e c o n t r o l l in g m in is try o r a u th o r ity , -whether a ll-U n io n o r re p u b lic a n ; o th e r appointm ents to th e s t a f f , o r to th e s ta tu s o f

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a s p ira n t ( r e s e a r c h s tu d e n t) , and d is m is s a ls are confirm ed by i t . I n c e r t a in c a s e s in U zbekistan , c o n tr o l i s e x e r c is e d n o t only from Moscow b u t from Leningrad , th e Crim ea, Krasnodar, and o th e r p la c e s o u ts id e th e Uzbek r e p u b lic . T h is i s c r i t i c i z e d as le a d in g to much d u p lic a t io n o f fu n c tio n and d is s ip a t io n o f re so u rce s ( l ) . Even w ith in th e re p u b lic th e re i s th e same co m p lica tio n . At the re p u b lica n co n fe re n ce o f e d u c a t io n is ts h e ld in Tashkent in August 1954 th e re were com p lain ts o f the la c k o f co o p e ra tio n on th e p a r t o f m in is try o f f i c i a l s , p a r t i c u la r ly in t h e i r d e a lin g s w ith th e su b ord in ated m in is try in the K ara-K alpak ASSR ( 2 ) . I t was ad m itted th a t a re o rg a n iz a tio n and an a t ta c k on b u r e a u c r a t ic methods were n e c e ssa ry , b u t ap p aren tly only a t ig h te n in g up o f th e e x is t in g system o f c o n tr o ls i s p o s s ib le .

Q u a li f ic a t io n s f o r e n tra n ce

The stan d ard o f h ig h e r ed u catio n i s n e c e s s a r i ly dependent on the stan d ard o f secondary ed u ca tio n , in s o fa r as th e l a t t e r i s p re p a ra to ry to i t . The p re s e n t F iv e -Y e a r P la n (1 9 5 2 -5 5 ) c a l l s f o r te n -y e a r ed u catio n in a l l c e n tr e s o f p o p u la tio n by 1955? b u t even sev en -y ear ed u ca tio n i s n o t y e t u n iv e r s a l .

E n tran ce to a VUZ i s to be o b ta in ed by th o se w ith a te n -y e a r ed u ca tio n o r th o se who have com pleted a co u rse in a tekhnikum and th re e y e a rs work in p ro d u ctio n . D uring t h is l a t t e r p e rio d th ey may e n te r th e p o s ta l t u i t io n departm ent o f a VUZ. F o r e n tra n ce to a tekhnikum , in g e n e ra l a sev en -y ear ed u ca tio n , o r a fo u r -y e a r ed u ca tio n w ith a fo u r - y e a r p e r io d i n a p a r t- t im e f a c t o r y sch o o l i s n e c e s sa ry .

U nless th ey have won s p e c ia l p r iz e s a t t h e i r form er e d u c a tio n a l e s ta b lis h m e n t, can d id ates f o r a VUZ o r tekhnikum must s i t f o r e n tran ce exam in ation s, and have on ly one o p p o rtu n ity to do so . The d ir e c t o r o f th e e s ta b lish m e n t may f i l l v a c a n c ie s w ith ou t exam ination i f ca n d id a te s have p assed s im ila r exam in ation s e lsew h ere, and he may have even g r e a te r freedom o f c h o ic e . I n 1953 th e p r a c t ic e o f th e K ara-K alpak T e a c h e r-T ra in in g I n s t i t u t e o f a llo w in g some advantage to ca n d id a te s who made e a r ly a p p lic a t io n s was condemned. T h is e s ta b lish m en t i s under l o c a l c o n t r o l . A ttem pts a re to be made in a l l Uzbek VUZ to o rg an ize the e n tra n ce exam inations f o r the y e a r 195 4 -5 5 c o m p e titiv e ly - as th ey should a lre a d y be acco rd in g to the s t a t u t e s .

The re o rg a n iz a tio n o f ed u ca tio n under th e p re se n t F iv e -Y e a r P la n brought a r i s e in numbers i n th e y e a r 1 9 5 3 -5 4 o f seven p e r c e n t in VUZ and n in e p e r c e n t i n tekhnik i on th e p rev io u s y e a r ( 3 ) • But th e number o f th o se ta k in g f u l l te n -y e a r e d u ca tio n ro se by f o r t y - t h r e e p er c e n t . The com plain t i s made th a t w hile numbers r i s e , stan d ard s do n o t,

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c h i e f l y b ecau se though th e sch o o ls a re tran sform ed , th e te a c h e rs rem ain th e same. The re p u b lica n e d u c a t io n is t 's co n fe re n ce was p a r t i c u la r ly concerned a t th e w astage o f p u p ils , e s p e c ia l ly among g i r l s . In th e y e a r 1 9 5 3 -5 4 tw o -th ird s o f the Uzbek g i r l s a tte n d in g sc h o o l did n o t f i n i s h t h e i r c o u rse s ; many l e f t to m arry. In one sch o o l f o r many y e a rs no Uzbek g i r l has com pleted th e te n th c l a s s . C oeducation i s to be in tro d u ce d i n 1954-55 w ith s p e c ia l e f f o r t s to i n t e r e s t b o th se x e s in stu d y and i n t e l l e c t u a l p u r s u its .

The number o f i n s t i t u t i o n s

There a re d is c re p a n c ie s in acco u n ts o f th e number o f h ig h e r e d u c a tio n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s . S o v e ts k i i U zbek istan (by Eh. A bdullayev, Moscow, 1948) g iv e s tw en ty -n in e VUZ and n in e t y - s ix tekhnikums f o r 1940, and th ir ty -s e v e n VUZ f o r 1948 . U zbek istan (T ash k en t, 1950) a p u b l ic a t io n o f th e Uzbek Academy o f S c ie n c e s , g iv e s t h i r t y - s i x VUZ and n in e t y - s ix tekhnikums f o r 1948* The S o v ie t E n cy clo p aed ia g iv e s t h i r t y - f i v e VUZ f o r th e b eg in n in g o f th e e d u ca tio n a l y e a r 1 9 4 9 -5 0 . The o f f i c i a l hand-book f o r e n tr a n ts in 1953 l i s t s in d iv id u a lly tw en ty -n in e VUZ and n in e ty -tw o tekhnikums w hile an a r t i c l e in Pravda V ostoka h e ra ld in g th e b eg in n in g o f th e y e a r 1954 -55 l i s t s t h i r t y - s i x VUZ and n in e t y - s ix tekhnikum s. One o r two o f th e tw en ty -n in e VUZ l i s t e d in th e e n tr a n ts hand-book have been founded s in c e th e w ar. I t i s p o s s ib le th a t some i n s t i t u t e s o f th e Academy o f S c ie n c e s a re in clu d ed in th e t o t a l s o f t h i r t y - f i v e , t h i r t y - s i x , and th ir ty - s e v e n .

Numbers o f s tu d e n ts vary co rre sp o n d in g ly . The a r t i c l e m entioned above g iv e s th e t o t a l number o f s tu d e n ts a t b o th l e v e l s in th e y e a r 1 9 5 4 -5 5 as over 8 0 ,0 0 0 . The f ig u r e f o r 1940 i s 3 2 ,5 0 0 and f o r 1948 , 56 , 000 .

The u n iv e r s i t ie s

Of th e two Uzbek u n iv e r s i t ie s , .the C e n tra l A sian S ta te U n iv e rs ity i n Tashkent has an ou tloo k a t once w ider and a t t r a c t i n g more c r i t i c i s m th an th e A lis h e r Navoi Uzbek S t a t e U n iv e rs ity a t Samarkand. I t has e ig h t f a c u l t i e s , w hereas th e u n iv e r s i ty a t Samarkand has f i v e . The c r i t i c i s m i t a t t r a c t s i s m ainly in r e s p e c t o f i t s w ider i n t e r e s t s : th e f a c u l t y o f p h ilo lo g y works on problem s w ithout meaning f o r th e Uzbek r e p u b lic ; th e re a re too few a p p lic a n ts f o r e n try to th e o r ie n t a l f a c u l t y ( 4 )* I t i s notew orthy th a t th e s y lla b u s does n o t s p e c ify th e n a t iv e languages f o r p h i lo lo g ic a l stu d y. The r e c t o r o f th e u n iv e r s i ty , Tadzhmukhamed ( T a j Muhammad) Sarymsakov, d e sc r ib e d as a b r i l l i a n t young m ath em atician , h as acknowledged elem en ts o f " s c h o la s t ic is m , talm udism , and p ed an try" i n i t s in s t r u c t io n , and d eplored i t s f a i l u r e to a t t r a c t

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Uzbeks, and p a r t i c u la r ly Uzbek women.

The A lis h e r Navoi U n iv e rs ity i s l e s s fre q u e n tly m entioned, and i s c r i t i c i z e d p r in c ip a l ly on th e grounds th a t i t d evotes too l i t t l e a t t e n t io n to r e s e a r c h . I t g iv e s correspondence c o u rse s . L ik e o th e r VUZ, i t has d i f f i c u l t y in e n r o l l in g Uzbek women.

The te c h n ic a l VUZ

A part from th e two u n iv e r s i t ie s , th e VUZ f a l l in to two c a te g o r ie s : th o se g iv in g t e c h n ic a l in s t r u c t io n , and th e t e a c h e r - t r a in in g i n s t i t u t e s , which a re d e sc r ib e d below . Of th e VUZ o th e r th an te a c h e r t r a in in g c o l le g e s two are in Samarkand, and a l l th e r e s t in T ash ken t, w hich has an e d u c a tio n a l im portance u n p a ra lle le d in C e n tra l A sia and even beyond. F o r in s ta n c e , in Tashkent i s th e on ly i n s t i t u t e f o r t r a in in g p h arm acists in th e whole o f C e n tra l A sia and W estern S ib e r ia . The Tashkent I n s t i t u t e o f F in an ce and Economics i s th e main such i n s t i t u t i o n in C e n tra l A sia , and a t t r a c t s s tu d e n ts from K azakhstan and T a d z h ik is ta n as w e ll as Uzbeks and R u ss ia n s . There a re i n s t i t u t e s f o r th e study o f a g r ic u ltu r e , t e x t i l e s , law, tra d e , ra ilw a y c o n s tr u c t io n , i r r i g a t i o n , and th e m ech anization o f a g r ic u l tu r e . Most o f them have b een in e x is te n c e f o r f i f t e e n to tw enty y e a rs and have grown s t e a d i ly . An example i s th e T e x t i le I n s t i t u t e , which s in c e 1948 has added th re e new f a c u l t i e s , th e th ir d in 1953 b e in g f o r th e study o f c o t to n -c le a n in g p r o c e s s e s .

