23. Paper Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency1
CA PROGRAM STATEMENT—1 OCTOBER 1982–31 OCTOBER 1983
COUNTRY: USSR/Eastern Europe
DATE OF FINDING(S): 7 June 1978, 7 March 1979, 25 September 1980
SUMMARY OF FINDING(S):
Publish and infiltrate literature into the USSR/EE and generate publicity to support and encourage the citizens of these countries who favor liberalization and moderation of their country’s foreign and domestic policies; establish and provide covert support to a small study project [less than 1 line not declassified] to produce information and analyses on Soviet realities to influence appropriate Soviet and West European audiences.
[Page 73]PROGRAM ACTIONS:
The program of ongoing covert action operations targeted into the USSR and Eastern Europe at the beginning of FY–83 consisted of 13 program elements:
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- Book distribution mechanism into the USSR/EE [dollar amount not declassified]: This activity purchases books, pamphlets, and newspapers from other program elements and in the world at large for distribution to persons and organizations in the USSR/EE desiring same, [3 lines not declassified]. The emphasis is on the provision of material supportive of the Finding. [less than 2 lines not declassified] During FY–83 the project provided 500,000 individual items to the USSR and Eastern Europe.
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- Mechanism to publicize Soviet/EE human rights abuses [dollar amount not declassified]: This is an umbrella project covering ad hoc activities supporting those in the Soviet Union and the Bloc working to improve human rights of the citizens there. A journal on abuses of human rights is produced, [less than 1 line not declassified], while another journal compiling Soviet abuses is published [less than 1 line not declassified]. A number of particular demonstrations and actions were undertaken and supported through this project in various European countries.
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- Russian-language newspaper of moderate rightist bent [less than 1 line not declassified]: This will-established and respected Russian language paper keeps up a steady pressure on the Soviets and is a constant target of hostile Soviet propaganda.
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- Ukrainian journal [dollar amount not declassified]: This project has grown considerably beyond the journal around which it operates. The project also involves [less than 1 line not declassified] support for related independent peace activities and human rights adherents in the Soviet Union and adjacent countries such as Poland.
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- Subsidy to [1 line not declassified]: The Agency subsidy for this organization allows it to continue in existence, but we do not provide a majority of funds needed. It has a world-wide network of activities to reach Soviets abroad [less than 1 line not declassified] and to support anti-Soviet elements in the USSR. It also is a constant “enemy” consistently cited in Soviet propaganda.
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- Russian and Polish language publishing house in [less than 1 line not declassified]: These two publishing organizations print and distribute books which otherwise would not be published and works toward their distribution into the USSR and Poland. [less than 2 lines not declassified]
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- Russian book distribution mechanism [dollar amount not declassified]: This activity consists of a firm [less than 1 line not declassified] which is the distribution agent for a number of other projects and independent publishers which publishes an annual catalogue of Russian-language books and supplies same to established customers. This operation relates to the above cited larger scale distribution mechanism but acts [Page 74] as the sales representative of particular projects, while the larger group cited above is itself a distribution action mechanism.
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- [1 line not declassified] This is a relatively new project which publishes a quarterly journal of Soviet Central Asian affairs, various manuscripts, and hold seminars.
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- [less than 1 line not declassified] This institute was specifically created under the 1980 Finding and provides an umbrella mechanism [less than 2 lines not declassified] and his activities. These later included numerous speaking engagements in Western Europe, the publication of books and pamphlets, and his regular broadcasts in the Russian language to the Soviet Union [less than 1 line not declassified]
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- Czech journal [less than 1 line not declassified] This activity centers around a Czech affairs journal published in the Czech language for over 20 years and includes support activities for dissidents and human rights supporters in Czechoslovakia.
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- A Czech journal [less than 1 line not declassified]: Where the above project supports centrists and moderate right activities, this journal is managed by and works with dissident communities from the Dubcek period. It also involves related political action and support activities in Czechoslovakia and is supportive to the independent Eastern European peace movement.
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- Polish journal [less than 1 line not declassified]: This project supports an activity centered around the leading Polish journal in exile, and has had and continues to have a noticeable direct impact on Solidarity and other dissident activities in Poland.
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- Study project on the Prague Spring [dollar amount not declassified]: This activity supports the publication of papers and holding of related seminars on degradation of the Soviet model of communism, and is targeted on dissident communities in East and West Europe. During the course of FY–83 it broadened its focus from the Czech case to include Poland and Hungary.
