On April 18, 2003, the US Central Intelligence Agency declassified and released a document dated June 10, 1949.

The document presents Lake Sevan, the hydroelectric power plants located in the area of ​​the lake, as well as the location of these hydroelectric power plants, what purposes they will serve, and the construction details. We notice from the document that the US CIA spy saw, studied and recorded all that on the spot, after which the report was drawn up.

It is interesting that the Sevan hydroelectric power station, which is the first hydroelectric power station of the Sevan-Hrazdan cascade, was commissioned in 1949. It is built on the bank of the Hrazdan River, in the mountain massif near the shore of Lake Sevan, at a depth of about 100 m from the surface of the lake. The Sevan HPP was one of the important energy structures of the post-war period and was considered one of the first underground hydroelectric power plants built in the USSR.

Sevan HPP is one of the HPPs in the Sevan-Hrazdan cascade. The construction process of the Cascade began in 1930 and was completed in 1965. It is of great importance for the entire energy system of Armenia. Two of the existing HPPs mentioned in the document are probably the Sevan and Kanaker HPPs.  The latter was put into operation in 1936.

First, let’s present the declassified document of the US Central Intelligence Agency in its entirety below.

“CLASSIFICATION, INFORMATION REPORT, CONFIDENTIAL

COUNTRY: USSR (Armenia/Arctic)

THEME: Hydroelectric power stations in Lake Sevan, Kolezhma and Arkhangel

REPORT NUMBER (CD NO.)

DATE OF DISTRIBUTION: June 10, 1949

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This is notapproved is information

1. There are at least three hydroelectric power stations around Lake Sevan. One of them is a small station located approximately sixty kilometers northwest of the lake, and the two larger stations are located 15-20 kilometers east of the lake. The water flows through two main canals to the hydroelectric power plants and then into streams used for irrigation.

2. The source has no information about any tunnel intended to divert water from Lake Sevan. The source heard only one proposal to bring water from the Black Sea through a canal to Lake Sevan, and from there to the Caspian Sea, in order to raise the latter’s water level.

3. The most significant hydroelectric projects are located in the vicinity of Kolezhma (on the Onega Bay) and Arkhangel. One of them is already completed, and two others are under construction. The foundations are 60 meters below the surface of the earth, and the buildings rise two meters above the ground. The stations are built to withstand bombing.

Comment: It is likely that the buildings mentioned in paragraph 3 were built underground, not so much for bombardment as for protection from the cold. The whole report appears somewhat questionable, but is presented so far as it may be of value.”

The document presents American intelligence information from 1949 on Soviet hydropower projects.

Although there are some facts in it that correspond to reality, some information is not confirmed by other sources. It is noteworthy that the authors of the report question the reliability of the presented information. Therefore, the document is more valuable as an intelligence source of the early period of the Cold War, in which a detailed analysis and significance of the hydroelectric power plants in the area of ​​Lake Sevan is presented.

The most important information in the document is that the Soviet authorities wanted to bring water from the Black Sea through a canal to Lake Sevan, and from there to the Caspian Sea. However, as the document states, this information is also not confirmed.

Z. I hesitated

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