C r it ic is m i s m ain ly d ir e c te d a g a in s t th e f a i l u r e o f th e VUZ to m a in ta in academ ic sta n d a rd s . Of 414 in s t r u c to r s o f th e " s o c i a l s c ie n c e s " 250 a re w ith ou t q u a l i f i c a t io n s ( 5 )* The problem o f p o s t grad u ate work - th e a s p ira n tu ra - i s c o n s ta n tly d isc u sse d . A sp ira n ts do n o t r e c e iv e p rop er a t t e n t io n from t h e i r s u p e rv iso rs , and many have t h e i r th e s e s r e je c t e d . C e r ta in s u p e rv iso rs have n o t had a s in g le su c c e ss f o r a c o n s id e ra b le tim e. P a r t i c u la r ly few are th e s u c c e ss e s among Uzbeks, and e s p e c ia l ly Uzbek women. Only th e urban p o p u la tio n i s b e in g a t t r a c t e d to h ig h e r ed u catio n ; th e r u r a l a re a s a re n e g le c te d .

A ll th e s e in s t i t u t i o n s are under a ll-U n io n c o n t r o l .

The tekhnikums

Of th e sev en ty -on e tekhnikums in U zb ek istan , e ig h te e n a re -under a ll-U n io n c o n t r o l ; th e se a re a l l concerned w ith th e more t e c h n ic a l b ran ch es o f in d u stry - ra ilw a y s , ch em ical and e l e c t r i c a l e n g in e e r in g , o i l , fo o d -p ro c e ss in g and hyd rology. F i f t e e n o f th e r e s t a re f o r m ed ical a tte n d a n ts and m idw ives, n in e f o r m usic and th e a r t s

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(p re p a ra to ry f o r th e S ta te C o n s e rv a to ire ) , e ig h te e n f o r a g r ic u ltu r e , and th e rem ainder f o r l o c a l and l ig h t in d u s tr ie s .

No c r i t i c i s m i s forthcom in g o f th e te c h n ic a l a s p e c t o f t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s ; b u t many o f t h e i r s tu d e n ts on a ttem p tin g e n tran ce to th e corresp ond en ce o r o rd in ary departm ents o f th e VUZ f a l l down on th e R u ssia n language p ap er. An a r t i c l e i n Pravda • V ostoka in Ju n e 1954 com plained o f t h e i r g e n e ra l low le v e l o f l i t e r a c y , and p a r t i c u la r ly o f th e ig n o ran ce o f R u ssia n . Dozens o f m istak es appeared in a one and a h a l f page e s s a y . A te a c h e r in a fa c t o r y s c h o o l, o b ta in ed th e mark o f 4 ( u n s a t i s f a c t o r y ) . I t i s ad m itted th a t th e r o o t o f th e problem l i e s in th e te a c h e r - t r a in in g c o l le g e s . B oth typ es a re c o n t r o l le d and f in a n c e d by th e Uzbek M in is try o f E d u cation and have been deeply a f f e c t e d by r e o r g a n iz a tio n consequent on th e N in eteen th P a r ty C ongress.

T e a c h e r - tr a in in g e s ta b lish m e n ts

I t i s n e c e s s a ry to e x p la in th a t th e re i s a d if fe r e n c e o f fu n c t io n betw een " te a c h e r - t r a in in g " and "p ed ag ogic" e s ta b lis h m e n ts . A te a c h e r t r a in in g i n s t i t u t e ( u c h i t e l s k i i i n s t i t u t ) t r a in s te a c h e rs f o r th e V to V I I c la s s e s o f se v en -y ea r sc h o o ls and, where re q u ire d , f o r th e upper c la s s e s o f te n -y e a r s c h o o ls . A pedagogic i n s t i t u t e (p e d a g o g ich e sk ii i n s t i t u t ) t r a in s a l l typ es o f te a c h e r , th e h ig h e r t r a in in g departm ent b e in g in c o rp o ra te d o r , as a t Nukus, a tta c h e d . A pedagogic sc h o o l ( pedagogicheskoe u c h il is h c h e ) on th e o th e r hand, t r a in s te a c h e rs f o r prim ary sc h o o ls ( I - IV c l a s s e s ) ; t h i s i s a m id d le-grad e s p e c ia l iz e d e d u c a tio n a l e s ta b lish m e n t - i . e . a tekhnikum. F o r en tra n ce th e u su a l q u a l i f i c a t io n s a re re q u ire d .

Eiy 1953 th e chan ge-over to te n -y e a r e d u ca tio n had a lre a d y caused the exp an sion o f f i v e i n s t i t u t e s p re v io u s ly t r a in in g te a c h e rs f o r c la s s e s V to V I I - th o se i n Samarkand, Andizhan, Kokand, Namangan, and K a rs h i; and a new i n s t i t u t e i s to be b u i l t in Termez. Up to 1952 th e re were e ig h t such i n s t i t u t e s in U zbek istan ; now th e re a re fo u r te e n . The speech o f the P re s id e n t a t th e T h ird S e s s io n o f th e Supreme S o v ie t o f th e r e p u b lic announcing th e se r e s u l t s shows th a t t h is exp an sion im p lie s f a c i l i t i e s f o r t r a in in g te a c h e r s o f te n -y e a r s c h o o ls . There a re tw enty-one s c h o o ls ( u c h il is h c h e ) w hich under p re s e n t c o n d itio n s supply many o f th e r e c r u i t s to th e i n s t i t u t e s . G reat u se i s made o f p o s ta l co u rse s o f fe r e d by n e a r ly a l l te a c h e r - t r a in in g e s ta b lis h m e n ts . Two i n s t i t u t e s and one s c h o o l in Samarkand o f f e r evening t u i t io n , w h ile in Tashkent th e re i s an i n s t i t u t e p u re ly f o r evenin g c la s s e s .

The i n s t i t u t e s a re d iv id ed in to f a c u l t i e s o r departm ents, g e n e ra lly o f language and h is t o r y , and o f p h y s ic s and m athem atics. In some o f the

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la r g e r i n s t i t u t e s th e re are se p a ra te departm ents o f R u ssia n and Uzbek, o f n a tu r a l s c ie n c e s , geography and ch em istry , and o f te a c h in g method.I n Tashkent th e re i s a s p e c ia l i n s t i t u t e f o r the t r a in in g o f E n g lis h , F ren ch , and German te a c h e rs , which has an a s p ir a n tu r a , as has th e Nizami T ea ch ers ' T ra in in g I n s t i t u t e in T ash kent. T h is , th e l a r g e s t such e s ta b lish m e n t in U zbekistan , i s u su a lly m entioned in th e same b r e a th as th e u n iv e r s i t ie s , and a p ic tu r e o f i t s g ran d io se e n tra n ce fa ca d e i l l u s t r a t e s most works on th e s u b je c t o f h ig h e r ed u ca tio n i n th e S o v ie t Union. I t i s i t s p r a c t ic e to subm it p o st-g ra d u a te th e s e s to Moscow - a p r a c t ic e s a id by a s e n io r member o f th e evening te a c h e r t r a in in g i n s t i t u t e in J u ly 1954 to le a d to th e n e g le c t o f th e a s p ir a n ts , and to be th e cau se o f th e many c a s e s o f f a i lu r e ( 6 ) . He was d is c u s s in g th e problem o f te a c h in g R u ssian , and d ep lo rin g th e la c k o f t h e o r e t i c a l stu dy o f method, and e s p e c ia l ly o f a com parative grammar f o r th e b e n e f i t o f th o se le a rn in g Uzbek and R u ssian s im u lta n e o u sly .

Language o f in s t r u c t io n

The language problem i s n e c e s s a r i ly most a cu te in ed u ca tio n in U zb ek istan . Knowledge o f R u ssian i s re q u ire d f o r e n try to i n s t i t u t i o n s o f b o th l e v e l s . The exam ination f o r e n tran ce to VUZ i s conducted i n w r it in g in R u ssian though v iv a voce on ly in o th e r s u b je c t s , w h ile e n tra n ts to tekhnikums do a R u ssia n d ic ta t io n . E n tra n ts to VUZ coming from tekhnikums are s a id to g a in e s p e c ia l ly poor m arks.

The language o f in s t r u c t io n i s alw ays s p e c i f ie d in th e p ro sp e c tu s .I t i s R u ssian a lo n e i n th e more s p e c ia l iz e d e s ta b lis h m e n ts : th e S t a t eC o n se rv a to ire , th e f lo u r - m i l l in g , in d u s t r ia l , ra ilw a y c o n s tr u c t io n , b u ild in g , to p o g ra p h ic a l, h y d ro m eteo ro lo g ica l tekhnikum s. A ll th e s e a re i n T ash k en t. N early everywhere e l s e b o th R u ssian and Uzbek a re used , som etim es v ary in g acco rd in g to th e n a t io n a l i t y o f th e in s t r u c t o r s .R u ssia n i s n o t alw ays tau ght i n R u ssia n ; the Fergan a i n s t i t u t e c a r r i e s on a l l in s t r u c t io n in Uzbek, and y e t t r a in s te a c h e rs o f R u ssian f o r R u ssia n s c h o o ls . P u p ils are always tr a in e d w ith p a r t i c u la r n a t io n a l groups i n view ; te a c h e r s o f R u ssian a re tr a in e d to te a c h e i t h e r R u ss ia n o r Uzbek sch o o ls and v ic e v e rs a .

