Yanks for Stalin
Interview Transcript

Vladimir Posner      (cont)

Q Tell me about the shock workers.

A The term shock worker, in English, tends to be immediately a very negative thing. A shock worker, first of all who does he shock and what is he shocking.  It is kind of like shock troops or something. In Russian, the word"udarnek", while it can be translated as shock worker, really meant, simply, someone who performed his work above and beyond what was demanded.  Someone who was willing to work more and who tried to find more productive ways, not because he was being paid more, but because it was his sense of patriotism and duty that led him to do this.  He became, "(Russian)", which, again, if you do a literal translation, it is," Shock worker of Communist labor". Communist labor being labor that is conscientious labor.  Labor that is not just the boss told you to do it, but you are doing it for your country. You are doing it for yourself.  That was a movement that was actually not induced from above.  It began as a popular one, picked up immediately and used propaganda wise.  Gradually, becoming as almost everything happened in Soviet Union, suddenly it was more propaganda than reality because the minute it came into the hands of the propaganda apparatus and it began to be used for ideological purposes, gradually the real passion that had originally been involved, was killed, smothered and died.  So, then the games were played about this guy being a shock worker and hero, and Socialist laborer, and blah blah blah, but, in reality it didn't mean a damn thing.  Now, there was all kinds of aspects to this. One of which, was being a Steckanovite. This came from the name of a man, his name was Steckoneff, who was a coalminer. Who, one day performed some kind of miracle in the sense of how much coal his unit, his brigade, produced in whatever it was.  He announced that he was doing this for the country and it was called the Steckanovite movement and so people became one of those. (Russian), I do this work. They were praised and celebrated all over. As a matter of fact, this man who was just a regular normal coal miner was gradually promoted to the post of prime minister of coal mining of the U.S.S.R..  He failed miserably at the job.  He had no qualification to do that, but again, it was the propaganda thing, see.  A guy from the coal mine becomes the minister, a member of government, which in an ideological sense was a very powerful message, but, economically a total disaster. But, while I say this laughing, I have to say that originally these movements were grassroot movements, by patriotic people who really wanted to contribute to their country. What happened in this country, and I think that is where you have the real tragedy,was the gradual disappointment of that average man and woman who initially would have sacrificed, and did sacrifice everything they had for something they believed in and then gradually came to understand that everything they believed in was a lie.  I can think of no greater tragedy than what happened to the people of this country. Because, had they never believed than that would have been fine, but, the loss of the profound belief, after having given your life to it, creates a kind of cynical despair that today you still find very much in this country.

Q That's great, really interesting. You said why earlier, if you think it's enough that we have already done, then...

A One of the things people always talk about when they talk about the Soviet Union, are the purges, the Stalin purges, which began big time in 1936 and lasted for three years, 36, 37, and 38.  Although we have to admit that red terror, as it was called, began much earlier. It began under Lenin.  The first concentration camps, or the first labor camps were not created by the Nazis in Germany, they were created here. Now, they did not perhaps have the same goal, because finally in Germany what they created were death camps. Here, the aim was not to kill. The aim was to make this people work until they die, but, basically, make them work for free, slave labor is what it was.  The purges, as so far as Stalin was concerned, were aimed at doing away with people that could threaten his power. There is nothing more to it than that.  The people who he got rid of, whether it was (name), or, you name them, the military, they were people who for whatever reason, and there were reasons, he saw as being potential or real threats to his power. It just spread like a pyramid, but not from the bottom up, but from the top down it just sort of took in everybody and the whole country was looking for enemies of the people. In fact, different regions of the country, different administrative sections had plans.  "We found twenty enemies of the people" says Mr. Comrade Y. "Well," says Mr. Comrade Z, "We found twenty-two. Ha. We have done better than you have".  I am not kidding you. So, many innocent people died or were sent to concentration camps just because they fitted the bill.  It was like a hysteria that went on for a long time. Now, there were foreigners in this mix....

 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5