Interesting facts about Stakhanovites. The other side of the “Stakhanov movement”

Comrade A.I. Egorov

On the day of his fiftieth birthday, I send Bolshevik greetings to the outstanding commander of the Civil War, one of the organizers of the brilliant victories of the Red Army on the Southern and Southwestern fronts, the first Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army.

I wish you, dear Alexander Ilyich, health and strength for the benefit of our dear Red Army, for the fear of its enemies.

Remembering times spent together fighting days at the fronts, I believe that your military knowledge and organizational skills will continue to successfully serve for the benefit of our Motherland.

I shake your hand firmly.

I. STALIN

Comrades! So much and so well was said about the Stakhanovites here, at this meeting, that I actually have little left to say. Still, since I was called to the podium, I will have to say a few words.

The Stakhanov movement cannot be considered as an ordinary movement of working men and women. The Stakhanov movement is a movement of workers and working women that will go down in the history of our socialist construction as one of its most glorious pages.

What is the meaning Stakhanov movement?

First of all, it expresses a new rise in socialist competition, a new, highest stage of socialist competition. Why new, why superior? Because it, the Stakhanov movement, compares favorably as an expression of socialist competition with the old stage of socialist competition. In the past, about three years ago, during the first stage of socialist competition, socialist competition was not necessarily associated with new technology. Yes, then we, in fact, had almost no new technology. The current stage of socialist competition - the Stakhanov movement, on the contrary, is necessarily associated with new technology. The Stakhanov movement would be unthinkable without a new, higher technology. Before you are people like comrades Stakhanov, Busygin, Smetanin, Krivonos, Pronin, Vinogradov and many others, new people, workers and workers who have completely mastered the technique of their craft, saddled it and drove forward. We didn’t have such people, or almost none, three years ago. These are new, special people.

Further. The Stakhanov movement is a movement of workers that aims to overcome current technical standards, overcome existing design capacities, and overcome existing production plans and balances. Overcoming - because they, these very norms, have already become old for our days, for our new people. This movement breaks old views on technology, breaks old technical standards, old design capacities, old production plans and requires the creation of new, higher technical standards, design capacities, and production plans. It is designed to revolutionize our industry. That is why it, the Stakhanov movement, is fundamentally deeply revolutionary.

It has already been said here that the Stakhanov movement, as an expression of new, higher technical standards, is an example of the high productivity of labor that only socialism can provide and which capitalism cannot provide. This is absolutely correct. Why did capitalism defeat and overcome feudalism? Because he created higher standards of labor productivity, he made it possible for society to obtain incomparably more products than was the case under feudal orders. Because he made society richer. Why can, should and will definitely defeat the capitalist economic system? Because it can provide higher standards of labor, higher labor productivity than the capitalist economic system. Because it can provide society with more products and can make society richer than the capitalist economic system.

Some people think that socialism can be strengthened by some material injury to people on the basis of poor life. This is not true. This is a petty bourgeois idea of ​​socialism. In fact, socialism can only win on the basis of high labor productivity, higher than under capitalism, on the basis of an abundance of products and all kinds of consumer goods, on the basis of a prosperous and cultural life all members of society. But in order for socialism to achieve this goal and make our Soviet society the most prosperous, it is necessary to have in the country such labor productivity that exceeds the labor productivity of advanced capitalist countries. Without this, there is no point in thinking about the abundance of products and all kinds of consumer goods. The significance of the Stakhanov movement lies in the fact that it is a movement that breaks down old technical norms as insufficient, overlaps in a number of cases the labor productivity of advanced capitalist countries and thus opens up the practical possibility of further strengthening socialism in our country, the possibility of transforming our country to the most prosperous country.

But this does not exhaust the significance of the Stakhanov movement. Its significance also lies in the fact that it prepares the conditions for the transition from socialism to communism.

The principle of socialism is that in a socialist society everyone works according to his abilities and receives consumer goods not according to his needs, but according to the work he has done for society. This means that the cultural and technical level of the working class is still low, the opposition between mental labor and physical labor continues to exist, labor productivity is not yet so high as to ensure an abundance of consumer goods, as a result of which society is forced to distribute consumer goods not in accordance with the needs of members of society, but according to the work they have done for society.

