Alexei Stakhanov | |
|---|---|
 Stakhanov in 1938 | |
| Born | Alexei Grigorevich Stakhanov (1906-01-03)3 January 1906 |
| Died | 5 November 1977(1977-11-05) (aged 71) |
| Occupation | Miner |
| Years active | 1933–74 |
| Known for | The beginnings of theStakhanovite movement |
| Political party | Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1936–74) |
| Awards | Order of Lenin (2 times) Order of the Red Banner of Labour Hero of Socialist Labour (1970) |
Alexei Grigoryevich Stakhanov (Russian:Алексе́й Григо́рьевич Стаха́нов,IPA:[stɐˈxanəf],Alekséy Grigór'yevich Stakhánov; 3 January 1906 – 5 November 1977) was aSovietminer,Hero of Socialist Labour (1970), and a member of theCPSU (1936).
He became a celebrity in 1935 as part of what became known as theStakhanovite movement—a campaign intended to increase worker productivity and to demonstrate the superiority of thesocialist economic system.[1]
Alexei Stakhanov was born in Lugovaya (now inIzmalkovsky District), a village in theLivensky Uezd of theOrel Governorate of theRussian Empire in 1906. In his early 20s, he began working in a mine called "Tsentralnaia-Irmino" (literally Central Irmino) inKadiivka (Donbas). In 1933, Stakhanov became ajackhammer operator. In 1935, he took a local course in mining. On 31 August 1935, it was reported that he had mined a record 102 tonnes ofcoal in 5 hours and 45 minutes (14 times his quota).[2]
On 19 September, Stakhanov was reported to have set a new record by mining 227 tonnes of coal in a single shift.[3] His example was held up in newspapers and posters as a model for others to follow, and he appeared on the cover ofTime magazine in theUnited States.[4][5][6]
In 1936–1941, Stakhanov was a student of theIndustrial Academy in Moscow. In 1941–1942, he was appointed director of mine No. 31 inKaraganda. Between 1943 and 1957, Stakhanov worked in the Ministry of Coal Industry of the USSR. In 1957–1959, he was deputy director of theChistiakovantratsit trust, and after that, assistant chief engineer at the mine management office No. 2/43 of theTorezantratsit trust until his retirement in 1974.
Stakhanov's records set an example throughout the country and gave birth to theStakhanovite movement, where workers who exceeded production targets could become "Stakhanovites".[7]
Stakhanov was adeputy of theSupreme Soviet of the Soviet Union of the first convocation. He was awarded twoOrders of Lenin,Order of the Red Banner of Labour, and numerous medals. The last Sunday of August was designated "Coal Miner's Day", also apparently in his honor.
At some point Stakhanov developed problems with alcohol and came to lose his Order of Lenin and party card during a drunken brawl.[8]
He died in 1977 at the age of 71. The town ofKadiivka in easternUkraine where he started his work was renamed Stakhanov in his honour in 1978.
The validity of Stakhanov's record has been called into question. In 1985,The New York Times printed a story alleging that though Stakhanov had indeed succeeded in his feat, it was only because the Communist Party had arranged the event as a way of boosting public morale, with many other miners working to help Stakhanov beat the mining record.[9]
TheTimes quoted the chief of the Tsentralnaia-Irmino mine branch of the Party, Konstantin G. Petrov, as saying that "I suppose Stakhanov need not have been the first... It could have been anybody else. In the final analysis, it was not the individual face-worker who determined whether the attempt to break the record would succeed, but the new system of coal extraction."[10]
In 1988, the Soviet newspaperKomsomolskaya Pravda claimed that the widely cited achievements of Stakhanov were puffery. The paper insisted that Stakhanov had used a number of helpers on support works, while the throughput was tallied for him alone. Still, according to the newspaper, Stakhanov's approach had eventually led to increased productivity by means of better work organization, including specialization and task sequencing.[11]
It has also been claimed that his record was beaten byAlija Sirotanović ofYugoslavia and Sergej Scemuk ofUkraine.[12]
According to a widespread story, Stakhanov was given the name Andrei at birth, but the telegram reporting his record only contained his initial, and the editors ofPravda reported his name as Alexei. Rather than admit such a high-profile mistake, authorities decided to replace his passport and other official documents, changing his name to Alexei.[1] However, his daughter dismissed this as false in a 2012 interview, stating that she had never heard any family members ever call her father Andrei, nor did the name run in the family.[13]
Stakhanov had two partners and six children:[14]