There a re o th e r languages o f in s t r u c t io n . The sch o o l t r a in in g prim ary and k in d e rg a rte n te a c h e rs i n K h o d zh eili u ses K ara-K alp ak ,Kazakh, Uzbek and R u ss ia n . The Chimbai sch o o l f o r t r a in in g prim ary te a c h e rs and s e n io r P io n e e r le a d e rs u ses K ara-K alpak , Kazakh, and R u ss ia n . Some i n s t i t u t e s use Turkmen and Tadzhik.

The p ro p o rtio n o f R u ssian to in d igenous in h a b ita n ts r e c e iv in g h ig h e r ed u ca tio n i s nowhere d i r e c t ly m entioned. A ccording to th e 1939

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cen su s , R u ssian s form ed 1 1 .6 p er c e n t o f th e p o p u la tio n o f U zbekistan and tw o -th ird s l iv e d in the c i t i e s , most o f them in th e Tashkent o b la s t where on ly 4-2.3 p er c e n t o f the in h a b ita n ts are Uzbeks. On th e o th e r hand in th e e d u ca tio n a l y e a r 1 9 5 3 -5 4 out o f 187 f in is h in g the co u rse g iv e n by th e re p u b lic a n P a rty sch o o l - a l l o f whom would have re c e iv e d o r b e r e c e iv in g h ig h e r ed u cation - seven ty p er c e n t were Uzbeks or o f o th e r n a t iv e o r ig in . T h is f ig u r e may re q u ire q u a l i f i c a t io n . Many s tu d e n ts have a lre a d y re c e iv e d p o l i t i c a l ed u catio n and R u ssian s may n o t need th e s e r v ic e s o f th e P a rty s c h o o l.

P o l i t i c a l ed u catio n

P o l i t i c a l ed u ca tio n i s g iven in a l l h ig h er e d u ca tio n a l in s t i t u t i o n s and i s exp ected to h e lp the work o f r a is in g sta n d a rd s . There are a ls o e le v e n ”evening u n iv e r s i t ie s o f M arxism -Leninism ” in th e p r in c ip a l c i t i e s w ith o f f - s h o o ts ( f i l i a l ) in la rg e f a c t o r i e s and in tra d e -u n io n b ra n ch e s , in c lu d in g th ose in i n s t i t u t io n s o f le a rn in g . I n s t r u c t io n i s o f te n in Uzbek ( 7 ) * A ttendance i s v o lu n ta ry , b u t th e re are c r i t i c i s m s o f com pulsory enrolm ent to b o o st numbers ( 8 ) . Communists who had a lre a d y ta k e n co u rses a t t h e i r VUZ are among th ose in clu d ed , and no attem p t i s made to p la c e th e p u p ils in c la s s e s o f t h e i r e d u ca tio n a l stan d ard . I n s t r u c t io n i s o f te n g iv en by the q u estio n and answer method. To improve poor a tten d an ce f ig u r e s , in s t r u c to r s a re to re o rg a n iz e t h e i r groups and encourage independent work on th e fundam entals o f Marxism, to a s s i s t w hich th e works o f Lenin and S t a l i n have been t r a n s la te d in to Uzbek and th e f i r s t volume o f Das K a p ita l i s in th e p ro ce ss o f t r a n s la t io n .

C on clu sion s

H igher stan d ard s and a h ig h e r p ro p o rtio n o f Uzbeks in th e u n iv e r s i t ie s and i n s t i t u t e s can on ly be ach iev ed by h ig h e r stan d ard s and more o f the n a t iv e p o p u la tio n in s c h o o ls ; th e exp an sion o f th e sch o o ls demands h ig h e r stan d ard s in the i n s t i t u t e s t r a in in g th e te a c h e r s . The i n i t i a l advance in ed u catio n in U zbek istan was made by an in f lu x o f R u ss ia n s c h o la r s , s c i e n t i s t s , and e d u c a t io n is ts . But the u lt im a te le a d e r sh ip in ed u catio n was e s ta b l is h e d lo c a l l y w ith the founding in 1943 o f th e Uzbek Academy o f S c ie n c e s . Sharp and fre q u e n t c r i t i c i s m o f th e Academy from in s id e and o u ts id e th e re p u b lic shows th a t i t i s f in d in g d i f f i c u l t y in m ain ta in in g i t s r o le . Y e t th e re i s e q u a lly sharp c r i t i c i s m o f in s t i t u t i o n s w ith a ll-U n io n co n n e ctio n from w ith in U zb ek istan . I t seems th a t h ig h e r and te c h n ic a l e d u ca tio n i s s u f fe r in g from the s h o r t comings o f th e prim ary and secondary sch o o ls , which a re due la r g e ly to th e v ery g re a t in c r e a s e in th e numbers o f sch o o l c h ild r e n .

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N otes

(1 ) Speech o f Comrade M ukhitchinov a t th e T w elfth Uzbek P a rty C ongressh e ld in Feb ru ary , 1954*

(2 ) R ep orted in Pravda Vostoka o f 2 2 .8 .5 4 *

( 3 ) " " " 3 .2 .5 4 .

( 4 ) A r t i c le by R. B ig ayev , head o f th e departm ent o f R u ssian languagei n the Tashkent Evening T ea ch er-T ra in in g I n s t i t u t e , in

Pravda Y ostoka 1 0 .7 *5 4 *

( 5 ) G-. Su ltan o v , head o f th e s c ie n c e and c u ltu re departm ent o f th eC e n tra l Committee o f th e U zbek istan Communist P a r ty , w r it in g i n Pravda Y ostoka o f 1 .8 .5 4 *

(6 ) C f. ( 4 ) above.

( 7 ) A r t i c le in Pravda Vostoka o f 2 3 * 8 .5 4 on th e b eg in n in g o f th ee d u ca tio n a l y e a r .

( 8 ) R ep orted in Pravda V ostoka o f 7 * 2 .5 4 *

Sou rces

1 . Spravochnik d ly a postupayushchikh v v yssh iy e i sred n iy e s p e ts ia ln y y euchebnye zaved eniya UzSSR v 1953 g« T ashkent, 1953*

2 . Narodnoye obrazovaniye v SSSR. E .N . M edynskii. Moscow, 1952 .

3 . S o v e ts k ii U zb ek istan . Kh. A bdullayev. Moscow, 1948 .

4* U zb ek istan . Academy o f S c ie n c e s o f th e Uzbek SSR. T ashkent, 1950 .

5- S o v ie t E n cy clo p aed ia , s .v . VUZ.

6 . C e n tra l A sian p r e s s .

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C U L T U R A L A F F A I R S

I S L A M I C S T U D I E S I N R U S S I A

PART I I

The fo llo w in g i s a c o n tin u a tio n o f the a n a ly s is o f O cherki I s t o r i i Izu ch en iy a I s lama v SSSR by N.A. Smirnov, th e f i r s t p a r t o f which appeared in th e l a s t is s u e o f t h i s Review. The f i n a l and con clu d in g p a r t o f th e a n a ly s is to g e th e r w ith a b ib lio g ra p h y w i l l appear i n the n e x t is s u e o f th e Review. The a n a ly s is i s d esign ed to in d ic a te the g e n e ra l scope o f the book; i t i s n o t in any sen se a c r i t i c a l review , and a l l th e o p in io n s ex p ressed are th o se e i t h e r o f th e au th or o r o f th e w r ite r s and o th e rs whom he qu otes.

C hapter IV

Is la m ic S tu d ie s 1918 - 1934

A ttitu d e o f th e S o v ie t regim e to Is la m

From 1918 onwards th e p r in c ip a l r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s o f Is la m and i t s s e c t s encouraged and supported th e c o u n te r -re v o lu tio n a ry movement a g a in s t th e d ic ta to r s h ip o f th e p r o l e t a r ia t , one o f th e p lan k s in t h e i r p la tfo rm b ein g " th e l ib e l lo u s a c c u s a tio n th a t th e S o v ie t regim e aimed a t su p p ressin g r e l i g i o n . w

In f a c t , th e S o v ie t a t t i tu d e towards r e l ig i o n was b ased on th e M arx ist p r in c ip le o f freedom o f c o n sc ie n c e , and i n th e p ro clam atio n o f 2 4 th November 1 9 1 7 j ad d ressed to a l l th e Muslim p eop les o f R u s s ia , "whose mosques and s h r in e s have b een d estro y ed and whose b e l i e f s and customs have b een tram pled on by th e T sa rs and task m asters o f R u s s ia " , th e s e were inform ed th a t th en ceforw ard t h e i r " b e l i e f s and custom s, n a t io n a l and c u l t u r a l i n s t i t u t i o n s a re d e c la re d f r e e and in v io la b le " .

One o f th e f i r s t p r a c t i c a l s te p s tak en by th e S o v ie t regim e w ith reg ard to th e Muslim r e l ig i o n was to comply w ith th e re q u e s t o f th e r e g io n a l Muslim co n g re ss o f th e P e tro g ra d N a tio n a l D i s t r i c t th a t th e Holy Koran o f Osman, which a t th e tim e o f th e an n exatio n o f C e n tra l A sia had been removed from a mosque o f Samarkand to th e S ta te P u b lic L ib ra ry , should be handed over to them.