Communism represents a higher stage of development. The principle of communism is that in a communist society everyone works according to his abilities and receives consumer goods not according to the work he has produced, but according to the cultural needs developed person that he has. This means that the cultural and technical level of the working class has become high enough to undermine the foundations of the opposition between mental labor and physical labor, the opposition between mental labor and physical labor has already disappeared, and labor productivity has risen to such a high level that it can ensure complete an abundance of consumer goods, due to which society has the opportunity to distribute these items according to the needs of its members.

Some people think that the elimination of the opposition between mental labor and physical labor can be achieved through some cultural and technical equalization of mental and physical workers on the basis of reducing the cultural and technical level of engineers and technicians, mental workers, to the level of semi-skilled workers. This is completely false. Only petty-bourgeois talkers can think about communism in this way. In fact, the destruction of the opposition between mental labor and physical labor can be achieved only on the basis of raising the cultural and technical level of the working class to the level of engineering and technical workers. It would be ridiculous to think that such a rise is impossible. It is completely feasible under the conditions of the Soviet system, where the country’s productive forces are freed from the shackles of capitalism, where labor is freed from the yoke of exploitation, where the working class is in power and where the young generation of the working class has every opportunity to provide themselves with sufficient technical education. There is no reason to doubt that only such a cultural and technical upsurge of the working class can undermine the foundations of the opposition between mental labor and physical labor, that only it can ensure the high productivity of labor and the abundance of consumer goods that are necessary to begin the transition from socialism to communism.

The Stakhanov movement is significant in this regard in that it contains the first beginnings, albeit still weak, but still the beginnings of just such a cultural and technical upsurge of the working class of our country.

Indeed, take a closer look at the Stakhanovite comrades. What kind of people are these? These are mainly young or middle-aged workers, cultured and technically savvy people, who provide examples of precision and accuracy in work, who know how to appreciate the time factor in work and who have learned to count time not only in minutes, but also in seconds. Most of them have passed the so-called technical minimum and continue to expand their technical education. They are free from the conservatism and stagnation of some engineers, technicians and business executives, they move boldly forward, breaking down outdated technical standards and creating new, higher ones, they amend the design capacities and economic plans drawn up by the leaders of our industry, they continually supplement and correct engineers and technicians, they often teach and push them forward, because these are people who have completely mastered the technology of their craft and know how to squeeze out of technology the maximum that can be squeezed out of it. Today there are still few Stakhanovites, but who can doubt that tomorrow there will be ten times more of them? Isn’t it clear that the Stakhanovites are innovators in our industry, that the Stakhanov movement represents the future of our industry, that it contains the grain of the future cultural and technical upsurge of the working class, that it opens up for us the path on which only we can achieve those highest indicators labor productivity, which are necessary for the transition from socialism to communism and the destruction of the opposition between mental labor and physical labor?

This, comrades, is the significance of the Stakhanov movement in the cause of our socialist construction.

Did Stakhanov and Busygin think about this great significance of the Stakhanov movement when they began to break the old technical norms? Of course not. They had their own concerns - they sought to bring the enterprise out of the breakthrough and exceed the economic plan. But in achieving this goal, they had to break the old technical standards and develop high labor productivity that surpassed the advanced capitalist countries. It would be ridiculous, however, to think that this circumstance could in any way detract from the great historical meaning Stakhanovite movements.

The same can be said about those workers who first organized Soviets of Workers' Deputies in our country in 1905. They, of course, did not think that the Soviets of Workers' Deputies would serve as the basis of the socialist system. They only defended themselves against tsarism, against the bourgeoisie, creating Soviets of Workers' Deputies. But this circumstance in no way contradicts the undoubted fact that the movement for the Soviets of Workers' Deputies, launched in 1905 by Leningrad and Moscow workers, ultimately led to the defeat of capitalism and the victory of socialism in one sixth of the world.

