The beginning of the Stakhanovite movement and an increase in the rates of production in the USSR

The thirties years later, decades were represented by Soviet official propaganda as a time of complete enthusiasm. Chronicles, interspersed with episodes of feature films, were full of shots of various records and achievements. Here is a plane with large white letters URSS on red wings flying to America, behind the wheel - Valery Chkalov. But the ice captivity is saved by the Chelyuskinites. Praskovia, or simply Pasha Angelina leads her tractor. Love Orlova goes to the ranks of smartly dressed workers and sings "March of enthusiasts." Somewhere the locomotives are flying, the "Song of the Counterman" by the composer Shostakovich is heard. Smiling cotton-growers in skullcaps. But the beginning of the Stakhanov movement, the year 1935.

In the Soviet Union of the 1930s, of course, something happened accidentally. But very rarely. And such an event as overfulfilment of the plan for coal mining by a single miner, and not just for some 10-20%, but for fourteen and a half times, simply could not be spontaneous. Imagine that the worker came to the mine early in the morning and decided to cut 102 tons instead of seven, hard. To such achievements it is necessary to prepare, and development gradually to raise. But A. G. Stakhanov took and indeed extorted a whole mountain of coal, at least so the official propaganda claimed. However, this was only the beginning of the Stakhanov movement, after 18 days it exceeded its record more than twice, breaking 227 tons. The labor of one person has practically become more effective thirty-two times, and this without any technical innovations and capital investments!

The beginning of the Stakhanov movement was to contribute to an increase in labor productivity at all enterprises of the USSR without exception. If we take for an axiom the labor feat of this miner, then the conclusion is that either he is a genius or the production rates are understated many times. But the entire Stalinist propaganda machine placed particular emphasis on the fact that Alexei Grigorievich was not at all a man of outstanding abilities, but a very ordinary worker. Moreover, it would be difficult to imagine him a genius. Despite the harsh and sometimes even brutal suppression of unwanted conversations, persistent rumors were circulating around the country about the conceit of a noble miner, his excessive passion for alcohol, certain problems in his family life and the fact that the record was "blown up", but in fact a whole team was working. However, the beginning of the Stakhanovite movement had already taken place, and countless benefits fell on the head of a recent simple worker. He became the owner of a new apartment, furnished with the best furniture, the owner of the car, the knight of the Order of Lenin, the highest award of the USSR. As for fame, then any celebrity of the present could envy her.

After another fight in the restaurant, Comrade Stalin warned the sagging hero about a possible change of name. The beginning of the Stakhanov movement had such an important propagandistic significance and was covered so large that its name was no longer subject to change. The noble miner was quiet, but he did not refuse from the bad habit of drinking, which, incidentally, did not prevent him from surviving to the age of 72. He met death in a mental hospital, where he was unsuccessfully treated for alcoholism.

Despite the fact that high-productivity labor was materially stimulated, for tens of millions of Soviet workers at that time there were few major disasters than the beginning of the Stakhanovite movement. The date of August 31, 1935 was the day of the birth of a new Soviet aristocracy - a workers' aristocracy. These workers no longer fell into the face, did not go to the machine tools, did not drive trucks and tractors. They had another job - to speak at rallies, meetings and solemn meetings. The fate of all the others was the fulfillment of the repeatedly raised standards of development to the sounds of the "March of enthusiasts."