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INFO ALL NATO CAPITALS
C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 129178
PASS FOLLOWING VIA THE NATO-WIDE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
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FROM WASHINGTON
TO AIG 6006, 6007
NATO CONFIDENTIAL FROM WASHINGTON
SOVIET SIBERIAN TRANSPORTATION POLICY
1. UMMARY: FRAGMENTS OF INFORMATION FROM VARIOUS SOURCES
BEGIN TO REVEAL MASSIVE LONG-TERM TRANSPORTATION DEVELOP-
MENT PROGRAM FOR SIBERIA. BASIC SCHEME APPEARS TO BE
ESTABLISHMENT OF EXTENSIVE, RELIABLE, AND DIVERSE TRANS-
PORTATION NETWORK AS FOUNDATION FOR RAPID SIBERIAN ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT. THIS GOAL PRESUPPOSES ACHIEVEMENT OF GREATER
BALANCE AMONG VARIOUS FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION IN AREA AND
REDUCTION OF LONG-STANDING DISPROPORTION FAVORING AIR AND
RIVER TRANSPORT IN NORTH AND EAST SIBERIA. ESSENTIAL
ELEMENTS IN SOVIETS' SIBERIAN TRANSPORTATION POLICY SEEM
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TO INCLUDE:
--SECOND TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILROAD ACROSS ENTIRE BREADTH OF
SIBERIA NORTH OF EXISTING TRANS-SIB (VENTUALLY ENCOM-
PASSING BAM PROJECT, WHICH WILL SIMPLY BECOME SEGMENT OF
LONGER LINE);
-- HARD-SURFACED TRANS-SIBERIAN HIGHWAY, LINKING
CHELYABINSK WITH CHITA AND EVENTUALLY VLADIVOSTOK;
--NETWORK OF FEEDER ROAD AND RAIL LINES EXTENDING GEN-
ERALLY NORTHWARD FROM THESE NEW ARTERIES;
--INTENSIFIED DEVELOPMENT OF RIVER FLEET ON MAIN SIBERIAN
RIVERS AND CREATION OF DEEP WATER PORTS AT OUTLETS OF
SIBERIAN RIVERS SO THAT RIVER SHIPPING CAN INTERFACE WITH
SOVIET OCEAN-GOING MERCHANT FLEET;
--EXTENSION OF AIR NETWORK AND DEVELOPMENT OF AIRCRAFT
SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR SIBERIAN CONDITIONS. END SUMMARY.
2. SECOND TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILROAD. SINCE BREZHNEV'S
MARCH 1974 ALMA-ATA SPEECH ANNOUNCING BAIKAL-AMUR
MAGISTRAL' (BAM) PROJECT, INTENSE WESTERN INTEREST AND
DOMESTIC SOVIET PRESS COVERAGE HAS FOCUSED ON THIS
"PROJECT OF THE CENTURY." ACTUALLY, SOVIETS HAVE MUCH
LARGER RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM IN MIND, AS RE-
VEALED BY LENGTHY ARTICLE IN JANUARY 1975 NOVYY MIR
ENTITLED "GRAND SKETCH OF SIOERIA," BY ONE LEONID SHINKAREV.
AMONG OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST, ARTICLE STATES THAT
"LOGICALLY" BAM WILL BE EXTENDED FROM UST'-KUT THROUGH
BOGUCHANY AND ABALAKOVO TO CONNECT WITH RAILROADS OF THE
OIL AND GAS REGIONS OF WESTERN SIBERIA INTO ONE "NORTH
SIBERIAN MAINLINE." REFERENCE TO WEST SIBERIAN RAILROADS
ALMOST CERTAINLY MEANS EXISTING TYUMEN'-TOBOLSK LINE,
EXTENSION OF WHICH TO SURGUT AND NIZHNE-VARTOVSK RAPIDLY
APPROACHING COMPLETION. PRESUMABLY, THEN, ULTIMATE ROUTE
OF SECOND TRANS-SIB (OR NORTH SIBERIAN MAINLINE) WILL BE:
TYUMEN'-TOBOLSK-NIZHNE-VARTOVSK-ABALAKOVO-UST'-KUT-TYNDA-
SOVYETSKAYA GAVAN'. THROUGH WESTERN AND CENTRAL SIBERIA
THIS LINE WILL PASS SAVERAL HUNDRED KILOMETERS NORTH OF
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EXISTING TRANS-SIBERIAN LINE. AT ABALAKOVO IT WILL
TRANSECT EXISTING TRANS-SIB SPUR LINE FROM ACHINSK TO
MAKLAKOVO.