Stakhanov movement- a mass movement of followers of A. G. Stakhanov in the USSR, innovators of socialist production - workers, collective farmers, engineering and technical workers, who many times exceeded the established production standards.

History of the movement

The movement arose in 1935 and was named after the miner of the Central-Irmino mine (Donbass) A. G. Stakhanov, who produced 102 tons of coal on the night of August 30-31, 1935 (5 hours 45 minutes) at a rate of 7 tons, and subsequently on September 19 - 227 tons.

The Stakhanov movement was seriously encouraged financially with prizes and promoted by the All-Union Communist Party How new stage socialist competition and a form of increasing labor productivity.

The Stakhanov movement contributed to the growth of the material well-being of the workers themselves. For example, in Karaganda, the Stakhanov movement had a serious influence on the level of wages. If the average monthly wage of Karaganda miners in 1931 is taken as 100%, then in 1934 it was 212%, in 1935 - 288%, and in 1937 - 374%.

On November 14-17, 1935, the First All-Union Meeting of Stakhanovites took place in the Kremlin (Moscow), which emphasized important role Stakhanov movement in socialist construction. At the same meeting, the later catchphrase: “Life has become better, comrades. Life has become more fun."

Famous Stakhanovites

• P. N. Angelina - in agriculture.
• A. Kh. Busygin - in the automotive industry.
• M. N. Mazai - in metallurgy.
• I. I. Gudov - in the machine tool industry.
• P. F. Krivonos and K. P. Koroleva - on railway transport.
• I. M. Kavchuk - in the coal industry.
• N. S. Smetanin - in the shoe industry.
• E.V. and M.I. Vinogradov - in the textile industry.
• B. Ikhlasov - in the mining industry.
• A. M. Myasnikova - in the chemical industry.

Stakhanovites in socialist countries

In Poland, the first striker of labor and a propaganda model for workers was the miner Vincenty Pstrowski, whose biography is similar to the biography of Stakhanov.

In German Democratic Republic The first striker after whom the workers' movement is named is Adolf Hennecke.

In the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the drummer and initiator of the movement was Aliya Sirotanovich, who on July 24, 1949 broke the world record for coal mining, extracting 152 tons (253 trolleys) in an eight-hour shift, thus surpassing Alexei Stakhanov by 50 tons.

Perpetuation

Streets in a number of cities of the Soviet Union were named in honor of the Stakhanov movement:

• Stakhanovskaya street in Moscow,
• Stakhanovtsev Street in Leningrad,
• Stakhanovskaya street in Yekaterinburg,
• Stakhanovskaya street in Yalta,
• Stakhanovskaya street in Kolpino near Leningrad,
• Stakhanovskaya street in Perm,
• Stakhanovsky Bridge in Riga (now Slava),
• Stakhanovskaya street in Pskov,
• Stakhanovskaya street in Kirov,
• Stakhanovskaya street in Monchegorsk ( Murmansk region),
• Stakhanovskaya street and Stakhanovsky lane in Minsk,
• Stakhanovskaya street in Sverdlovsk-44,
• Stakhanovskaya street in Biysk,
• Stakhanovsky passage in Tver.
• Stakhanov railway platform in Samara.
• Stakhanovskaya street in Krasnodar.
• Stakhanov street in Lipetsk.
• Stakhanovskaya street in Belaya Tserkov, Ukraine
• Stakhanova street in Donetsk, Ukraine
• Stakhanova street in Makeevka, Donetsk region, Ukraine
• Stakhanovskaya street in Gorlovka, Donetsk region, Ukraine
• Stakhanovskaya street in Mariupol, Donetsk region, Ukraine
• Stakhanov street in the city of Stakhanov, Lugansk region, Ukraine
• Stakhanova street in the city of Irmino (Teplogorsk), Lugansk region, Ukraine
• Stakhanov street in the city of Alchevsk (Kommunarsk), Lugansk region, Ukraine
• Stakhanova street in the city of Kirovsk, Lugansk region, Ukraine
• Stakhanovtsev street in Tyumen, Russia

What is the Stakhanov movement?