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The ta s k s o f th e P a r ty in r e s p e c t o f Is la m and th e p eople o f Muslim c o u n tr ie s were d efin ed by L en in in 1920 as (a ) support o f th e "b o u rg e o is-d em o cra tic movement” in backward c o u n tr ie s , (b ) th e f ig h t a g a in s t r e l ig io u s and o th e r re a c t io n a ry and m ediaeval e lem en ts, and ( c ) o p p o sitio n to p an -Islam and s im ila r movements which were endeavouring to id e n t i f y th e movement f o r l ib e r a t io n from European and American im p e ria lism w ith th e s tre n g th e n in g o f th e p o s it io n o f th e khans, la n d - owners and m u llas. But b o th Lanin and S t a l i n emphasized th e need f o r c a re n o t to o ffe n d th e deep s e a te d s e n s i t i v i t i e s o f th e Muslim p e a sa n try by too p r e c ip i t a t e a c t io n .

On th e s u b je c t o f th e can on ic law ( S h a r ia t ) S t a l i n s a id th a t ”the S o v ie t Government regard ed th e S h a r ia t as b e in g as com petent a custom ary law as any which o b ta in ed among o th e r p eo p les in h a b it in g R u s s ia ” . L a te r , in 1921 , S.M. K irov s a id " th e S o v ie t regim e i s in no way concerned w ith in d iv id u a l b e l i e f s . One can b e l ie v e in , pray to and r e ly upon what one l i k e s . But when i t comes to th e S h a r ia t , th e re i s som ething more th an th e r e l ig io u s s id e ; th e r e i s a ls o th e m a tte r o f g e n e ra l c o n t r o l " . R ep ly in g to a Muslim d e le g a te ’ s demand a t th e C ongress o f S o v ie ts o f th e Mountain R ep u b lic th a t th ey should be a llow ed to have th e S h a r ia t in i t s e n t i r e t y , K irov s a id th a t th e S o v ie t re g im e 's ta s k was to c r e a te S o v ie t c o n d itio n s o f l i f e i r r e s p e c t iv e o f t r i b e , language o r c re e d . I f some a g i t a t io n h o s t i l e to th e S o v ie t regim e were to move under co v er o f th e S h a r ia t , "we s h a l l alw ays f ig h t i t and s c a t t e r every a n t i - S o v ie t grou p". At th e same C ongress K iro v s a id : "Our CommunistP a rty has n ev er and i n no sense aimed a t e s ta b l is h in g any k in d o f c o n tr o l over your S h a r ia t . That i s your a f f a i r . The Communist P a r ty i s n o t concerned w ith t h i s q u e stio n from any p o in t o f v iew ".

K ir o v 's s ta te m e n ts , pronounced during th e y e a rs o f th e C iv i l War and in te r v e n t io n , "prove what a v a s t e d u ca tio n a l work was conducted by th e Communist P a r ty during th e d i f f i c u l t p e r io d o f the.arm ed s t r u g g le " . H is i n i t i a t i v e "u n q u estio n ab ly p lay ed a g r e a t p o s i t iv e r o le and ga in ed th e sympathy o f a la r g e s e c t io n o f b e l ie v in g M uslim s". H is pronouncements " c l e a r l y showed th e d if fe r e n c e in th e a t t i tu d e of th e S o v ie t regim e and Communist P a r ty towards Is la m and th e S h a r ia t on th e one hand, and towards th e c o u n te r -re v o lu tio n a ry a c t i v i t i e s o f th e Muslim c l e r i c a l elem ent on th e o th e r " .

A fte r th e v ic to r io u s c o n c lu s io n o f th e C iv i l War, th e P a r ty took up i n e a r n e s t th e m a tte r o f a n t i - r e l i g io u s propaganda. At th e X l l t h P a r ty C ongress o f 1923 a r e s o lu t io n was adopted on " th e e s ta b lish m e n t o f a n t i - r e l i g io u s a g i t a t io n and propaganda". The r e s o lu t io n l a i d down th e g e n e ra l l i n e s on which th e campaign was to be conducted. D ea lin g w ith the same s u b je c t , th e X l l l t h Congress o f th e P a r ty adopted a

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r e s o lu t io n on "work i n th e co u n try ” . T h is in clu d ed th e fo llo w in g p assa g e : " I t i s e s s e n t ia l th a t any attem p ts to combat r e l ig io u sp r e ju d ic e s by a d m in is tra tiv e means should be d e c is iv e ly abandoned.Such means in c lu d e c lo s in g o f ch u rch es, mosques, synagogues, p ra y e r - h o u ses, and th e l i k e . A n t i- r e l ig io u s propaganda i n r u r a l a re a s should c o n s is t o f an e x c lu s iv e ly m a t e r i a l i s t i c e x p la n a tio n o f th e n a tu r a l and s o c i a l phenomena w ith which th e p e a sa n ts a re c o n fr o n te d .. . P a r t i c u la r c a re shou ld be tak en to avoid o ffe n d in g th e r e l ig io u s s e n s i b i l i t i e s o f th e b e l ie v e r which can only be overcome by lon g y e a rs o f c a r e fu l ly planned work o f en lig h ten m en t. Such c a u tio n i s p a r t i c u la r ly n e c e ssa ry in th e e a s te r n re p u b lic s and o b la s t s " .

The r e s u l t s o b ta in ed by a n t i - r e l i g io u s propaganda were review ed in two c o n fe re n ce s h e ld under th e a u sp ice s o f th e A gitprop o f th e E x e cu tiv e Committee o f th e Communist P a r ty i n A p r il 1926 and Ju n e 1929- These r e s u l t s were l a t e r summarized in a s e r ie s o f a r t i c l e s by Em. Y a r o s la v s k i i . He s ta te d th a t : "The S o c i a l i s t r e c o n s tr u c t io n o f th e p e o p le ’ s economy i sd e s tro y in g th e econom ic and m a te r ia l r o o ts o f r e l ig i o n . I t i s on t h is accou n t th a t th e k u lak s are r e ly in g upon v a rio u s r e l ig io u s o rg a n iz a tio n s f o r th e s tru g g le a g a in s t c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n . No wonder th a t th e rnullas f r ig h te n e d th e K ir g iz w ith th e id e a th a t th e k a ra s h a ita n (b la c k d e v i l ) , th a t i s , th e T u rksib lo co m o tiv es , would soon tr a v e r s e th e ste p p e . Under th e in flu e n c e o f th e su c c e ss e s ach iev ed by S o c i a l i s t r e c o n s tr u c t io n th e a t h e i s t i c movement has become a mass movement".

Even a f t e r th e end o f th e C iv i l War "b o u rg eo is-reactio n ary e lem en ts" and th e r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s o f v a rio u s Muslim and o th e r r e l ig io u s s e c t s co n tin u ed a sp o ra d ic f ig h t a g a in s t th e S o v ie t S t a t e . I n t h is th ey were "su p p orted by fo r e ig n im p e r ia l is t s e x p lo it in g th e backw ardness o f e a s te r n p e o p le s " . The s t a t e o f a f f a i r s which r e s u lte d from NEP (New Economic P o l ic y ) c o n tr ib u te d to th e r e v iv a l o f "b o u rg eo is n a t io n a l i s t id e o lo g y " .I n th e r e s o lu t io n o f th e X l l t h P a r ty Congress r e la t in g to propaganda i t had a lre a d y been n o ted th a t th e sh o rtag e o f propaganda m a te r ia l in non- R u ss ia n languages had combined w ith NEP to s tre n g th e n th e in flu e n c e o f th e p e t ty b o u rg e o is ie and " n a t i o n a l i s t - c l e r i c a l " elem ent among th e people u sin g th o se lan g u ag es. Among e a s te r n p eop les t h i s r e s u lt e d i n th e growth o f p an -Islam and pan-Turanianism . "V ery im portan t f o r a l l s tu d e n ts o f Is la m i s th e r e s o lu t io n 's f in d in g th a t , owing to a number o f h i s t o r i c a l and s o c ia l c ircu m sta n ce s , the in flu e n c e o f th e non-orthodox chu rches and p r ie s th o o d s among p eople o f non-R u ssian n a t io n a l i ty was and s t i l l rem ains, e s p e c ia l ly among Muslims and. C a th o lic s , s tro n g e r th an th e in flu e n c e o f the Orthodox ch u rch ". A n t i- r e l ig io u s propaganda, s a id th e same r e s o lu t io n , shou ld tak e t h is p e c u l ia r i t y in to acco u n t.

I t was th e fo re g o in g h i s t o r i c a l background and d e fin e d o b je c t s which co n d itio n e d th e f i r s t S o v ie t l i t e r a t u r e devoted to th e s u b je c t o f Is la m .

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P u b lic a t io n s on Is la m ic s u b je c t s , 1918 - 1924

The f i r s t S o v ie t l i t e r a t u r e d e a lin g w ith th e s u b je c t o f Is la m took th e form o f a r t i c l e s in p e r io d ic a ls , and o f o c c a s io n a l books and b ro ch u res . Z hizn N a ts io n a ln o s te i (The L i f e o f the N a t i o n a l i t i e s ) , which f i r s t appeared as a d a ily in 1918, in 1922 as a w eekly, and in 1923 as a m onthly, co n ta in e d a number o f a r t i c l e s on Is la m m ostly d e a lin g w ith i t s p o l i t i c a l a s p e c t . Some o f th o se m entioned are "The Koran and th e R ev o lu tio n ” (1 9 2 0 ) , "The Muslim Poor and th e Red Army" (on the experim ent o f a t t r a c t i n g the in d igenou s p o p u la tio n o f T u rkestan in t o th e Red Army) p u b lish ed i n 1920, and "Babism and Behaism " (1 9 2 2 ) . Mast o f th e p u b lic a t io n s o f t h i s p e rio d were popular s c i e n t i f i c works "d esig n ed to expose th e c la s s c h a r a c te r o f Is la m and th e a n ti-p o p u la r and tre a ch e ro u s a c t i v i t i e s o f th e c l e r i c a l e le m e n t". One book o f t h i s k in d was The Basm achi Movement in Bukhara.

