The Shock worker of Communist Labour ( rus, Ударник коммунистического труда, r=Udarnik kommunisticheskogo truda) was an official title of honour awarded 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 national ...

to those who displayed exemplary performance in labour discipline (''

udarnik An udarnik ( rus, уда́рник, p=ʊˈdarnʲɪk; English plural udarniks or udarniki), also known in English as a shock worker or strike worker (collectively known as shock brigades or a shock labour team) was a highly productive worker in th ...

s''). It was awarded with a badge and certificate, as well as a cash prize. The title of shock worker ('

') had existed at least since the 1930s. However, its promotion was developed in the 1950s as part of a competition in honour of the XXI Congress of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

, to encourage a communist attitude towards work and the creation of the material-technical basis for the development of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and education towards a

communist society In Marxist thought, a communist society or the communist system is the type of society and economic system postulated to emerge from technological advances in the productive forces, representing the ultimate goal of the political ideology of ...

. It was also awarded through the

Young Communist League The Young Communist League (YCL) is the name used by the youth wing of various Communist parties around the world. The name YCL of XXX (name of country) originates from the precedent established by the Communist Youth International. Examples of YC ...

. According to ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...

'', "the main feature of the competition for the title of Shock worker of Communist Labour - as stated in the Salutation of the CPSU Union Conference by participants of the foremost competition teams and Shock worker of Communist Labour - is that it is the organically combined struggle, based on the latest science and technology, to achieve the highest productivity and education of the New Man - the master of the country, which is constantly looking ahead, daring and thoughtful. Tying together the work, learning and life, this contest has an active influence on all aspects of life and human activities, and is an important factor in erasing significant differences between mental and physical labour."''

'', 28 May 1960, p. 1 The aims of the movement were as follows: # Fight for the new man # Education on the communist attitude toward work # Education on collectivist principles # Increase in professional skills # Combining work and study # Strengthening of labour discipline # Overcoming and improving poor working conditions # Acquisition of related professions # Improvement of product quality # Development of modern technology # Overcoming small proprietors, religion, and other remnants of the capitalist past # Improvement in morale and behaviour # Increased social activity among team members

References

Economy of the Soviet Union {{Award-stub

See also

References