The Stakhanov movement, a mass movement of innovators of socialist production in the USSR - advanced workers, collective farmers, engineering and technical workers for increasing labor productivity based on the development of new technology. It arose in the 2nd Five-Year Plan, in 1935, as a new stage in socialist competition. The Stakhanov movement was prepared by the entire course of socialist construction, the success of the country's industrialization, the growth of the cultural and technical level and material well-being of the working people. Most of the Stakhanovites came from among the shock workers . The "Stakhanov" movement is named after its founder - the miner of the "Central - Irmino" mine (Donbass) A.G. Stakhanov, who mined 102 T coal at a rate of 7 T. Stakhanov's record was soon blocked by his followers. The highest production in the Donbass was achieved by N.A. Izotov, who mined 607 on February 1, 1936 at mine No. 1 "Kochegarka" (Gorlovka) T coal per shift. The Stakhanov movement, supported and led by the Communist Party, for a short time covered all branches of industry, transport, construction, agriculture and spread throughout the Soviet Union. The founders of the Stakhanov movement were A.Kh. in the automobile industry. Busygin, in the shoe store - N.S. Smetanin, in textile - E.V. and M.I. Vinogradovs, in the machine tool industry - I.I. Gudov, in the forest - V.S. Musinsky, in railway transport - P.F. Krivonos, in agriculture - P.N. Angelina, K.A. Borin, M.S. Demchenko and others. On November 14-17, 1935, the First All-Union Meeting of Stakhanovites took place in the Kremlin, which emphasized the outstanding role of the Stakhanov movement in socialist construction. In December 1935, the plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) specifically discussed the development of industry and transport in connection with the Stakhanov movement. The resolution of the plenum emphasized: “The Stakhanov movement means organizing labor in a new way, rationalization technological processes, correct division of labor in production, liberation of skilled workers from secondary preparatory work, better organization of the workplace, ensuring rapid growth in labor productivity, ensuring a significant increase in wages of workers and employees." In accordance with the decisions of the December Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, a wide network of industrial and technical training was organized, and courses for masters of socialist labor were created for advanced workers. Industry production and technical conferences held in 1936 revised the design capacities of enterprises, production standards were increased. In 1936, Stakhanov five-day, ten-day, and monthly work was held on the scale of entire enterprises. Stakhanov brigades, sections, and workshops were created that achieved sustainable high collective output. The unfolding Stakhanov movement contributed to a significant increase in labor productivity. Thus, if during the years of the 1st Five-Year Plan (1929-1932) labor productivity in industry of the USSR increased by 41%, then during the years of the 2nd Five-Year Plan (1933-1937) by 82%. new strength creative initiative of innovators manifested itself 5 years of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. Stakhanov's methods were used, such as multi-machine service, combination of professions, and high-speed production and construction technology. The Stakhanovites took the initiative of the movement of the “two hundred men” (two norms or more per shift), and then the “thousand men” (1000% of the norm), the creation of “front-line brigades”.

The experience of the Stakhanov movement retained its significance in the post-war period, when, in conditions of continuous economic and cultural growth, new forms of socialist competition arose. Characteristic of a developed socialist society in the USSR, the movement for a communist attitude to work uses the methods of highly productive labor of the Stakhanovites in order to increase the efficiency of socialist production.

Stalinism today is usually associated with repression or with victory in the Great Patriotic War. Another sign of that era, which was actively promoted, skillfully avoiding the name of Stalin, was completely forgotten - the labor enthusiasm of the people. And he contacted the name Stakhanov and the labor movement of the same name...

Stakhanov movement was one of the manifestations of the so-called. "socialist competition", its immediate predecessor was "shockism". It was first used during War Communism. The movement, however, had its material foundations.

