 C00174742
 UNCLASSIFIED
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 Concatenated JPRS Reports, 1992
 Document 12 of 20                                               Page   1
 Classification:   UNCLASSIFIED         Status:        [STAT]
 Document Date:    19 Aug 92          Category:        [CAT]
 Report Type:      JPRS report        Report Date:
 Report Number:    FBIS-USR-92-129    UDC Number:
 Author(s):  Juri Liim: "Spy Nest"]
 Headline:  KGB's `SOSNA' Profiled
 Source Line:  92UN2179A Tallinn EESTI AEG/KODUMAA in Estonian, 19 Aug
 92 p 6
 Subslug:  [Article by Juri Liim: "Spy Nest"]
 FULL TEXT OF ARTICLE:
 1.  [Article by Juri Liim: "Spy Nest"]
 2., [Text] There are quite a few military structures on the soil of
 the Republic of Estonia that have a forest of aerials sprouting out
 of them. Some of these structures, whose purpose and activity are
 kept super-secret, are especially important, which is particularly
 true of surveillance objects. Naturally, such nests of espionage are
 concealed as much as possible, but often turn up at some well-known
 and rather unexpected places. One of those extremely important
 surveillance centers is located at MERIVALJA, AT THE VIIMSI ESTATE OF
 GENERAL LAIDONER [General and Supreme Commander of Armed Forces
 during Estonia's independence period-Translator's note]. The estate,
 like many other cultural objects, has been remodeled to meet the
 needs and tastes of military designers. The recurring decorative
 element is a boarded fence wreathed with bundles of barbed wire. The
 mansion itself is badly trashed, as the interior is crammed full of
 special purpose offices. The commander's office, by the way,-is
 located in what used to be Mrs. Laidoner's bedroom. This, as far as I
 can tell, is the only room where one can still see some of the
 original woodwork used for the interior. The basement rooms, however,
 are totally taboo-this is where the "treasure" of the object is,
 consisting of special equipment. In addition to what I saw from the
 front of the estate, I also managed to move about the grounds and
 take a look at some of the buildings there.
 3.  Two "sputnik" aerials were located behind the estate.
 4.  A receiving "dish" measuring several meters in diameter is
 still in the yard of the estate.
 5.  Electronic surveillance center
 6.  The estate is used to house the ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE UNIT
 Approve for Release
 31
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 Number 31181 OF THE NORTH SEA FLEET. The commander is (was) Captain
 First Grade STEPAN FEDOSEYEVICH OSIPCHUK, an intelligent-looking man.
 The task of this surveillance unit is to scan the northern part of
 the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It tracks the movement
 of all submarine and surface vessels belonging to NATO and other
 states, and the takeoff of airplanes, helicopters, rockets, etc. To
 carry out this task, the unit has two supplementary objects in
 addition to its main base.
 7.  1) A transmitting center on the peninsula of Viimsi, where
 numerous aerials and wires are spread over quite a large area. The
 center maintains communications with two similar centers located at
 Severomorsk and Kaliningrad. Staff headquarters of the Soviet Navy
 are in Moscow.
 8.  2) A radar center at Merivalja, at the end of Hobekuuse Street
 (not to be confused with aerials on top of house number 8 on the same
 street). This object is located on a much smaller area than center 1,
 and its tasks are slightly different. Once the range has been
 established, the location of the signal can be determined. The
 respective ranges will also have to be checked out individually.
 9.  Objective of the surveillance center's work
 10.  The unit has close to 20 guards, all of whom handle, in addition
 to locating the objects mentioned, searching, picking up and storing
 other necessary signals from a given range transmitted by telephone,
 Morse code, teletype, coded telegrams, radio communications, etc. All
 verbal information is translated and sorted. Close to 80 percent of
 the information is received via the sputnik aerials located behind
 the mansion of Viimsi. There are two of these domed aerials that
 measure 2.5 to 3 meters in height. One of them is silver, the other
 one green. As mentioned before, all of the locating equipment is kept
 in the basement of the mansion.
 11.  Operations building of the transmitting center.
 12.  The range of the signals detected is sent, via the transmitting
 center, to the locating center, and also to the two other units. This
 is where the source of a detected signal is determined. Thanks to
 such cooperation between the three units, the object is located
 fairly accurately (within 0.5 to 2 nautical miles). On the mansion
 grounds, in addition to the "space-domes", there is also the grid
 of a large, round "dish" for reception. Both the main unit and the
 two supplementary objects are equipped with mobile auxiliary power
 stations (diesel motors) which make it possible for the work to be
 continued in case of a power failure. All necessary equipment is
 duplicated and placed on appropriate means of transportation.  These
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 make it possible to continue the activity somewhere else, radio waves
 permitting. There were some 50 different pieces of machinery at the
 beginning of this year. Out of those, more than 10 were outside on
 the castle grounds. By now, most of them (basically trucks) have been
 sold off to "cooperators." By the way, training for the technology
 mentioned here is conducted on the Aegviidu-Tapa testing grounds.
 13.  As the "castle spirits" of Viimsi have revealed, they could
 get three times as much information out of the "cosmos" than they
 actually do. Only if they take the trouble, of course. One reason for
 not taking the trouble may be that, by spring, there were only 200
 seamen left in the unit, in addition to 50 officers, 15 midshipmen
 and 15 employees. The number of seamen, in particular, has dried up
 even further.
 14.  Actually, there are some very good reasons why the aerials are
 placed specifically at Merivaija. Namely, radio waves are
 concentrated here. To the delight of UFO fans, let's recall the
 mysterious accumulation of metal said to be embedded in the earth at
 Hobekuuse Street which, according to one version, is thought to be a
 hidden space object-a beacon to the comers. Whether it is this, or
 some other reason, that accounts for the concentration of radio
 waves, will probably be known at some future time. We can say that
 the surveillance center located in Estonia is not the only one of its
 kind. A similar center for Europe is located in Latvia and in Russia,
 near our borders.
 15.  I did a more thorough study of the conditions described here in
 the latter part of winter this year. It had to be kept quiet in hopes
 that Estonia may get possession of the equipment. Besides, disclosure
 would have caused anxiety among the military, and forced them to
 secrecy. By now, the situation has changed. Despite assurances about
 the indispensable nature of the object, and the impossibility of
 returning the estate because of the high cost of relocation,
 surveillance aerials are starting to come down. Dismantling of the
 SOSNA radio detection center at Merivalja was started some time ago.
 By now, there is no scrap of iron left. Barns, as usual, are reduced
 to splinters-the stone building for the equipment is still standing.
 As is typical of such abandoned objects, the military has sold it off
 to some "cooperative." For the time being it is hard to tell and,
 God only knows, what will be in its place.
 16.  The other field of aerials at Viimsi is still standing, but has
 not been functioning for the past few days. The space aerials have
 also been taken down at the estate. Where this property is taken, or
 what will be done with it, only time can tell. I can assume, however,
 that these contraptions are (were) being taken out of Estonia under
 the protective authority of our men at Toompea. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO
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 TELL WHEN, AND IN WHAT CONDITION, THE LAIDONER ESTATE WILL BE
 RETURNED TO US.