3. ALL-WEATHER TRANS-SIBERIAN HIGHWAY.
LTHOUGH CON-
TINUING OVIET HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION IN SIBERIA HAS BEEN
NO SECRET, IZVESTIYA ARTICLE MAY 12 IS FIRST REFRENCE
EMBASSY HAS SEEN TO SPECIFIC TRANS-SIBERIA ROAD PROJECT.
IN ARTICLE, RSFSR DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION
AND UTILIZATION G.N. BORODIN REFERS TO PROJECT AS "AUTO-
BAM" AND STATES THAT TRANS-SIBERIAN HIGHWAY WILL BE
NO LESS IMPORTANT TO ECONOMZ OF EASTERN REGIONS OF
COUNTRY THAN WILL BAM. EXTENDING FROM CHELYABINSK TO
CHITA (OVER FIVE THOUSAND KILOMETERS) ROAD WILL
ROUGHLY PARALLEL ROUTE OF TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILROAD, PASSING
THROUGH ALL OBLAST, AND RAYON CENTERS ALONG THE WAY.
ACCORDING TO BORODIN, MORE THAN 2300 KILOMETERS OF ASPHALT-
SURFACED ROAD HAS BEEN LAID ON THE PROJECT--WHICH WAS
BEGUN IN 1962--WITH ANOTHER 309 KILOMETERS SCHEDULED FOR
COMPLETION THIS YEAR. ROAD WILL EVENTUALLY BE CONTINUED
ON TO VLADIVOSTOK; IN THAT CONNECTION ENGINEERING WORK
NOW PROCEEDING IN AREAS EAST FROM CHITA AND WEST FROM
KHABAROVSK TOWARD BLAGOVESH-CHENSK.
4. NETWORK OF FEEDER ROAD AND RAIL LINES. BOTH THE
SHINKAREV AND BORODIN ARTICLES INDICATE THAT CREATION OF
THESE NEW RAIL AND ROAD ARTERIES WILL BE ACCOMPANIED (AND
FOLLOWED) BY CONSTRUCTION OF BROAD NETWORK OF FEEDER LINES.
REGARDING EXTENSION OF ROAD NETWORK, BORODIN NOTES ONLY
THAT BRANCH HIGHWAYS LEADING OUT FROM IT WILL TOTAL
GREATER LENGTH THAN THAT OF TRANS-SIBERIAN HIGHWAY ITSELF.
CONCERNING RAILROAD, SOME OF FEEDER LINES ARE ALREADY
FINISHED (E.G., ACHINSKI-MAKLOKOVO, TAYGA-TOMSK-ASINO,
BAM-TYNDA). MOST IMPORTANT NEW FEEDER LINE WILL BE
TYNDA-BERKAKTI WKCURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND SCHEDULED
FOR COMPLETION IN 1978). THIS LINE--ACCORDING TO
SHINKAREV--WILL EVENTUALLY EXTEND TO ALDAN, TOMMOT, AND
YAKUTSK, AFTER WHICH IT WILL TAKE "SHARP TURN TO THE
RIGHT" AND PROCEED TO MAGADAN (FOLLOWING BASINS OF YANA,
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INDIGIRKA, AND KOLYMA RIVERS). THIS WILL BE KNOWN AS
"NORTHEAST MAINLINE."