The bonus system should become one of the most powerful means of stimulating competition. The food supply system must be consistent with it: until Soviet republic there are not enough food supplies, a diligent and conscientious worker should be provided better than a careless one.” (1)

Later, defending this position, Trotsky substantiated it in the book “Terrorism and Communism”, where he argued that the payment system should be brought into strict accordance with individual labor productivity, since “Under capitalism, the piece and chord system of payment, the use of Taylor and etc. had the task of increasing the exploitation of workers by squeezing out excess profits.

In socialized production, piece wages, bonuses, etc., have as their task an increase in the mass of the social product, and, consequently, an increase in the general welfare. Those workers who contribute more than others to the general interest receive the right to most social product than lazy people, slobs and disruptors.” (2)

Already at the next congress, however, which took place against the backdrop of strikes in Moscow and Petrograd, as well as the rebellion of Kronstadt, the party radically changed its course and proclaimed the NEP. For workers, this meant taking as a basis the principle of equalization when setting wages, with the transfer to trade unions of all functions of labor standardization - determining the quantity and quality of products produced by workers. (3)

A decade later, with the proclamation of forced industrialization by Stalin, “socialist” competition gained a second wind. In the address of the 16th conference of the CPSU(b) “To all workers and toiling peasants Soviet Union” dated April 29, 1929, it was argued that the decision of the IX Party Congress “is now completely timely and vital.” A call was voiced to organize competition between enterprises to increase labor productivity, reduce costs and strengthen labor discipline. (4)

As a material incentive, a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars in October allowed bonuses for distinguished workers and their groups, in accordance with concluded collective agreements. (5) And in August 1931, a resolution was issued by the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, according to which bonus funds were formed at enterprises for fulfilling and exceeding the plan on the basis of socialist competitions and shock work, as well as, separately, bonus funds for invention and rationalization.

From the first fund, individual shock workers, their brigades or entire workshops were awarded in cash, in kind, or trips to a sanatorium at the discretion of the administration. The second fund provided for bonuses to inventors and innovators in the amount of 50% of the saved amount. That is, the directors could keep half of the money saved for themselves. (6)

While in the USSR the methods of Trotsky from the time of war communism were used with might and main, Trotsky himself, while in exile, later changed his mind, and his reaction sounded sharply negative about attempts to increase labor productivity in the USSR. He wrote: “The “shock movement” methods used during the first five-year plan and at the beginning of the second were based on agitation, personal example, administrative pressure and all kinds of group incentives and privileges.

Attempts to introduce some semblance of piecework payment, based on the “six conditions” of 1931, were frustrated by the illusory nature of the currency and the variety of prices. The system of state distribution of products replaced the flexible differential assessment of labor with the so-called “bonus payment,” which in its very essence meant bureaucratic arbitrariness. In pursuit of sweeping privileges, the category of shock workers penetrated into everything more straight scoundrels, strong in protection.” (7)

Actually, these same “six conditions” were a turning point in economic policy. They were outlined by Stalin in his speech at a meeting of business executives on June 23, 1931.

Their essence boiled down to the following: to attach workers to their jobs, to make them responsible for work and property - on the one hand; on the other hand, to split the working class: fight against “levelling”, that is, for higher pay for skilled labor and providing career opportunities for advanced workers; and thirdly, the further introduction of cost accounting at enterprises in order to stimulate the administration to reduce costs. (8)

Only with the abolition of the card system, unification of prices and stabilization of the ruble, according to Trotsky, did conditions arise for the use of piecework payment only when the money was received real value, workers now have an incentive to take care of machines and use their time wisely. (9) One more thing should be added here. Tony Cliff characterized the Soviet management structure at enterprises that emerged during the NEP as a “triangle” consisting of a party cell, a trade union committee and a director.

With the beginning of the era of five-year plans, unity of command became the main principle of enterprise management. (10) Accordingly, the right of trade unions to participate in the development of production standards and payment tariffs suffers; this function ends up in the hands of the administration, which has the opportunity to widely introduce piecework. And on this basis the Stakhanov movement develops.

On September 2, 1935, Pravda reported that Alexei Stakhanov, a miner at the Central-Irmino mine, produced 102 tons of coal during his shift on the night of August 31, against a norm of 7 tons. A few days later, this record was surpassed by the miners Dyukanov, Pozdnyakov, Kontsedalov, Izotov and then Stakhanov himself.