During the course of FY–83 eight new operational activities under the cited Findings were commenced:
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- A new Ukrainian historical/political journal with a new group of Ukrainian activities was organized. This new activity [less than 1 line not declassified] will complement the other Ukrainian activity in the established program, whose journal is more cultural. Publication of the first issue of the journal is anticipated early in 1984.
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- Subsidy to Russian language journal [less than 1 line not declassified]. This journal had been supported [less than 1 line not declassified] but that support is being cut back, and we are picking up part of the expenses to keep this valuable asset in existence.
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- A new dissident communist-oriented journal in Western Europe to publish in French, German, Italian and Spanish. This activity will [Page 75] provide an opportunity for dissident West European communities to publish their views when denied access to their own press and will be utilized to denigrate the Soviet model of communication and support further “freedoms” in Eastern Europe. It will initially be published as an add-on into existing journals. The first effort will be accomplished in French and German and should appear at the beginning of 1984.
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- Reinstitution of support to Hungarian newspaper and related book publishing. This activity reintroduces support to the influential Hungarian paper published in the West, [1 line not declassified]. The newspaper and some of its related publishing activities has considerable influence in Hungary today.
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- A new Czech-language “Readers Digest” type journal. This is a pilot project to respond to constant requests from inside Czechoslovakia for written material to amplify the brief notations heard on RFE and other Western broadcasts into Czechoslovakia, to provide information on significant developments in the West and other East European countries. The initial response has been enthusiastic, and we will consider adding such publications in Polish and Czech in the future.
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- New Latvian/Estonian/Lithuanian journal. This is the first venture of the Soviet/EE CA program into the Baltic republics area. [less than 2 lines not declassified] The first issue should appear early in 1984. There seems to be exceptionally good potential for distribution into the three Baltic republics. [less than 2 lines not declassified]
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- Support for actions in the USSR and Eastern Europe in support of Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and “peace” in general. This activity provides support for ad hoc operations aimed at particular peace actions in the USSR and Eastern Europe [less than 2 lines not declassified] The activity has considerable potential for expansion.
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- New left of center Russian-language newspaper. We are working [less than 1 line not declassified] to establish a new newspaper to appeal to more leftist-oriented elements in the USSR than those appealed to through the established newspaper cited above.
ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT
During FY–83 we estimate that a total of 568,000 literary items (books, journals, brochures) were distributed into the USSR and the Bloc. This represented in particular a considerable improvement in material sent into Poland. (See attached breakdown.) These materials continued to be sent into the USSR and the Bloc [less than 1 line not declassified] Highlights of a heavy schedule of political action activities relative to Soviet and Bloc human rights abuses involved the preparation of a white paper on Czech abuses, which was distributed at the Helsinki Review Conference at Madrid, and a major conference on Soviet suppression of intellectual freedom held in Milan, Italy. Three groups with which we worked involved themselves in publicizing [Page 76] opposition to Soviet continued involvement in a “war” in Afghanistan [less than 3 lines not declassified]
We also were able to undertake a considerable expansion of our actions to counter hostile Soviet activity world-wide. We have come a long way in convincing the European governments to take actions against Soviet active measures, [less than 3 lines not declassified]. We have begun a campaign to ensure that the world sees Soviet President Andropov for what he is. Later in the FY we initiated a program to ensure that the world did not quickly forget the implications of the Soviet shootdown of the KAL airliner with the killing of 269 people.
PLANS FOR FY–84:
A major continuing task concerns the constant initiation of new initiatives to infiltrate and distribute materials we produce, in the USSR and the Bloc. [less than 3 lines not declassified]; we will try to initiate more of these types of techniques during FY–84 and beyond. As an assist to this effort, and as a way to get a better insight into what we are infiltrating as well as provide insights for future targeting, [less than 2 lines not declassified]
Given the expansion of the program in late FY–83, considerable effort will be devoted in FY–84 to the systematic development and consolidation of these new operational activities. The future expansion of the program will be limited. Assuming only a modest increase in funds beyond that included at the base-level in the budget, we anticipate new major developmental activities in the following areas in FY–84/FY–85:
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- New Uzbek Language Newsletter
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- New Book Series in Russian and major East-West European languages denigrating Soviet system: Eyewitnesses to communism.
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- New activity for Soviet human rights support.