December 6, 1978
Moldavian Communist Party Central Committee, No. 294s, to President of the USSR Committee for State Security (KGB), Andropov, 'Regarding the Necessity of Increasing the Number of Personnel of the Moldavian SSR KGB'
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Regarding the Necessity of Increasing the Number of Personnel of the Moldavian SSR KGB
Recently, the special services and ideological centers of the imperialist states, intensifying their intelligence and undermining activity against the Soviet Union, have considerably increased their hostile efforts towards the Moldavian SSR.
The adversary accords a special attention to undertaking ideological subversion including along the lines of the so-called “Bessarabian question.” These provocative actions are, basically, shared by the position of the SRR leadership, whose official organs are engaged on the path of negating the existence of the Moldavian nation and statehood, underscoring the historical injustice of the reunion of Bessarabia with the USSR. All of this is treated widely in historical publications, in the periodical press sent from the SRR into the Moldavian SSR, as well as in radio and television broadcasts [from Romania].
Attempts are undertaken to spread these ideas through the intermediary of tourism, the private arrivals from the SRR, and mail correspondence which has surpassed 500 thousand letters per year. The indoctrination of Soviet people by Romanian citizens in an anti-Soviet, anti-Russian spirit has been reported.
In addition, some formations of Zionist and clerical nuance employed on the territory of the SRR try through the same channels to develop intense subversive activity among persons of Jewish nationality, who number in the republic over 100 thousand. All of this complicates the operational situation in the Moldavian SSR.
The Moldavian Communist Party Central Committee, taking into account these particularities and in conformity with the CPSU CC requests, will develop heavy activity regarding Internationalist, patriotic education and the increasing of political vigilance of the working people in Moldavia. However, the many problems connected with the curbing of subversive activity requires that they be resolved with means specific to the state security, something for which the Moldavian SSR KGB does not dispose of sufficient operational forces.
In connection with that explained above, please examine the question regarding the increase in the number of personnel of the Moldavian SSR KGB with 40 units for the consolidation of the Committee’s subunits, of some municipal and county KGB apparatuses and for the creation of some new county KGB organs.
MCP CC Secretary, I. Bodiul (signature)
The Moldavian Communist Party requests an increase in the number of KGB personnel in Moldavia to assist with efforts to "curb subversive activity" originating in Romania. This “ideological subversion” was further propagated by the Romanian print and broadcast media, through direct mailings (mail correspondence having “surpassed 500 thousand letters per year”) and through Romanian citizens visiting the republic who sought to indoctrinate the Soviet people “in an anti-Soviet, anti-Russian spirit."
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