The Soviet press daily reported new production records not only in coal, but also in all other industries. (11) Piece payment, which served as a material incentive for workers to perform such feats, existed during the times of war communism (12), however, if for the above reasons, in 1930 only 29% of workers received piecework payment, then in 1932 - 68 %, and this growth continues even after the war - by 1949 the number of participants in “socialist competition” exceeds 90%. (13)

At the all-Union meeting of Stakhanovites in November, movement participants testify to the following:

A. Busygin: “I used to earn 300-350 rubles, but in September I earned 690 and 130 came out according to the progressive plan and another 223 rubles for reducing defects - in total it came out to 1043 rubles...”

M. Dyukanov: “Previously, before the Stakhanov movement, Stakhanov and I earned 550-600 rubles each... Now, for September, I’m out for 16 days, since we are being dragged around somewhere (meaning the widely accepted public celebrations of Stakhanovites - V. R.), earned 1338 rubles. Ordzhonikidze: What if they hadn’t carried it? Dyukanov: And if they hadn’t carried it, it would have been more than two thousand...”

I. Slavikova: “Our normalized earnings are 158 rubles per month. In September I earned 962 rubles. In October I earned 886 rubles. Of course, I could have earned more, but there were days when we were taken away from work.

Mikoyan: How much did your friend earn?

Slavikova: My friend earned 1,336 rubles in October...”

A. Omelyanov: “Previously, for 300 hours of work, I ran 1,500 kilometers a month and received 400 rubles. Now I have 192 hours... I have 1300 rubles..."

M. Pushkin: “I used to earn 375 rubles, and now 2 thousand rubles...”

P. Makarov: “If I earned about 700 rubles in September, then in October I earned more than 1,200 rubles. In addition, I will receive about 200 rubles according to self-financing, and all round it will be 1,500 rubles...”

G. Likhoradov: “In January 1935, without progressive payment, I earned 184 rubles. 20 kopecks... in August - 1220 rubles and in September - 1315 rubles..." (14)

To understand where such a huge difference comes from, it is worth considering that in the USSR there was not a simple piece-rate payment, in which it was directly proportional to productivity, but progressive. IN oil industry, for example, a worker who exceeds the norm by 50% receives payment 110% higher than the norm; if his productivity is 70% above the norm, then the payment is 189% above the norm; if his productivity is 100% above the norm, then the payment is 300% above the norm, etc. (15)

Stakhanovites, in addition, received many other privileges in the form of free apartments, movie tickets, not counting many gifts and fame. (16) This meant that, under conditions of state control over money and commodity circulation, overall purchasing power was reduced to the benefit of the privileged group of Stakhanovites, who had many benefits.

The essence of the Stakhanov movement, however, is reactionary not only because of the stratification of the working class, but also because it contributed to raising general production standards.

The resolution of the plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, held on December 21-25, 1935, said: “It is necessary to replace the current technical standards, as outdated, with higher standards and accordingly change the production standards in the direction of their slight increase...”, after which condemnation was expressed reference to the “technically backward” worker when drawing up standards; instead, standards should be developed by engineering and technical personnel, under the direct supervision of the director and the active participation of Stakhanovites. (17) The workers were thus deprived of their last, albeit extremely illusory** protection in the form of collective agreements.

Naturally, the workers, in view of such blatant social inequality generated by the movement, were extremely hostile towards the Stakhanovites. It was obvious that the Stakhanov movement had nothing in common with socialism.

Trotsky wrote: “When the rhythm of work is determined by the pursuit of the ruble, then people do not spend themselves “according to their abilities,” i.e. not because of the condition of the muscles and nerves, but by forcing oneself. This method can only be conventionally justified by reference to severe necessity; but to declare it “the basic principle of socialism” means cynically trampling the ideas of a new, higher culture into the familiar mud of capitalism.”

Thus, we see that even the person who was the first to try, back in the years of war communism, to introduce and promote piecework in the building of socialism, in the end he himself realized that it had nothing in common with him.