More s p e c i f i c a l l y concerned w ith Is la m ic m a tte rs was th e p e r io d ic a l Novyi Y ostok (The New E a s t) which la s te d from 1922 to 1930 . T h is was d esign ed to throw l i g h t on l iv in g c o n d itio n s in th e S o v ie t E a s t a s w e ll as i n o th e r e a s te r n c o u n tr ie s . I t co n ta in e d a g r e a t d e a l o f f a c t u a l m a te r ia l b u t " th e e d ito r s were u nable to tu rn i t in t o a m i l i ta n t s c i e n t i f i c and t h e o r e t i c a l organ e la b o ra t in g problem s o f the contem porary e a s t on th e re q u ire d id e a l ( i . e . Communist) p o l i t i c a l l e v e l " . Some o f th e n o ta b le a r t i c l e s m entioned were "The R e lig io u s Movements o f th e K i z i l - Bash o f A sia M inor" by G o rd le v sk ii (N o .l o f 1 9 2 2 ) ; "The B rotherhood o f F ig h te r s f o r th e F a i t h " (No. 6 o f 1 9 2 4 ) , a d e s c r ip t io n o f th e J a m ia t - u l - M ujahidin founded by Sayyid Ahmed in In d ia ; and "The appearance o f Is la m seen in a new l i g h t " (N o.4 o f 1923 and No. 6 o f 1924) by P r o fe s s o r D o b ro ly u b sk ii. The l a s t m entioned d iscu sse d i n d e t a i l th e th eo ry o f th e I t a l i a n o r i e n t a l i s t C aetan i who co n sid e re d Is la m to be th e f i n a l phase o f th e em ig ra tio n o f S e m itic p eo p les from A rab ia , which began i n 4 000 B .C . A nother magazine which p a id c o n s id e ra b le a t te n t io n to Is la m ic m a tte rs was K o lo n ia ln y i Vostok (The C o lo n ia l E a s t ) .

D uring t h i s p e r io d th e so - c a l l e d academ ic o r i e n t a l i s t s such as B a r to ld , K rach k o v sk ii and S h c h e rb a ts k ii d isp la y e d c o n s id e ra b le l i t e r a r y a c t i v i t y , m ostly on h ig h ly s p e c ia l iz e d s u b je c t s . B a r to ld i n p a r t i c u la r was " th e f i r s t o r ie n t a l s c h o la r o f th e o ld sch o o l to re co g n iz e th e need f o r sp read in g among the b ro ad masses o f S o v ie t re a d e rs a c c u ra te in fo rm a tio n on Is la m b ased on s c i e n t i f i c co n c lu s io n s and f r e e from any k in d o f m issio n ary ap p ro ach ". A part from p u re ly academ ic work, he w rote a number o f p op u lar s c i e n t i f i c works on Is la m , the c h ie f o f w hich was Is la m - a G en eral S k e tch which appeared in 1 918 . Although th e se books co n ta in much which i s o f i n t e r e s t to S o v ie t s tu d e n ts , th ey tend ed to m inim ize th e im portance o f R u ssian o r i e n t a l i s t s as a w hole. The work o f

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fo r e ig n o r i e n t a l i s t s i s d e sc r ib e d in d e t a i l , p rid e o f p la c e b e in g g iven to th e B r i t i s h o r i e n t a l i s t s Gibbon and Muir and to o th e rs such as C aetan i, G old z ih er and Laxamens.

1926 - 1934

D uring t h i s p e rio d , th e P a rty s u c c e s s fu l ly r e a l iz e d i t s p o l ic y o f th e S o c i a l i s t in d u s t r ia l iz a t io n o f th e cou ntry and so lv e d th a t most d i f f i c u l t problem , th e am algam ation o f m ill io n s o f sm all p ea sa n t farm s in to k o lk h o z e s . T h is , to g e th e r w ith th e l iq u id a t io n o f th e k u lak s as a c la s s ," le d to th e d e s tr u c t io n o f th e l a s t r o o ts o f c a p ita l is m and to th e v ic to r y o f S o c ia l is m " . Such an o p e ra tio n n a tu r a lly n e c e s s i ta te d g ig a n t ic e f f o r t s on th e ’’id e o lo g ic a l f r o n t ” in o rd er to expose a l l th o se who were ’’i n t e r f e r in g w ith th e onward march o f S o v ie t s o c ie ty and were su p p o rtin g and c u l t iv a t in g a l l k in d s o f outworn t r a d i t io n s , backw ardness and i l l i t e r a c y ” . "R e lig io u s o rg a n iz a tio n s were w idely used by th e enemies o f S o c ia lis m . P a r t i c u la r ly in the n a t io n a l re g io n s o f th e S o v ie t E a s t , where th e laws and t r a d i t io n s o f Is la m were p re se rv ed by th e Muslim c l e r i c a l e lem en t, and a ls o by a l l th e v a r io u s 'Is h a n s , D erv ish es and P i r s ' , th ey con tin u ed to p la y a v ery im p ortan t r o le i n th e p r iv a te l i f e o f th e p eo p le , and e s p e c ia l ly in t h e i r fa m ily l i f e in -which they were in te n t on p e rp e tu a tin g th e su bord in ate p o s i t io n o f th e e a s te r n woman and p rev en tin g h e r from ta k in g h e r p la c e in s o c ie t y " .

A part from v a rio u s com m issions d esign ed to b e t t e r th e l o t o f women, " s o c i e t i e s o f th e g o d le ss" were c re a te d throughout th e n a t io n a l re p u b lic s and o b la s ts i n o rd er b o th to conduct w idespread propaganda work, and to p u b lish a n t i - r e l i g io u s p e r io d ic a ls , books and pop ular pam phlets in the n a t io n a l lan g u ag es. In Moscow s p e c ia l p u b lis h in g houses c a l le d "Bezbozhnik" ( th e G od less) and " A t e is t " were s p e c ia l ly c r e a te d f o r th e l a t t e r purpose.The au th o rs o f many o f th e se p u b lic a t io n s , however, were " i n s u f f i c i e n t l y ed u cated on M a rx ist l i n e s " and t h e i r works werfe co n seq u en tly " o f a v ery t r i v i a l c h a r a c te r and q u ite u nable to s a t i s f y t h e i r r e a d e r s " . Of ou tstan d in g im p ortan ce, however, a re th e many a n t i - r e l i g io u s works o f Em.Y a r o s la v s k ii who l a i d down as a g e n e ra l p r in c ip le th e in c u lc a t io n " in the c h i ld o f a h a tre d o f th o se f e t t e r s imposed by r e l i g i o n . . . and o f th e g r e a te s t lo v e f o r th e p eople o f o th e r ra c e s and o th e r t r i b e s " .

Muqh o f Y a r o s la v s k i i ’ s a n t i - r e l i g io u s a c t i v i t y was d ir e c te d towards T ra n s c a u c a s ia . "T ra n s c a u c a s ia " , he w rote, " i s to a c e r t a in degree the key to th e E a s t ; i n i t s way i t i s a s t r a t e g ic gatew ay, and i f th e in te r v e n t io n i s t s g a in p o s s e ss io n o f i t , th ey can e x e r c is e tremendous p re ssu re on a whole s e r ie s o f s t a t e s . T h is a n c ie n t 'ro a d o f th e p e o p le s ' s t i l l has a g re a t p o l i t i c a l s ig n i f i c a n c e . In T ra n sc a u c a s ia , u n t i l q u ite r e c e n t tim e s , th e re has b een c o n c e n tra te d th e a t te n t io n o f th e in te r n a t io n a l c o u n te r -re v o lu tio n a ry

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movement n o t on ly o f th e G eorgian M ensheviks, th e Armenian D a sh n a k ists , and the M u sa v a tis ts , b u t o f th o se who sto o d behind them - the B r i t i s h , F ren ch and o th e r Im p e r ia l i s t s . They support th e c o u n te r -re v o lu tio n a ry c l e r i c a l elem ent and do n o t h e s i t a t e to g ive t h e i r b ack in g to any new, s u b t le and 'ad ap ted ' r e l ig io n such as Behaism . Even now (1 931 ) th e Muslim h ie ra rc h y p la y s a very im portan t r o le in th e S o v ie t E a s t . . .Q u ite r e c e n t ly th ey have attem pted to c r e a te in A z e rb a ija n ' s a in t ly s p e c i a l i s t s f o r th e s tru g g le a g a in s t c o l l e c t iv i z a t io n . M ullas and k u lak s have spread rumours th a t in such and such a p la c e th e re i s a s a in t whose ’ s p e c i a l i t y 5 i s h o s t i l i t y to c o l l e c t i v i z a t i o n ” , b u t, he con tin u ed , ”no p ray ers to A lla h and o th e r n o n -e x is te n t gods can tu rn th e v a s t , teem ing m asses o f th e p o p u la tio n o f S o v ie t E a s t from th e S o c i a l i s t p a th ”.

Most o f th e anti-M u slim propaganda m a te r ia l m entioned as appearin g in t h is p e r io d seems to have been in th e R u ssia n language. An e x c e p tio n to t h i s i s the m agazine Fen-em -Din (S c ie n c e and R e l ig io n ) p u b lish ed in Moscow in 1925 in th e TatAr lan guage. R u ssian a r t i c l e s appearin g betw een 1927 and 1929 were on such s u b je c t s as ”The R e lig io u s Movement i n th e T a ta r R e p u b lic” . "A th e is t propaganda in B a s h k ir ia " and " A n t i - r e l ig io u s propaganda in th e S o v ie t E a s t " ; a magazine c a l le d R e v o ly u ts iy a i G orets (R e v o lu tio n and th e M ountaineer) p u b lish e d in Rostov-on-D on in 1929 co n ta in e d a r t i c l e s on such s u b je c ts as "L a rg e - s c a le g o d le ss work in th e n a t io n a l o b la s t s " , "From th e p a t r ia r c h a l fa m ily to th e a t h e i s t fa m ily " , and "Why I stopped b e l ie v in g in God".