5. RIVER FLEETS. INDICATIONS ARE THAT SIBERIAN RIVER
FLEETS--LONG THE BACKBONE OF SIBERIAN SURFACE TRANS-
PORTATION NORTH OF TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILROAD--WILL RECEIVE
FURTHER INTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT AND MONDERNIZATION. SOVIETS,
FOR EXAMPLE, ARE REPORTEDLY PLACING ORDER IN FINLAND AND
NEW SHIPS FOR RIVER FLEET. IN SOVIET FAR NORTH, EVEN WITH
GRADIOSE ROAD AND RAIL-BUILDING PROGRAM DESCRIBED ABOVE
RIVERS WILL FOR FORESEEABLE FUTURE REMAIN SINGLE MEANS OF
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION. IN THIS CONNECTION, SOVIETS
APPEAR TO BE PLANNING DEVELOPMENT OF DEEP WATER PORTS
WHERE SEVERAL SIBERIAN RIVERS (PARTICULARLY YENISEY, LENA,
INDIGIRKA, AND KOLYMA) EMPTY INTO ONE OR ANOTHER OF ARCTIC
SEAS. SOVIETS ARE KNOWN TO HAVE PLACED ORDERS IN THE
NETHERLANDS FOR FLOATING DREDGES FOR USE, ACCORDING TO ONE
OFFICIAL OF RSFSR MINISTRY OF RIVER FLEET, IN CLEARING
MOUTHS OF SIBERIAN RIVERS.
6. EXTENSION OF AIR NETWORK. AIR TRANSPORTATION WILL
NOT BE NEGLECTED IN SOVIET PLANS FOR SIBERIAN DEVELOPMENT.
MOST PARTS OF SIBERIA WILL REMAIN INACCESSIBLE EXCEPT BY
AIR. SOVIET PLANS FOR EXPLOITING PROVEN BUT PRESENTLY
INACCESSIBLE MINERAL RESOURCES, PARTICULARLY GOLD AND
OTHER PRECIOUS METALS, REQUIRES NEW AIRFIELDS AND AIRCRAFT
(FREIGHT, PASSENGER, AND INCLUDING HELICOPTERS). ONE
EXAMPLE IS YAK-42, WHICH IS BEING DEVELOPED VERY RAPIDLY
FOR COMMERCIAL USE AND HAS ALREADY BEEN FLIGHT TESTED.
DESIGNED FOR SHORT TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS FROM NON-PAVED
LANDING STRIPS LIKE ITS PREDECESSOR THE YAK-40, YAK-42
HAS CONSIDERABLY LARGER PASSENGER AND FREIGHT CAPACITY AND
APPEARS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR USE IN ARCTIC CONDITIONS.
7. COMMENT: IT BECOMES APPARENT WHEN VIEWING OVERALL
SOVIET SIBERIAN POLICY THAT EXTENSIVE AND DIVERSIFIED
TRANSPORTATION NETWORK IS (CORRECTLY) SEEN AS NECESSARY
BASE FOR MEANINGFUL DEVELOPMENT OF MANUFACTURING AND RAW
MATERIALS XTRACTION INDUSTRIES. TRANS-SIBERIAN HIGHWAY,
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FOR EXAMPLE, AS DEPUTY MINISTER BORODIN POINTS OUT WILL
BE OF TREMENDOUS VALUE IN REMOVING BURDEN FROM RAILROAD
FOR "LOCAL" FREIGHT HAULAGE BETWEEN SIBERIAN CITIES.
SURELY NOT LEAST AMONG BENEFITS TO USSR ECONOMY WILL BE
ACCESS TO WORLD TRADE ROUTES THIS TRANS-
PORTATION NETWORK WILL PROGIDE FOR SIBERIA. THIS ASPECT
IS OF PARTICULAR SIGNIFICANCE WITH REGARD TO COMPENSATION
PROJECTS TO BE UNDERTAKEN IN COOPERATION WITH FOREIGN
FIRMS, MOST OF THEM TO BE LOCATED IN SIBERIA. INGERSOLL
CONFIDENTIAL
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