The Stakhanov movement was a measure used by the Stalinist bureaucracy in the struggle to increase labor productivity: on the one hand, it stimulated the stratification of workers through progressive piecework wages, on the other, it contributed to raising production standards and establishing the sweatshop system.

Alexander Gunner

* The part quoted below is not contained in Trotsky’s original project, however, his project contains proposals for the widespread use of the bonus system among specialists and labor armies, which migrated practically unchanged to adopted resolution according to the project of the Central Committee.

** Due to the fact that they were concluded between the trade union bureaucracy on the one hand, and the administration, on the other.

Sources:

(1) MINUTES OF THE NINTH CONGRESS OF THE RCP(b), M.: Partizdat, 1934., p. 515-525;

(2) L. Trotsky, Terrorism and Communism, p. 93

(3) CPSU in resolutions and decisions of congresses, conferences and plenums of the Central Committee, part I (1898-1924), ed. 7, M: Gospolitizdat, 1954, p. 545

(4) CPSU in resolutions and decisions of congresses, conferences and plenums of the Central Committee, part II (1925-1953), ed. 7, M: Gospolitizdat, 1953, p. 497

The Stakhanov movement was one of the manifestations of the so-called “socialist competition”, and its immediate predecessor was “shockism”. For the first time, such a mechanism for stimulating production was used during the years of war communism. Trotsky’s resolution adopted at the IX Party Congress stated that “along with the agitational and ideological influence on the working masses and repression... competition is a powerful force for raising labor productivity... The bonus system should become one of the means of inciting competition. The food supply system must be consistent with it: as long as the Soviet Republic does not have enough food supplies, a diligent and conscientious worker must be better provided for than a careless one.”

Forced industrialization was proclaimed by Trotsky's resolution

A decade later, with the proclamation of accelerated industrialization, “socialist competition” gained a second wind. The appeal of the XVI Conference of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) “To all workers and toiling peasants of the Soviet Union” dated April 29, 1929 stated that the decision of the IX Party Congress “is now completely timely and vital.” There was a call to organize competition between enterprises to increase labor productivity, reduce the cost of goods produced and strengthen labor discipline.

Newspapers everywhere encouraged young people to achieve industrial achievements. The press was filled with motivating slogans and appeals: “Isn’t every day, every worker, every team faced with this or that specific task, this or that task? Isn’t it possible to organize social competition among construction workers to complete these daily tasks?” Socialist competition in factories took the most different shapes: roll calls, achievement reviews, shock brigades, public tug, above-plan coal trains, shock sections, ships and workshops. This movement of enthusiastic workers also formed its own heroes, the name of one of whom - Alexei Grigorievich Stakhanov - went down in history and even became a household name.

Stakhanov turned from a miner into a nomenklatura worker

Coal was especially urgently needed to meet the needs of industrialization, so the Soviet authorities aimed at increasing labor productivity among miners. At the same time, the modernization of the mines was carried out at a rather slow pace. Future production leader Alexey Stakhanov worked at the Tsentralnaya-Irmino mine, which by the early 1930s was considered one of the most backward in the region, it was even contemptuously called a “garbage dump.” However, during the years of the first Five-Year Plan, the mine underwent technical reconstruction: electricity was installed there, and some miners received jackhammers, with the help of which they began to set labor records.

On a day off, on the night of August 30-31, mine worker Alexey Stakhanov went underground with two fixers and two haulers of coal cars. In addition, party organizer of the mine Petrov and the editor of the large-circulation newspaper “Kadievsky Rabochiy” were present at the mine, who documented what was happening. Stakhanov carried out a record shift, producing 102 tons, and in September of the same year he raised the record to 227 tons.