A nother p r o l i f i c w r ite r on Muslim s u b je c t s from th e a n t i - r e l ig io u s s ta n d p o in t was L . K lim ovich whose w orks, and e s p e c ia l ly S o c i a l i s t C o n stru c tio n in th e E a s t and R e l ig io n (1 9 2 9 ) , a re s t i l l o f g r e a t im portance to s tu d e n ts o f Is la m , in s p i te o f th e "numerous d e fe c ts " which th ey c o n ta in . K lim ovich a ls o w rote a book e n t i t l e d The C onten ts o f th e Koran ( 1 9 2 8 ) , th e avowed o b je c t o f which was to s e t f o r th th e b a s i c p ro p o s it io n s o f th e Koran and " t o p rov id e th e a n t i - r e l ig io u s man w ith a s y s te m a tic e x p o s it io n o f i t s id e a s " . The au th or cla im ed th a t t h i s book was th e f i r s t exposure o f th e in t e r n a l c o n tr a d ic t io n s o f th e Koran and he draws a sharp d is t in c t io n betw een " th e e x p lo i t e r s , i n th e i n t e r e s t s o f whom th e Koran was w r it te n , and th e e x p lo ite d , from whom subm ission , obedience and b e l i e f in a fu tu r e l i f e o f h eaven ly c o n s o la tio n were demanded". The book i s , however, "m is le a d in g " i n many r e s p e c ts s in c e K lim ovich sh ared th e th eo ry expounded by P r o fe s s o r M.A, R e isn e r under th e in flu e n c e o f th e s o - c a l le d sc h o o l o f P o k ro v sk ii about the p a r t p lay ed by com m ercial c a p ita l is m i n th e r i s e o f Is la m and the emergence o f th e Koran.

A book e n t i t l e d Is la m and the Modem E a s t (1 9 2 8 ) by N.A. Smirnov

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was an a ttem p t to c o n s id e r in a s in g le volume a l l th e q u e stio n s r e la t in g to th e b a s i c te a ch in g o f Is la m , i t s p o l i t i c a l r o le , th e o rg a n iz a tio n o f th e Muslim h ie ra rc h y and th e p a r t p lay ed by Is la m in everyday l i f e . I t c o n ta in s a d e s c r ip t io n o f n a t io n a l l ib e r a t io n movements i n such c o u n tr ie s a s P e r s ia , Turkey, In d ia and Egypt. There i s much d e s c r ip t iv e m a te r ia l -w ritten in a p op u lar s t y le b u t " th e t h e o r e t i c a l l e v e l o f the f i r s t two e d it io n s i s v ery low ".

S p e c ia l iz e d p u b lic a t io n s

V ariou s works on Muslim f e s t i v a l s and cerem onies appeared a t t h is p e r io d in c lu d in g K lim o v ich 's a r t i c l e "H a jj (p ilg r im a g e ) , th e Vampire o f Is la m " ( A t e is t No® 53, 1 9 3 0 ) ; V. Sh o k h o r's The "H oly" Month o f Ramazan (Moscow, 1 9 3 0 ) ; S . Turkhanov’ s Muslim F e a s ts (Moscow, 1 9 3 1 ) ; L . K lim o- v i c h 's K urban-bairam (Moscow, 1931) and th e b ro ch u re , A gainst Uraza ( f a s t i n g ) , (Moscow, 1933)• These combine acco u n ts o f th e o r ig in o f r i t e s and h o ly -d ay s w ith modern exam ples o f t h e i r " r e a c t io n a r y and poisonou s" c h a r a c te r .

Among works on the s u b je c t o f woman, N« A. Sm irnov’ s The C hadir (1929^ on th e o r ig in o f th e Muslim woman’ s v e i l and th e s tru g g le a g a in s t i t , co n ta in e d a "now in a c c u ra te " account o f th e so u rce s o f th e custom and an in t e r e s t i n g ch a p te r com piled on th e b a s is o f an ad d ress o f th e C e n tra l Committee o f the Uzbek and A z e rb a ija n i Communist P a r t ie s to th e w orkers ap p ea lin g f o r th e em an cipation o f women. S . A gam ali-O gly 's book Namus in I s o l a t e d S o c i e t i e s o f the Is la m ic World (Baku, 1929) g iv e s econom ic independence as th e remedy f o r th e im agined lo s s o f namus ( r e s p e c t ) by Muslim women. The au thor acknowledges th a t com pulsion w i l l be n e c e ssa ry , and th a t th e r e fo r e l e g i s l a t i o n on th e r ig h ts o f women must b e " r e in fo r c e d " .

S o v ie t s tu d ie s o f th e Muslim s e c t s have had as t h e i r o b je c t " th e exp osin g o f th e re a c t io n a r y n a tu re which th ey sh are i n eq u a l measure w ith Is la m i t s e l f " . A.M. A rsh a ru n i's brochu re Behaism (Moscow, 1930) co n ta in s a ch a p ter on th e p re te n s io n s o f Behaism to . c o n ta in th e e s s e n t i a l s o f S o c i a l i s t d o c tr in e ; th e au th or went " to o f a r " i n h is a ttem p ts to f in d a r e v o lu tio n a ry n o te i n some B e h a is t s lo g a n s . I . D arov’ s Behaism - th e Hew R e l ig io n o f th e E a s t , an exam in ation o f th e sp eech es and l e t t e r s o f Abdul- Beha, con clu d es th a t betw een S o c ia lis m and Behaism th e re l i e s th e same d if fe r e n c e as betw een S o c ia lis m and C a p ita lism . M. Tomar’ s a r t i c l e "The so u rce s o f Wahabism" i n A te is t No. 53 , 1930 accoun ted f o r th e new p u rita n elem ent in Is la m by th e economic c o n d itio n s in th e N ajd o f Abd-al-Wahah.

The t h e o c r a t ic c h a r a c te r o f th e c a lip h a te was th e s u b je c t o f P . G idulyanov’ s a r t i c l e "The C a lip h a te as a P e c u lia r System o f R e la t io n s betw een Church and S ta te " ( A te is t No.58 , 1 9 3 0 ) . I t was b ased on B a r to ld ’ s

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work on th e adop tion o f th e t i t l e o f C alip h by S e lim I i n 1517> though B a r to ld h im se lf d en ies th a t t h is happened. Gidulyanov a t t r ib u t e s th e system to Muslim th e o r ie s o f th e "Kingdom o f A lla h " on e a r th , and to th e in flu e n c e o f B y zan tin e co n cep tio n s o f em pire. He d en ies th a t the Young Turks i n 1908 opposed th e r e l ig io u s a u th o r ity o f th e S u lta n . H is s t a t e ment th a t th e T u rk ish reform s in th e r e la t io n s betw een Church and S t a t e - th e a b o l i t io n o f th e s u lta n a te i n 1922 and o f th e c a lip h a te in 1924 - were m odelled on and in flu e n c e d by S o v ie t reform s in th e RSFSR, p a r t i c u la r ly th e s e p a ra tio n o f Church and S t a t e , a re "co m p le te ly in c r e d ib le " . T h is "ab su rd " assum ption v i t i a t e s th e o th erw ise in t e r e s t i n g d is c u s s io n o f B r i t a i n ’ s p o l ic y o f u sin g the c a lip h a te and Is la m to keep h e r Muslim s u b je c t s under c o n tr o l .

" Is la m and Land-ow nership", an a r t i c l e by M. Tomar in A t e is t No. 58 , 1930 , combats th e o p in io n o f Hammer, Worms, P erro n and o th e rs th a t Is la m d en ies th e r ig h t to own lan d . M. Tomar a ffirm s th a t th e Koran i s n o t th e r e a l sou rce o f Muslim law , b u t th e sunna, which i s b ased on th e d e c is io n s o f Muhammad and o f th e ashab ( th e companions o f th e p ro p h e t) . He attem p ts to show th a t i n se v e n th -ce n tu ry A rab ia a system o f p r iv a te ownership was in f o r c e . T h is m eant, in f a c t , th a t Is la m sa n c tio n e d th e " n a t io n a l iz a t io n " o f th e lan d in fav o u r o f the r u lin g group around th e C alip h Omar. I s la m ’ s most fav ou red system o f land-ow nersh ip , th e au th or co n clu d es, was th a t o f v a k f .

Among o th e r a r t i c l e s appearing at. t h i s tim e, S.M . Abramzon’ s "The Manaps and R e l ig io n " (So v etsk ay a E tn o g ra fiy a , No. 2 , 1932) was th e outcome o f an e x p e d itio n to th e Chu d i s t r i c t o f K ir g iz ia in th e summer o f 1 9 3 0 . The manaps, says th e au th o r, were th e f i r s t to a c c e p t Is la m in K ir g iz ia and used i t to in c r e a s e t h e i r h o ld on th e p eo p le . By th e b eg in n in g o f t h i s cen tu ry th e i n t e r e s t s o f th e manaps and the m u llas came to be com p lete ly id e n t i f i e d . At th e tim e o f th e 1916 r i s i n g th e Muslim c le r g y a g ita te d a g a in s t th e war w ith Turkey, and during th e f i r s t y e a rs a f t e r th e R ev o lu tio n th e number o f mosques i n K ir g iz ia grew co n s id e ra b ly - which f a c t th e au th o r t r e a t s as an in d ic a t io n o f th e growth o f pan- Is la m ic s e c r e t s o c i e t i e s .

