233 
on the lack of organization in regulating uniforms, and the inadequate 
supplies. The editors stated that only a sampling of the many letters 
could be presented. The Minister of the Maritime Fleet, T. Guzhenko, 
responded to the flurry of concern. He reviewed the published materi- 
als and charged the ministry collegium with establishing a special 
commission on sailors’ uniforms.” The Ministry of Maritime Fleet 
series gradually evolved into an exposition attempting to define a 
standard uniform, calling for regulations, and the establishment or 
responsibility for upholding the regulations. Somewhat later, an article 
appeared in the Ministry of Fisheries journal asking ““Why should 
there be a distinction between the uniforms of seamen who transport 
bananas on refrigerator ships of the Ministry of Maritime Fleet of 
the U.S.S.R. and those who transport fish products on refrigerator 
ships of the Ministry of Fisheries, over U.S.S.R. ... They are all 
seamen, and what difference is it which ministry they are subor- 
dinate?’’’* This emotional issue attracted a great deal of attention 
and is illustrative of interagency rivalries. 
Another instance of the difficulty of coordinating ministries’ work 
is found in the case of offshore oil. A Soviet author examining the 
lack of coordination between the agencies prospecting for oil on 
the continental shelf off Sakhalin states ‘““ ... that the business 
relations between the different types of organizations which are subor- 
dinate to different ministries do not demonstrate a unity of interests.’’”* 
He states that five research organizations are conducting work in 
the area “‘without a unified plan and leadership, frequently duplicating 
each others’ work.” This resulted in the compilation of four practically 
identical geological structure maps of the Sakhalin shelf.7* The con- 
sequences of uncoordinated or strained working relations can have 
foreign policy effects. Perhaps, because of poor management of 
offshore work, the Soviets had overestimated the amount of gas on 
the shelf by a magnitude of four and the error was carried into 
discussions on the Prime Ministerial level with the Japanese on ex- 
ploitation of gas around the shelf.’” The difficulties of designing and 
coordinating ocean scientific research arise repeatedly. 
At the level of the ministry itself, one finds numerous cases of 
management and policy differences between bureau heads who 
promote departmental preferences. Operating under conditions of 
scarce resources one can see the promotion of economic objectives 
that have policy results. Distant water fishery expansion, for example, 
has its opponents in those who would invest more in the development 
of pond or lake fisheries, and the investment in distant water opera- 
tions is criticized by those promoting internal water fisheries. These 
interests use the policy clashes with countries extending their maritime 
jurisdiction, cases of fishery stock depletion, costs of distant water 
fleets, and experiences of foreign countries as reasons for greater 
concentration on developing internal fishery resources. 
Editorial Note, “Information of a Commission on Uniforms,” Morskoi Flot, July 1972, p. 32. 
™B. Skhulev and G. Belitskii, ‘“‘Bring Order in the Wearing of Marine Uniforms,’ Rybnoe 
Khoziaistvo, December 1972, pp. 73-4. : 
VV. Naumov, “Losses to Lack of Coordination,”’ Sotialisticheskaya Industriya, October 29, 1974. 
pt aoe Publications Research Service 63591, December 5, 1974, p. 27. 
™7 U.S. Congress. Joint Economic Committee. Allocation of Resources in the Soviet Union and 
China, p. 12. 