Alexei Stakhanov with a gift from Stalin

A note about Stakhanov’s feat was accidentally seen by the People’s Commissar of Heavy Industry Sergo Ordzhonikidze, who, due to the low pace of the Second Five-Year Plan, left Moscow so as not to catch the eye of Stalin. A couple of days later, the Pravda newspaper published an article entitled “The Record of Miner Stakhanov,” which told about the feat of the Lugansk miner. Stakhanov was quickly noticed abroad. Time magazine even put a portrait of the miner on the cover. True, Stakhanov himself no longer worked at the mine, mainly speaking at rallies and party meetings. A leader in production, the media “ideal” of a communist man was not at all distinguished by exemplary behavior: together with his comrades he broke mirrors in the Metropol restaurant and caught fish in decorative pool, which caused extreme dissatisfaction with Stalin, who promised to change his surname to a more modest one if he did not correct himself.

Stakhanov on the cover of Time magazine

Active Stakhanovites and shock workers received various privileges and had a certain advantage in the hierarchy of distribution of public goods. Thus, a special elite of Soviet workers was formed, which later transformed into an independent social class - the scientific and technical intelligentsia. Opportunities opened up through drumming better life, it became a kind of social “elevator” for young man dreaming of a career. The most honored workers “from the machine” were promoted to positions of foremen, technicians and even engineers (practitioners), and were also sent to study at higher education institutions. educational establishments(the so-called “promoters”). So in the 1920s, the old leadership corps at all levels of management was replaced by young people who unconditionally supported Soviet power and unfailingly implemented all the guidelines of the party.

Overall a successful strategy, however, resulted in a significant reduction specific gravity managers with senior and middle special education, which negatively affected the quality indicators of production and the speed of implementation of certain scientific achievements. According to the All-Union Population Census of 1939, in the USSR only half of all employees had the appropriate vocational training, which reduced the effectiveness of management of all processes of socio-economic life.

Stakhanov died in 1977 in a psychiatric hospital from alcoholism

One of the “promoters” was Mikhail Eliseevich Putin, the actual initiator of shock socialist competition. Since childhood, Putin has tried a number of simple professions: a boy in a coffee shop, a delivery boy in a shoe shop, a watchman, a port loader. So he acquired sufficient physical strength, and therefore in the winter he began to work as an athlete-wrestler in the circus - he really liked this spectacle. IN circus career Putin had an interesting episode when the future drummer of the production took part in a classic fight with the invincible Ivan Poddubny and was able to hold out for seven whole minutes. Having become a member of the RCP (b) according to Lenin’s call (mass recruitment into the party of everyone from among the workers and poor peasants in 1924), after graduation Civil War Putin entered the Krasny Vyborgets plant, where his work made him famous.

Portrait of Mikhail Eliseevich Putin

In January 1929, Lenin’s article “How to Organize a Competition,” written by him back in 1918, was published in the Pravda newspaper. The publication was followed by speeches by activists, including those inspired and directed by party and trade union organizations, in which they called for increasing production standards, saving raw materials, and improving quality indicators. Soon, the Leningrad correspondent point of Pravda received the task of finding an enterprise where it was possible to significantly reduce the cost of production, and most importantly, to find a worthy, exemplary brigade that would agree to become the “initiator of mass socialist competition.” March 15, 1929 at main newspaper In the 1960s, a note appeared about the competition of pipe cutters at the Krasny Vyborzhets plant - Mikhail Putin became widely known, and the relay of socialist competitions began to rapidly spread throughout the country.

In fact, the drummers were supposed to become real examples implementation of communist ideas about the formation of a new type of man. The young Soviet state needed a different type of citizen, one who would meet the demands of a society at the forefront of the world communist movement. During this period it was written a large number of works that describe the ideal of the new man and list his main qualities: love for society and its members, willingness to fight for one’s ideals, revolutionary spirit, activity and desire to participate in change, discipline, erudition, technical abilities and willingness to subordinate one’s interests to the interests of society . Such a hero is well known from textbook works school curriculum: Alexander Fadeev’s novels “Destruction” and “Young Guard”, Alexander Serafimovich and his “Iron Stream”, Nikolai Ostrovsky and his autobiographical diary novel “How the Steel Was Tempered”. Of course, the characters described in these works often remained only a figment of the imagination of their creators.