Hero of socialist labor
Hero of Socialist Labor ( Russian Герой Социалистического Труда / Geroi Sozialistitscheskowo Truda , scientific transliteration. Geroj Socialističeskogo Truda ; scherzh acronym. Gertruda ) is a title given to individuals who through outstanding and innovative achievements on the economic development of the USSR earned done had. It was one of the highest honors in the country and was awarded along with the Order of Lenin .
history
The Supreme Soviet of the USSR introduced the title by decree on December 27, 1938. Before that, the award was called “Hero of Work” since its introduction in 1928.
On May 22, 1940, a separate hammer and sickle medal in gold on a red ribbon was introduced, which was awarded together with the Order of Lenin and a corresponding certificate. If the award was given a second time to the same person, they received a second hammer and sickle medal. As a rule, a bronze bust was also made, which was placed in the hometown of the honored person. The award with the number 1 was given to Josef Stalin on December 20, 1939, the day before his 60th birthday .
Only the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet could withdraw this title from a person. This happened, for example, to the physicist and Nobel Prize winner Andrei Sakharov , who lost his three "Hero of Socialist Labor" awards in January 1980 after twice criticizing the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in Western media .
By September 1, 1971, 16,245 people (including 4,497 women) had received this award. 105 people, including 25 women, have been honored several times. Until its abolition when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the title had been awarded over 19,000 times.
Similar awards
There was an order with this name in socialist times in Albania and Romania . In the GDR the award was called the hero of work .
In Romania there was also the golden medal "Sickle and Hammer" , with which people who had made a contribution to building socialism were honored.
In March 2013, more than 20 years after the end of the Soviet Union , Russia's President Putin introduced the “ Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation ” award by decree. In addition to a certificate, the bearers also receive a gold medal weighing 15.25 grams.
supporting documents
- ↑ Herwig Kraus: Soviet Russian first names: A lexicon . Walter De Gruyter, Berlin 2013, p. 80 ( online ).
- ↑ Putin wants to honor “Heroes of Work” again, in: SZ of March 29, 2013.