The T a ta r Econom ic I n s t i t u t e p u b lish e d in 1930 a work by M. S a g id u ll in , In tro d u c tio n to th e H is to ry o f th e V aisov Movement. T h is movement took i t s name from V a is a -a l-K u ra n i, a legen d ary a s s o c ia te o f Muhammad; they a ls o c a l l them selves "Nakshbendi" a f t e r th e d e rv ish e s o f th a t name. S a g id u ll in says th a t th ey took th ese names to g iv e an appearance o f h is t o r y to t h e i r movement. The s e c t was founded i n 1862 by B agautd in (Bahauddin), a T u rkestan tr a d e r , who d e c la re d h im s e lf as a Ghazi in Kazan and opened a " S ta t e House o f P r a y e r " . The au th or c l aims th a t t h e i r d o c tr in e " r e f l e c t e d th e i n t e r e s t s o f th e p e a s a n ts " , and he

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compares i t to th e te a ch in g o f T o ls t o i . T h e ir e s s e n t ia l demands were:"Do n o t acknowledge Muslim a s se m b lie s , T a ta r mosques, o r any Government i n s t i t u t i o n s ; do n o t wear uniform o r h e a r arms as a s o ld ie r ; do n o t pay ta x e s ; do n o t subm it to any c i v i l power; do n o t a cce p t summonses o r s ig n p a p e rs " . Prom 1906 , th e au thor rem arks, V aisovism began to a t t r a c t the p e t ty b o u rg e o is ie and to fo rm u la te an a t t i tu d e o f s ta y in g o u ts id e the c l a s s s t r u g g le , and althou gh th ey made ad d resses o f lo y a l ty to th e S o v ie t regim e, th e "V a iso v tsy " a f t e r th e R ev o lu tio n were a r e a c t io n a r y movement. (Sm irnov comments th a t th e co n n e ctio n s o f V aisovism and Pan-Turkism would form a p r o f i t a b le f i e l d o f s tu d y .)

The A te is t c o l l e c t io n

A group o f s c h o la rs on th e s t a f f o f th e m agazine A te is t p u b lish e d in 1931 a c o l l e c t i o n o f a r t i c l e s under th e general, t i t l e o f " I s la m " . The f i r s t th re e a r t i c l e s - L . I . K lim o v ich 's "The O rig in o f Is la m ", V.D ity a k in ' s " Is la m and Today", and B.N . N ik o lay ev ’ s " Is la m and th e S t a t e " - were w r it te n from th e stan d p o in t o f th e P o k ro v sk ii s c h o o l, th a t i s , o f "econom ic m a te r ia lis m " , and are " i n c o n tr a d ic t io n to M a r x is t -L e n in is t d o c tr in e " . M.L. Tom ar's a r t i c l e , " Is la m and Communism", however, though i t s t a t e s th a t th e two a re in co m p atib le through th e c o n f l i c t o f in d iv id u al, p o in ts o f Is la m ic law w ith the p r in c ip le s o f Communism and n o t through a fundam ental o p p o sitio n o f w eltanschauungen, r ig h t ly shows Is la m to be "a d efen d er and c o n s o lid a to r o f th e r ig h ts o f p ro p e rty " ; b u t he e r r s in sa y in g th a t Is la m e v e r was a p easan t id e o lo g y . B e ly a y e v 's and A rsh a ru n i's a r t i c l e s on th e s e c t s a re an e x c e p tio n to the g e n e ra l l e v e l o f th e c o l l e c t i o n , which " r e f l e c t s the l e v e l o f Is la m ic s tu d ie s in 1931 v ery p o o r ly " .

The b ib lio g ra p h y , however, a lthou gh i t c o n ta in s none o f th e pronouncements o f M arxism -Leninism on Is la m , i s s t i l l n o t w ith ou t v a lu e . I t l i s t s 24j6 R u ss ia n and 197 fo r e ig n t i t l e s -under s i x h ead ih gs: g e n e ra l works;Muhammad and th e Koran; d o c tr in e , r i t u a l , and Muslim law ; the s e c t s (m y stic ism , Su fism , and d e rv ish ism ); Babism and B eh ai sm; and A nti-M uslim propaganda. B elyayev , i n h is g e n e ra l in tro d u c tio n , a f f ir m s th a t the T s a r i s t Government d id n o t r e a l iz e th e need and im portance o f th e s c i e n t i f i c stu dy o f R u ssian Is la m , and i t must be adm itted th a t he jud ges p re r e v o lu tio n a ry l i t e r a t u r e on Is la m "w ith unw arrantable s e v e r i t y " . I t i s n o t p o s s ib le to d ism iss th e work o f a l l b u t a few a u t h o r i t ie s ; "R u ssian s c h o la rs h ip has alw ays h e ld the f i r s t p la c e in Is la m ic s tu d ie s " . A s im ila r b ib lio g ra p h y o f works on Is la m i n T a ta r was com piled by K lim ovich f o r A t e is t (N o.58 , 1 9 3 0 ) .

In 1931 B elyay ev p u b lish ed an an th ology The O rig in o f Is la m . H is purpose was to supply stu d en ts o f Is la m w ithout a knowledge o f fo r e ig n

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languages w ith so u rce m a te r ia l . He quotes S ch p ren g er’ s and Grimme’ s th e o r ie s , and i n c o n c lu s io n th a t o f C aetan i w hich, as he n o te s , has n ev er found fav o u r in th e West although i t i s ■ undoubtedly " th e most developed” o f b o u rg eo is th e o r ie s . Belyayev h im s e lf i s n o t s u f f i c i e n t l y c r i t i c a l o f b o u rg eo is works on Is la m and m istak en ly proposes th a t Is la m was " a s o r t o f so cia3-eco n o m ic movement” which i s , o f co u rse , " r id ic u lo u s " .

T h e o rie s on th e o r ig in o f Is la m

A ll th e o r ie s o f the r i s e o f Is lam , about which th e re was a p a r t i c u la r amount o f s p e c u la t io n a t t h i s tim e, took as t h e i r s t a r t in g p o in t th e econom ic s i tu a t io n o f th e Arab t r ib e s o f th e seven th c e n tu ry . These th e o r ie s can be d iv id ed in to f iv e groups: ( l ) th e th eo ry h e ld byM. A. R e isn e r , E .A . B elyayev, L. I . K lim ovich , V .T . D ity a k in , andN. B o lo tn ik o v th a t th e m otive f o r c e o f the n a s c e n t r e l ig i o n was su p p lied by th e m e rc a n tile b o u rg e o is ie o f Mecca and Medina. (2 ) th e th eo ry o f N.A. Rozhkov th a t Muhammad brought about a fe u d a l r e v o lu tio n . ( 3 ) th e th eo ry o f M.L. Tomar th a t Is la m a ro se among th e im poverished p e a sa n try o f th e H e jaz . ( 4 ) th e th eo ry o f N.A. Morozov - in g en io u s i f unw arranta b le - th a t u n t i l th e Crusades Is la m was in d is t in g u is h a b le from Judaism and th a t on ly th en d id i t r e c e iv e i t s independent c h a r a c te r , w h ile Muhammad and th e f i r s t C a lip h s a re m y th ica l f ig u r e s . ( 5 ) th e th e o ry o fS .P . T o ls to v th a t Is la m was a s o c ia l - r e l ig io u s movement o r ig in a t in g in th e slave-ow n in g , n o t fe u d a l, form o f Arab s o c ie ty .

( l ) R e isn e r f i r s t propounded h is th eo ry in th e a r t i c l e "The Id eo lo g y o f th e Koran” and h i s book Id e o lo g ie s o f th e E a s t (1 9 2 6 -2 7 )*He h o ld s th a t th e nomadic t r ib e s o f A rab ia were an impediment to th e developm ent o f th e fo r e ig n tra d e o f M ecca; Muhammad p rov id ed th e u n ify in g f a c t o r i n Is la m ; A lla h i s "an a p o th eo sized m e rc h a n t-tra d e r" . T h is th eo ry o v erlo o k s th e f a c t th a t th e Koran i s e s s e n t ia l ly "a d efen ce o f th e r u l in g c la s s e s , and in te n d e d to d iv e r t th e a t te n t io n o f th e p r o l e t a r ia t from th e c la s s s t r u g g le " . D e sp ite i t s n o n -M arxist c h a r a c te r , R e is n e r ! s th eo ry has had a c o n s id e ra b le in f lu e n c e on many S o v ie t I s la m is t s .

B elyay ev i n th e a r t i c l e "The R o le o f Meccan T rading C a p ita l i n th e H is to ry o f th e O rig in o f Is lam " ( A t e is t N o.58 , 1930) h o ld s th a t Meccan m erchants organ ized carav an s in c o o p e ra tio n w ith the p o o re r c la s s e s o f th e c i t y , and th a t th e r e la t io n s betw een A lla h and men were th o se o f t ra d e .

D ity a k in in "Marx and E n gels on th e o r ig in and e sse n ce o f Is la m " ( A t e is t N o s.2 2 -2 3 , 1927) t r i e s to support e x c e rp ts from th e M arx ist c l a s s i c s w ith th e work o f C a e ta n i and Lammens (q u o tin g K. D o b ro ly u b sk ii1 s

8 5

CULTURAL AFFAIRS

a r t i c l e i n Novyi Vostok, 1924 )* He a ls o u ses th e work o f R e isn e r ("The Koran and i t s S o c ia l Id eo logy" Krasnaya Nov, Nos. 8 -9 , 1926) and o f K lim ovich ("T h e Q u estion o f th e O rig in o f Is la m ", A te is t , 1 9 2 7 ) . In "The Fundam ental P r in c ip le s o f an H is tD r ic o -M a te r ia l is t A n a ly s is o f the O rig in and Development o f Is lam " ( A te is t No. 27 , 1928) he ag a in c la im s th a t th e i n i t i a l work o f g a th e r in g m ateria l, has a lre a d y been done hy h o u rg e o is s c h o la r s , and e s p e c ia l ly C ae ta n i, and th a t the p r in c ip a l ta s k o f S o v ie t s c h o la rs h ip i s in t e r p r e t a t io n . T h is le a d s to a n e g le c t o f so u rce s such as the h a d ith ( t r a d i t i o n s ) . H is r e l ia n c e on th e work o f C a e ta n i and accep tan ce o f B a r to ld ’ s th eo ry th a t th e c r e a to r s o f Is la m were th e town- d w e lle rs in v o lv e him in th e "m istaken th eo ry o f th e P o k ro v sk ii s c h o o l - tra d e c a p ita l is m " , which v i t i a t e s th e work o f a l l th e members o f th e f i r s t group.

