|
Soviet Union [USSR] Chapter 14. Transportation and Communications
THE TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS systems of the Soviet
Union were owned and operated by the government primarily to serve
the economic needs of the country as determined by the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). In addition to being influenced
by the policies of the regime, the development of transportation
and communications also has been greatly influenced by the
country's vast size, geography, climate, population distribution,
and location of industries and natural resources. Although the
population and industrial centers were concentrated in the European
part of the country, which has a more moderate climate, many of the
mineral and energy resources were in sparsely inhabited,
climatically inhospitable expanses of Siberia and other remote
areas. Hence, the transportation and communications networks were
much denser in the European part than in the Asian part of the
country.
In 1989, and historically, railroads were the premier mode of
transportation in the Soviet Union. Railroads played significant
roles in times of war, and they accelerated industrial development.
They also facilitated the normal flow of raw materials,
manufactured goods, and passengers. Government policies provided
for extensive trackage and large numbers of locomotives, rolling
stock, and support facilities. Although railroads carried more
freight and passengers over long distances, trucks and buses
carried more cargo and people on short hauls. Because automotive
transport was not generally used for long hauls, many roads outside
of urban areas had gravel or dirt surfaces. The lack of paved roads
in rural areas seriously hampered the movement of agricultural
products and supplies. Privately owned automobiles, on a per capita
basis, were few in number compared with those in the West and
therefore were of limited importance in transportation.
Inland waterways, comprising navigable rivers, lakes, and
canals, enabled a wide variety of ships, barges, and other craft to
transport passengers and freight to their destinations
inexpensively. Commuters in urban areas often used hydrofoils on
rivers for rapid transport, while freight moved on the waterways
more slowly over much greater distances. Waterways were subject to
freezing in winter, although a fleet of ice breakers extended the
navigable season. Most rivers in the Asian part of the country flow
northward into the Arctic Ocean and thus were of little help in
moving raw materials to the European part of the country. At some
river ports in Siberia, raw materials were loaded onto ships for
delivery to domestic and foreign ports via the Arctic to the
Pacific or the Atlantic oceans.
A large, modern, and well-diversified fleet of merchant and
passenger vessels conveyed not only freight and passengers to the
world's maritime nations but also Soviet political influence. Many
cargo vessels, often highly specialized, were designed to off-load
freight and vehicles in foreign countries not having modern port
facilities. Although the world's largest fleet of passenger liners
belonged to the Soviet Union, the voyagers were mainly Western
tourists. Extensive fishing and scientific research fleets,
together with several international ferry systems, added to the
already substantial worldwide maritime presence of the Soviet
Union.
The civilian air fleet was primarily a fast transporter of
people but was often the only mode of transport available to some
areas in the Far North, Siberia, and the Soviet Far East. Using the
international airports of Moscow and other major cities, Soviet
airplanes flew to almost every country of the world. The air fleet
also had many specialized aircraft performing various missions not
associated with airlines in the West, such as agricultural
spraying, medical evacuations, and energy exploration.
As a means of efficiently conveying oil, natural gas, and some
other materials, pipelines played a significant part in the
transportation system. Major pipelines stretched from northern and
Siberian oil and gas fields to refineries and industrial users in
the European part of the country. Pipelines supplied energy to
Eastern Europe, which was heavily dependent on Soviet gas and oil,
and to Western Europe, which exchanged
hard currency (see Glossary) for Soviet natural gas.
Using a communications system that incorporated advanced
satellite technologies, the government transmitted its radio and
television programming throughout most of the Soviet Union.
Telephones were mainly used by government or party officials or
others having official responsibilities in the economy.
Data as of May 1989
|
