The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and other

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...

countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievements in Soviet industry and culture. It provided a similar status to the title of

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

, which was awarded for heroic deeds, but differed in that it was not awarded to foreign citizens.

History

Posters, Nevsky Prospect, Leningrad (31239801283)

The Title "Hero of Socialist Labour" was introduced by

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...

of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union on December 27, 1938. Originally, Heroes of Socialist Labour were awarded the highest

decoration Decoration may refer to: * Decorative arts * A house painter and decorator's craft * An act or object intended to increase the beauty of a person, room, etc. * An award that is a token of recognition to the recipient intended for wearing Othe ...

of the

, the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

, and a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. In order to distinguish the Heroes of Socialist Labour from other Order of Lenin recipients, the "

Hammer and Sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industr ...

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

was introduced by decree of the Presidium on 22 May 1940, to accompany the Order of Lenin and diploma. The first recipient of the award was Joseph Stalin, awarded by the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...

designer Vasily Degtyaryov (2 January 1940). The third (and the last before the onset of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

) was issued to nine weapons designers, including Fedor Tokarev,

Boris Shpitalny Boris Gavriilovich Shpitalny (russian: Борис Гавриилович Шпитальный; – 6 February 1972) was a Soviet designer of aircraft guns and cannons and one of the first people awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor. Ca ...

, Nikolai Polikarpov, Alexander Yakovlev and . Post-1945 recipients include

Mikhail Koshkin Mikhail Ilyich Koshkin ( Russian: Михаи́л Ильи́ч Ко́шкин; 3 December 1898, Brynchagi, Yaroslavl Oblast – 26 September 1940) was a Soviet tank designer, chief designer of the famous T-34 medium tank. The T-34 was the most pr ...

Mikhail Kalashnikov Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov ( rus, Михаи́л Тимофе́евич Кала́шников, p=kɐˈlaʂnʲɪkəf; 10 November 1919 – 23 December 2013) was a Soviet and Russian lieutenant general, inventor, military engineer, writer, ...

, Nikolay Afanasyev,

Emilian Bukov Emilian Bucov or Bukov (; in Kiliya, Odessa Oblast, Ukraine – 17 October 1984) was a Soviet and Moldavian writer and poet, recognized with the State Prize of the Moldavian SSR and honorary title of People's Writer of the Moldavian SSR (1982 ...

Alexander Tselikov Alexander Ivanovich Tselikov (russian: Александр Иванович Це́ликов; 20 April 1904, in Moscow – 28 October 1984, in Moscow) was a Soviet metallurgist, industrial machines designer, and Hero of Socialist Labor (1964, 198 ...

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

, German Korobov,

Peter Andreevich Tkachev Peter Andreevich Tkachev was a Russian weapons engineer for TsNIITochMash. He is known to have worked on and modified various weapons such as the AO-38, AO-46, AO-62 and AO-63 assault rifles as well as developing the Balanced Automatics Recoi ...

, and

Andrei Tupolev Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev (russian: Андрей Николаевич Туполев; – 23 December 1972) was a Russian and later Soviet aeronautical engineer known for his pioneering aircraft designs as Director of the Tupolev Design ...

. By September 1, 1971, 16,245 people (11,748 men, 4,497 women) had been awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labour. One hundred and five people (80 men, 25 women) have been awarded multiple "Hammer and Sickle" medals. By 1991, at the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, over 20,000 people had been awarded the title. In the history of the USSR, 16 people became Heroes of Socialist Labour three times: # Anatoly Alexandrov #

Boris Vannikov Boris Lvovich Vannikov (russian: Бори́с Льво́вич Ва́нников; 26 August 1897 – 22 February 1962) was a Soviet government official and three-star general. Vannikov was People's Commissar for Defense Industry from December ...

# Nikolay Dukhov # Yakov Zeldovich # Sergey Ilyushin #

Mstislav Keldysh Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh (russian: Мстисла́в Все́володович Ке́лдыш; – 24 June 1978) was a Soviet mathematician who worked as an engineer in the Soviet space program. He was the academician of the Academy ...

Dinmukhamed Kunayev Dinmukhamed Akhmetuly "Dimash" Kunaev (also spelled Kunayev; kk, Дінмұхаммед (Димаш) Ахметұлы Қонаев, Dınmūhammed (Dimaş) Ahmetūly Qonaev, russian: Динмухаме́д Ахме́дович (Минлиахме ...

Igor Kurchatov Igor Vasil'evich Kurchatov (russian: Игорь Васильевич Курчатов; 12 January 1903 – 7 February 1960), was a Soviet physicist who played a central role in organizing and directing the former Soviet program of nuclear weapo ...

# Andrei Sakharov # #

# Hamroqul Tursunqulov # Yulii Khariton #

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

Konstantin Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko uk, Костянтин Устинович Черненко, translit=Kostiantyn Ustynovych Chernenko (24 September 1911 – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician and the seventh General Secretary of the Commu ...

# Kirill Shchelkin In March 2013, Vladimir Putin issued a decree establishing a title considered to be its successor, "

Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Труда Российской Федерации) is a state award of Russia. The title is awarded to citizens of Russia for special services in labour to the state and its people asso ...

Statute

The Honorific title "Hero of Socialist Labour" was awarded by the Presidium to citizens who made significant contributions to the advancement of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

industry,

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

ation,

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exc ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scien ...

, or otherwise served as exemplary models of the Soviet worker. Heroes of Socialist Labour who attained further exceptional achievements were awarded a second "Hammer and Sickle" medal and

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

busts of the Heroes were to be constructed in their hometowns to mark the occasion. Thrice Heroes of Socialist Labour were to have their busts placed near the planned Palace of Soviets, but this was never implemented as the Palace of Soviets was never built. Only the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The insignia "Hero of Socialist Labour", like the "Hero of the Soviet Union" Gold Star Medal, is always worn in full on the left side of the chest and in the presence of other orders and medals, placed above them. If worn with honorific titles of the Russian Federation, the latter have precedence.

Award description

The title "Hero of Socialist Labour" was designed by the artist A. Pomansky. Its Gold Hammer and Sickle insignia was a five-pointed star with smooth dihedral rays on the obverse, the diameter of the circumscribed star was 33.5 mm. In the centre of the obverse, a relief hammer and sickle respectively of 14 and 13 mm. It weighed 15.25 grams. The reverse was plain and was surrounded by a slightly raised rim. In the centre, the relief inscription "Hero of Socialist Labour" (russian: "Герой Социалистического Труда") in 2mm high letters, the award serial number was inscribed just above in 1mm high numbers. The insignia was secured to a standard 25 × 15 mm Soviet square mount by a ring through the suspension loop. The mount was covered by a red silk moiré ribbon. On the reverse of the mount was a threaded stub and nut to secure the award to clothing.

References

* Oruzhie Magazine, Page 9, Issue 5 1998 & Issue 6 1998. * "Солдат удачи" номер 9 (72) 2000 Д.Ширяев "Кто изобрел автомат Калашникова"

External links

History of the award

Legal Library of the USSR
{{Authority control Civil awards and decorations of the Soviet Union Awards established in 1938 Awards disestablished in 1991 Honorary titles of the Soviet Union 1938 establishments in the Soviet Union 1991 disestablishments in the Soviet Union Business and industry awards Hero (title)

History

Statute

Award description

See also

References

External links