( 2 ) Rozhkov’ s th eo ry i s expounded in th e e ig h te e n th ch a p ter o f h is book R u ssian H is to ry in th e L ig h t o f Com parative H isto ry ( 1 9 2 8 ) . He r e l i e s to o much on h is so u rces - M il le r , G o ld z ih er, and Kremer - to g iv e a t r u ly M a rx ist in t e r p r e t a t io n and he g iv e s too much im portance to th e p e rso n a l r o le o f Muhammad.

(3 ) M.L. Tomar, in "The O rig in o f Is la m and i t s C la ss Fou nd ation" ( A te is t N o.58 , 1930 ) ho lds th a t Is la m was n o t a s u p e rs tru c tu re on an e x is t in g system , b u t an independent "c a te g o ry " ta k in g i t s c h a r a c te r from th e p o p u la tio n o f Medina, w h ith er tra d e c a p i t a l had d riv en i t from Mecca. T h is p o p u la tio n he b e l ie v e s to have been a g r ic u l t u r a l , b a s in g t h i s th eo ry on th e re p o r ts o f e ig h te e n th and n in e te e n th -c e n tu ry t r a v e l l e r s , and Is la m was th e r e fo r e a r e l ig i o n o f th e p o o rer and d ep ressed c la s s e s . The in c o m p a t ib i l i ty o f t h i s th eo ry w ith M a rx ist view s o f Is la m i s e v id e n t.

( 4 ) Morozov, i n h is book C h r is t (1 9 3 0 ) propounds in th e ch a p te r o fth e s ix t h volume e n t i t l e d "Whence comes Is la m ?" th e se th e s e s : In th eM iddle Ages Is la m was m erely an o f f - s h o o t o f Arj anism evoked by a m eteorol o g i c a l even t in th e Red Sea a re a n e a r Mecca; i t was a k in to B y zan tin e ico n o cla sm . The Koran b e a rs t r a c e s o f l a t e com p osition , up to th e e le v e n th ce n tu ry . The A rabian p e n in su la i s in ca p a b le o f g iv in g b i r t h to any r e l ig i o n - i t i s too f a r from th e normal a re a s o f c i v i l i z a t i o n . The A rian I s la m ite s , who p assed in th e Middle Ages as A gars, Is h m a e lite s , and S a ra c e n s , were in d is t in g u is h a b le from th e Jew s u n t i l th e im pact o f the C rusades made them assume a s e p a ra te id e n t i t y . A l l th e l i v e s o f Muhammad and h i s im mediate s u c c e s s o rs a re a s apocryp hal as th e accou n ts o f C h r is t and th e A p o s tle s .

Morozov throughout re p la c e s s c i e n t i f i c exam in ation by th e c o n s tru c t io n o f h y p o th eses, o f te n c o n tr a d ic to r y ; f o r in s ta n c e , he la r g e ly i d e n t i f i e s the Koran and th e B ib le , b u t g iv e s th e d ate and p la c e o f th e K o ran 's f i r s t

8 6

CULTURAL AFFAIRS'

appearance as th e th ir te e n th or fo u r te e n th c e n tu r ie s in th e B alkans and n o t in A rab ia .

( 5 ) T o ls to v (known, today f o r h is work on the Khorezm O a sis ) in h is a r t i c l e "The O u tlin e s o f E a r ly Is lam " (So v etsk ay a E tn o g ra fiy a No. 2 , 1932) d is c u ss e s some o f the view s n oted above as p re se n te d in th e s p e c ia l number o f A te is t (1 9 3 0 ) . These found the m otive power o f Is la m in th e nomadic t r i b e s , the tra d e r b o u rg e o is ie , and in the "im p overish ed stratu m o f the a g r ic u l tu r a l p o p u la tio n " . T o ls to v 1 s main c r i t i c i s m i s th a t a l l th e se view s tend to re g a rd Is la m as an unique phenomenon w ith an unique cau se . In f a c t . Is la m was n o t the r e s u l t o f any one s o c ia l cause o r the c h i ld o f any one c l a s s . Although T o ls to v does n o t b r in g out c le a r ly the n a tu re o f Is la m "a s an id e o lo g ic a l, s u p e r s tr u c tu r e " , h is trea tm en t i s th e most s a t i s f a c t o r y o f a l l th e au th ors examined. N e v e rth e le ss , w ith th e e x ce p tio n o f Morozov, they a l l w itn ess to " th e o r ig in a l i t y o f growth o f S o v ie t s c h o la rs h ip " a t a p e r io d when th e q u estio n o f the o r ig in o f Is la m had proved "beyond th e powers" o f b o u rg eo is Is la m ic s tu d ie s .

The p e r s o n a lity o f Muhammad

Morozov* s d e n ia l th a t Muhammad had ever e x is te d had a c o n s id e ra b le in flu e n c e on S o v ie t Is la m ic s tu d ie s , p a r t i c u la r ly on K lim o v ich ! s a r t i c l e "D id Muhammad E x is t ? " ( V o in stv u y u sh ch ii Ateizm Nos«2-3> 1930) p rep ared from a paper read to the a n t i - r e l ig io u s s e c t io n o f th e Communist AcadenQT o f the I n s t i t u t e o f P h ilo so p h y . K lim ovich p o in ts out th a t a l l the au th ors who g iv e b io g ra p h ic a l d e t a i l s o f Muhammad l iv e d some co n s id e ra b le tim e a f t e r h is d eath , and th a t i t has been assumed by a l l subsequent h is t o r ia n s th a t every r e l ig i o n must have had a fou n d er. T o ls to v , however, in th e work m entioned above, rem arks th a t such a p u re ly n e g a tiv e approach to the q u estio n i s n o t a s u f f i c i e n t b a s i s f o r denying Muhammad* s e x is te n c e . T o ls to v p r e fe r s to abandon th e b io g ra p h ic a l approach to th e Koran and to adopt N oldeke1 s d iv is io n o f th e Koran in to fo u r groups - two Meccan and two Median. The Koran, he rem arks, la c k s any m ention o f th e p ro p h e t! s r e a l name, o f th e p la c e o f th e b a t t l e w ith th e K u re ish , o r o f th e H e jir a . The "myth" o f Muhammad has much in common w ith th e c e n t r a l "m yths" o f many r e l ig io n s ; T o ls to v f in d s p a r a l l e l s in th e " d e i f ie d shamahs" o f th e Y akuts, th e B u ry a ts , and th e A l t a i s . A li , who f o r h a l f o f th e Muslim w orld i s , i f n o t a god th en n ear to one, i s an o th er example o f such d e i f i c a t io n . The s o c ia l purpose o f t h i s myth was to check the d is in te g r a t io n o f th e p o l i t i c a l b lo c k o f t r a d e r s , nomads, and p e a sa n ts , which had brought to power the new, fe u d a l a r is to c r a c y .

D esp ite T o ls to v 1s shortcom ings, p a r t i c u la r ly in th e f i e l d o f Arab

8 7

CULTURAL AFFAIRS

p h ilo lo g y , t h i s approach to th e c e n tr a l myths o f Is lam i s in t e r e s t in g and w e ll grounded. E q u a lly in t e r e s t in g i s I .N . V in n ik ov ’ s trea tm en t in "The Legend o f th e C a ll o f Muhammad in the L ig h t o f Ethnography" ( A r t i c le s p re se n te d to S .F . Oldenburg, 1934)• He d is t in g u is h e s two v a r ia n ts in the legend , th e "p a s s iv e " - Muhammad’ s o p p o sitio n to the c a l ] , end th e " a c t iv e " - h is s o l i c i t a t i o n o f i t . Both a re t y p ic a l f e a tu r e s o f shamanism and a re found a t th e ro o t o f a l l r e l ig i o n s . An example o f th e "p a s s iv e " tendency - Muhammad's d e s ir e to be wrapped up o r to have w ater poured on him - i s t y p ic a l p r im it iv e m agic. Indeed, th e "p a s s iv e " fe a tu r e i s the more a n c ie n t o f th e two, though b o th a re found in p r e - Is la m ic Arab c u l t s .

V in n ikov ’ s work shows t r a c e s o f M arr’ s "w ork-m agic" th e o ry , and he ob scu res th e f a c t th a t th e " a c t iv e " elem ent in shamanism re p re s e n ts the tra n sfo rm a tio n o f magic in to a lu c r a t iv e p r o fe s s io n . I t i s obvious th a t f u r th e r work on th e s u b je c t o f Is la m ’ s o r ig in b ased on th e work o f the th r e e au th o rs d isc u sse d w i l l have g re a t im portance i n c la r i f y in g is s u e s in Is la m ic d o c tr in e s as w e ll.

/T o be con clu d ed /

8 8

INTER-REPUBLICAN FRONTIERS

Sketch-map showing the inter-republican frontiers of Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan and Kirgizia, and the interlacing of their territories in the neighbourhood of the Fergana Valley region.

# ♦ #m w

TADZHIKISTAN

UZBEKISTAN

FOREIGN TERRITORY

KAZAKHSTAN

KIRGIZIA

Afghanistan & China

The above map shows the area covered by CEN TRA L ASIAN R E V IE W in relation to the rest of the The total extent of the area is about lk million sq. miles. According to the latest available figures the total pof is about 1 6 i millions of whom about 11 millions are indigenous and the remainder settlers from other parts of the USSI

The total area of the rest of what is generally regarded as Soviet Asia i.e. the Urals Region, Eastern and Western and the Soviet Far East, is approximately 8 million sq. miles and the population about 37 millions of whom approxirr millions are estimated to be indigenous. Thus, whilst Central Asia and Kazakhstan together occupy less than one fifth total area of Soviet Asia, their indigenous population amounts to nearly two thirds of the total indigenous popula the whole of Soviet Asia.

Published and Duplicated by the Central Asian Research Centre, 66 King’s Road, London, S.W .3.

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