What did the declassified documents reveal?

From the Central Intelligence Agency, this declassified intelligence brief from August twenty-sixth, nineteen-forty-nine, analyzes Soviet Aims in Manchuria. This document can be found on documents two dot the black vault dot com. This declassified record was released via the Freedom of Information Act in two-thousand-fourteen, with its release authorized by the National Archives and Records Administration. The document is titled US Intelligence on China, CI zero zero two seven three. Soviet efforts to expand military and economic control over Manchuria have been motivated by Soviet ambitions to become a dominant power in the Pacific and by the realization of Manchuria’s strategically protecting position in relation to eastern Siberia. Overall Soviet strategy is based upon the maintenance of a separate military establishment in the Far East which, even during World War Two, was kept at full strength. Largely to provide support for this separate military establishment, Soviet leaders have given high priority to the development of the economic self-sufficiency of the Soviet Far Eastern areas. Control over Manchuria will also shorten the Moscow-Vladivostok railroad route by seven hundred miles and provide the U. S. S. R. with a year-round warm-water port for the development of naval power and commerce in the Pacific. Moreover, Manchurian raw materials can be used to supply industries in west Siberia and the Soviet Far East, to acquire foreign exchange, and eventually to exert strong economic pressure on Japan, North Korea, and China. The U. S. S. R. is now in an excellent position to exploit Manchuria’s great military and economic potential. Under the terms of the Sino-Soviet Treaty of nineteen-forty-five, concluded with the National Government, the U. S. S. R. legally extracted extensive extraterritorial rights in Manchuria and joint ownership with China of the Changchun railway. The Chinese Communists, in publicly endorsing the special position of the U. S. S. R. in Manchuria recently, hailed it as being in the best interests of the Chinese people and as a protection against “American imperialism.” After the Communist capture of Peiping, the Chinese Communist Party transferred its headquarters and top personnel from Manchuria. Although the Chinese Communists have established a government in Manchuria, it is subservient to Soviet “advisers.” The recent conclusion of a Soviet-Manchurian trade agreement pays de facto Soviet recognition to the Manchurian Communist regime and officially established a precedent for direct Soviet-Manchurian relations. Presumably in an attempt to conceal the conflict between the special Soviet position and Chinese sovereign rights in Manchuria, the Chinese Communists have acclaimed the pact as evidence of Soviet friendship and a forerunner of Soviet assistance in industrializing China. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. For more declassified documents and transcripts, visit storyflo dot com…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

Case File · ARCHIVE-005Declassified

Filed NOV 15 · 2026Runtime 1 min

From The Central Intelligence Agency, This Declassified Intelligence Brief

U.S. public record · FOIAUpdated November 15, 2026

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◆ BLUF — The short version

From the Central Intelligence Agency, this declassified intelligence brief from August twenty-sixth, nineteen-forty-nine, analyzes Soviet Aims in Manchuria. This document can be found on documents two dot the black vault dot com. This declassified record was released via the Freedom of Information Act in two-thousand-fourteen, with its release authorized by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Date: NOV 15 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was From The Central Intelligence Agency, This Declassified Intelligence Brief about?: From the Central Intelligence Agency, this declassified intelligence brief from August twenty-sixth, nineteen-forty-nine, analyzes Soviet Aims in Manchuria. This document can be found on documents two dot the black vault dot com. This declassified record was released via the Freedom of Information Act in two-thousand-fourteen, with its release authorized by the National Archives and Records Administration.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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