Civil Defense
Civil defense was another part of Soviet strategic defense. It originated with the large-scale relocation of
defense industries from the western Soviet Union to east of the Ural Mountains in 1941. Civil defense
reappeared in the late 1940s as antiaircraft units were attached to Soviet factories to defend them against
strategic bombing. By the early 1970s, the emphasis on civil defense increased, and the chief of Civil
Defense became a deputy minister of defense. Each union republic had a general officer as the chief of civil
defense in the republic.
In 1989 the purpose of civil defense was to provide protection for leadership and population in wartime
and to ensure the Soviet Union's ability to continue production of military matériel during a nuclear or a
protracted conventional war. Officers from Civil Defense were attached to union republic, oblast (see
Glossary), raion, and municipal governments, as well as to large industrial and agricultural
enterprises, and assigned to supervise civil defense work, organization, and training. These
staff officers developed and implemented detailed plans for the wartime relocation of important defense
industrial facilities and the evacuation of labor forces to alternative sites. They supervised the construction
of blast shelters and other installations to ensure that these structures could withstand nuclear strikes. Civil
Defense operated a network of 1,500 underground shelters that could protect 175,000 top party and
government officials. In 1989 Civil Defense had 150,000 personnel.
After a nuclear exchange, the civil defense effort would be directed at reestablishing essential military
production through decontamination, first aid, and civil engineering work to clear collapsed structures and
to restore power supplies, transportation, and communications. Civil Defense trained in peacetime by
conducting simulations of the aftermath of a nuclear attack and small-scale evacuation exercises. It was
also called on to fight fires, conduct rescue operations, decontaminate areas affected by nuclear and
chemical accidents, and provide natural disaster relief.
Sources and Resources
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/agency/cd.htm
Maintained by Webmaster
Updated Thursday, September 07, 2000 7:00:00 AM
