August 30, 2015

Did Stakhanov Act Alone?


Did Stakhanov Act Alone?

It’s been 80 years since Alexei Stakhanov performed his incredible feat of productivity, and according to the Blagoveshchensk local newspaper Amurskaya Pravda, “the majority of those surveyed today know nothing of this hero of labor.” Reporter Nikolai Zeya, the son of a local miner, set out to remedy the situation.

It happened in Donbass, overnight between August 30-31, 1935. A coal miner named Alexei Stakhanov descended into the Tsentralnaya-Irmino coal mine, along with the mine’s party organizer, Konstantine Petrov, the regional party organizer, Miron Tyukanov, and the editor of the company newspaper, Nikolai Mikhailov. That night, Stakhanov used a jackhammer to mine 102 tons of coal, fourteen times the labor productivity standard in the USSR at the time. He even set a new world record for coal production.

Was this feat planned by Stakhanov himself, or was it an order handed down from above? The debate rages on. Newspapers at the time reported that, supposedly, Sergo Ordzhonikidze found out about the achievement of the miner from Donetsk and relayed the news to Stalin, who then “publicized” it. Much later the rumors went that Stalin was the actual initiator of this feat of labor. Some wrote that Stakhanov’s record was planned in advance: that night, he was aided by two assistants, who performed auxiliary tasks and whose names remained in obscurity. Most likely, that is exactly what happened – otherwise, why did two party organizers and a newspaper editor go down into the mine with Stakhanov?

There was, of course, much for show in this kind of work. I remember my father, who worked as a miner at the time, grumbling that future Stakhanovites were set up with favorable conditions so that they could overfulfill their quotas. Stakhanovite candidates were picked out in advance by management, and everything was thoroughly prepared for their records. Mikhail Dmitrievich Ovchinnikov, a man from our hometown about the same age as my father, who was then working in our goldmine as a rate-setter, told me that “[we] would choose areas with the loosest bedrock for boring, and there was a special team of helpers clearing the waste rock, always ready to replace the Stakhanovite-to-be’s tools, bring a glass of water, and so on.”

The memories of my father and Mikhail Ovchinnikov are fully confirmed by a telegram from the Amurzoloto Trust, dated 1936. “For successful implementation of our great Stalin’s campaign,” the telegram says, “immediately organize planning for practical targets, specifically: set objective to achieve new norms passed by the [Stakhanovite] conference, create conditions wherein Stakhanovites can achieve overfulfillment of quotas and be the vanguard of Stalin’s campaign, be vigilant, attentive to the smallest obstacles […] Require managers to immediately […] find suitable places for work […] Pay special attention to organization of personnel […] Require all managers in the region to work with clear discipline, real responsibility; remove anyone who opposes campaign from managerial positions […]”

The Stakhanovite movement became an integral part of the 1930’s. The newspapers wrote of Stakhanovites and other model workers, their portraits were hung on walls of honor, they received honorary certificates. The honors were welcomed, but the material benefits are also worth noting. In fact, for the time the incentives were quite hefty: a leather coat, a suit, a bicycle, household appliances, sums of money. For having good statistics, my father was awarded a grammophone. We kids loved our father’s award so much that we spent days on end playing records. My father’s sister, aunt Valya, who also worked in the mine, was “incentivized” with a spa vacation trip.

Translator: Eugenia Sokolskaya

Source: ampravda.ru

Image credit: hronos.ru

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955