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<br />and ,strategic impart of the Soviet water rescurce effort is most significant.
<br />IThe Soviets are b~sing the creation of new economic provinces, including new
<br />industrial and agricultural ' complexes, squarely upon multiple purpose river develop-
<br />ment plans. And they are using water resource development as a means of dispersing
<br />industrial and other strategic installations throughout their vast domain--an area
<br />three times as big as the United States.
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<br />SOVIET ENGINEERING CAPABILITY
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<br />I shall try to summarize the Soviet achievement in each of the principal fields
<br />of water resource de~elopment; but first, by way of background, I should like to
<br />describe certain general characteristics of their work, to indicate the caliber of
<br />capability they apply to the solution of their problems, and, by way of illustration,
<br />to describe briefly some of their engineering programs.
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<br />Most Soviet water resource projects are multiple purpose. The hydroelectric
<br />function receives emphasis and priority, but generally the gigantic Soviet power
<br />developments are associated with equally huge navigation or irrigation projects.
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<br />Soviet technology has proven itself to be completely adequate to meet technical
<br />problems in the water resOUrce fie~d. In the earliest phases of the effort,before
<br />World War II, their progress depended on technological advice and equipment from
<br />Western natiens, a.d some prejects were built only by harsh exploitation of forced
<br />labor. Today, however, large projects are planned, engineered, and equipped entirely
<br />from within the Soviet Union. They are staffed by workers receiving premium pay
<br />rates, and there is very little, if any, use of forced labor.
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<br />As to the quality of Russian engineering, a British technical delegation recently
<br />inspected some of their, projects and reported: '~ussian engineers are not lacking in
<br />engineering ability when dealing with the varied problems met in river control and
<br />developmen~ works...They have been'most successful with' the projects they have
<br />attempted and they are obviously backed with sufficient technical know-how and
<br />experience to enable them to deal with any difficulties or troubles which may arise."
<br />The quotation is from a series of articles which appeared last September in the
<br />British technical publication Engineering. .
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<br />Soyiet construction has now reached levels of technique and scope nearly equal
<br />to those of the United States, and it must be expected to accelerate'durin~ the next
<br />ten to fifteen years;
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<br />To illustrate the kind of work they are doing, I will mention a few representa-
<br />tive Soviet projects.
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<br />The Kuybyshev project on the Volga River has a plant with 2,100,000 kilowatts
<br />instaLed capacity, generated by 20 vertical Kaplan turbines with turbine rotors
<br />301, feet in diameter Cilp'lrating under a nCilrmal head of 63 feet. ,By comparison, the
<br />18 tm"bines at America's largest pCilWer plant, Grand Coulee, have a combined rated
<br />capacity of 1,944,000 kilowatts . '
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<br />Some other interesting Soviet projects include four dams notable for their
<br />length-Dneprodzerzhinsk Dam, on the Dnepr' River, over 12 miles long; Ts1mlyanskaya
<br />Dam, on the Don'River, 8.7 miles long; Gor'kiy' Dam, 8.7 miles long, on the Volga
<br />River, and Kremenchug Dam, about 7 miles long, on the Dnepr' River. These are all
<br />completed or u~der construction.
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<br />Two super powe~ dams, both well under way, are Krasnoyarsk Dam o~ the Yenisey
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