Gleb Kosorukov: Heroes of Labour or 100 from the Stakhanov Mine

On 31 August 1935, Alexej Stakhanov, a jackhammer operator at Central-Irmino coal mine, mined a record 102 tons of coal in five hours and forty-five minutes (fourteen times his daily quota). The launch of an unprecedented state-run campaign for popularizing extraordinary labor achievements made Stakhanov a Soviet preeminent hero. Soon after, his portrait appeared on the cover of Time. For the first time a laborer had been elevated to worldwide fame for his performance at work. Since then th...