MF-30 8656, “United States Army Presents”, 1956, “Strategic Intelligence School Area Films Studies”, “Number 1- USSR”,
“A study of the geography, ethnic groups, social, economic and political aspects–Evaluation of USSR strengths and weaknesses”
This educational film is about the Soviet Union present day. It was made in 1956 by the United States Army Strategic Intelligence School as part of its curriculum. (Area Film Studies), Number 1: USSR (:06-:33). Mother Russia, Kremlin in Moscow. Birds, flowers in Russia. A farmer amongst grazing cattle. A revolution, people run, the Communist Party. Flags fly, the hammer and sickle, the USSR. It is several times larger than the USA. Soldiers march holding guns. The USSR has four types of terrain: tundra, forest, steppe, desert. Frigid tundra. Forest trees. Steppe lands of plains. Deserts of Soviet central Asia. Marshes. Southern border – mountains with snow. Euro-mountains. Long cold Russian winters, snow blows. Spring is short, cool, cloudy and wet. Mud of rainy spring hinders ground operations. Seaport. Crane moves products (:34-4:31). Volga River. Ports on the Baltic & Black Seas. Boats. Soviet railway. Rail radio operators. Cars on railroad tracks. Tracks are being laid out and worked on by men. Modern train on the tracks. Few roads are paved. Dirt roads are more prevalent (4:32-6:49). Area where most of the people in Russia live. Half of the labor power is in agriculture. Aerial farm shots. Tractor on a field. Bulldozers at work. Women work at a farm. Russian wheat production. People work in tobacco, apple, berries, and other fruit/vegetables. Sunflowers. Both primitive and modern machines are used. Cattle on the move, a cow is milled, milk is poured (6:50-10:06). Russians talk. A technician at work. Agricultural research. Railroad train. A crane at work digging. Coal on a conveyor belt. Men at work in the mines. Key industrial areas shown on map: Leningrad, Moscow, Kiev, Kharkov, Sverdlovsk. Aerial factory shot. Russian factories. Men at work in the factories. Pig iron production. Steel production. A machine moves, a man moves steel. Train cars carry goods. Soviet steel production in process. Steel beams, cars on the assembly line. Ovens on an assembly line. Men put cars together. Textile manufacturing. Lambs move on a hill (10:07-14:20). Camels on the move. Two men sit and dogs wander nearby. Women work in a cotton field. Oil wells. Men drill for oil. Industry plants, oil fields. Oil bubbles on the service. Water flows down a mountain. Hydroelectric power. Men drill. Water flows in a dam. Men fish in the seas. Fish in nets, nets are scooped up. Trees are chopped down in the forest. Lumber lays about (14:21-17:10). A horse pulls logs through the snow. Snow blows. A man grabs a wolf caught in a trap in the snow, he shows off the wolf. The man holds a wolf’s hide. Fur is passed around by men. Communist party men clap and listen. Scientists look in microscopes. People dance. Moscow city shots. Higher class of people eat. A scientist at work. Laborers in the sand, men hack at sand. A woman pours a drink. A man works a radio (17:11-19:36). Ukrainians pulled by a horse. A woman runs. Eskimos near the Arctic. The types of nomadic peoples found in parts of Russia. Kremlin. Orthodox churches. Education – children are trained to be future army officers. Close on the children. Children march to the board. Children do math. Higher education. Factory workers (19:37-22:12). Trade unions. Workers in a factory. A crane carries a product. Forced labor in labor camps / prison camps / gulags . Shovels in the ground. People work on the grounds. Russian people walk around. Communist Party, 8 million members, women and men. Members clap. People stand and listen, some women smile. Soldiers on the march, soldiers on the battlefield. Tanks on the move. Women march. COmmunist march. Tanks in a parade, as well as other artillery. Train on the tracks. People plow the grounds. Aerial shot of tanks in a parade. Soldiers in a truck (22:13-25:39). End credits (25:40-25:45).
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