Workers under Stalin

• The Stakhanovite Movement inspired many workers to break production records and become "Heroes of Soviet Labour".
• From 1931, wage differentials, bonuses and extra rewards were introduced in order to inspire workers.
• By the end of the 1930s, the wage differential between the highest and lowest paid workers was bigger than in America.
• Stakhanovite workers were often resented by their colleagues.
• Stakhanovites were used as a justification for increasing the "labour norms" expected of ordinary workers each day.

  • In 1936, the daily level of production was increased by 10%.
• Living conditions were cramped, sanitation was limited and basic amenities such as water supply were unpredicatable.
• Although production of consumer goods increased in the Second Five Year Plan and rationing was abolished, prices remained high and the standard of living improved little.
• With the increased focus on defence production in the Third Five Year Plan, living standards dropped again after 1937.
• A new hierarchy emerged in the 1930s as Communist Party membership entitled you to better housing and higher rations than ordinary citizens.
• The lifestyle of a senior Communist was quite comfortable in contrast to that of most of the ordinary people.
• Just under 10% of the population were party members throughout the 1930s.
• The new party elite became increasingly self-serving and closed off from the rest of the population.
• To became a party member, you had to be nominated by an existing member and serve a trial period to prove your "suitability".
• Terror and the fear of punishment were constant features of life in the USSR in the 1930s.

  • This may well have been a more significant factor in motivating people at work than any of the propaganda that the regime produced.
• Fear of the consequences of not meeting your targets for both workers and managers was a very real and daily worry for millions.