The Socialist Emulations
The socialist emulations, also known as social competitions, are a mechanism that was practiced in the USSR which was used to encourage growth and productivity in the workplace.
As is well known to all, the Soviet economy was based mainly on a centralized state-controlled economy.
While capitalist countries encouraged production growth and labor productivity through the principle of free market competition, the Soviet Union lacked a free market economy. Thus, arose a need to produce an alternative and artificial mechanism to encourage competition in markets and increase productivity.
Consequently, the mechanism of socialist emulations was implemented with regard to various fields: competition in labor productivity took place in government systems, state enterprises, health systems, educational systems, cultural institutions, agriculture, offices, security apparatuses etc.
Background and characteristics
The socialist emulation took place on a voluntary basis, in all places of work or service of the soviet citizen, excluding military service.
Soviet trade union committees were entrusted with managing the emulations.
An essential element of these emulations was the "socialist duties".
Any employee who chose to join the emulation would assume social obligations which he would have to meet within a specified period of time; sometimes, the employee would even
assume socialist obligations on a larger scale than was expected of him.
The main guideline for the socialist duties, of course, was concerned workplace production and output.
The time at which the results of the socialist competition were calculated was usually determined on the dates when major Soviet holidays were celebrated or around marking important dates in Soviet history.
For example: Workers' Day, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin's birthday, the anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution and the anniversary of the establishment of the Soviet Union of 1922.
The winners and prizes
The winners were awarded material and social-moral prizes alike.
For example, the winners enjoyed financial rewards, commodities, or personal benefits that characterize a socialist system, such as tickets to resorts, permission to travel abroad, the right to receive housing or a car without having to wait in the main queue and so on.
Equally important were the social-moral rewards, which provided the winner with respect, admiration and an improved social status. On the individual level, the winner of the socialist competitions was awarded honorary diplomas, medals and badges.
From 1973-1980, the "Socialist Emulation Winner" award was included in the Labor department's medals list, and so winning the medal earned one the title of "work veteran", with all of its related rewards and rights.
On the collective level, work squads were awarded the "Socialist Emulation Winner" flag.
Socialist Emulation - social competitions Winner
Is a uniform and general Soviet award of the Soviet Union's trade union department. This award was granted to the winners of socialist emulations from 1973 to 1980.
Institutionalizing the "Socialist Emulation Winner" awards and medals
The uniform and general Soviet award of the "Socialist Emulation Winner" was founded upon joint resolutions of the 1. Central Communist Party Committee 2. Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union 3. Central Council of Trade Unions 4. Central Committee of the Leninist Communist Youth.
The design, content and form of the "Socialist Emulation Winner" award was confirmed by the presidential decisions of the Central Council of Trade Unions.
The "Social Competition Winner" medal badge for 1976-1973
These medal badges were established and approved by the Central Committee of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, the Central Committee of the Central Council of Trade Unions and the Komsomol Central Committee.
Medal badge 1973: On January 5, 1973.
Medal badge 1974: On January 7, 1974.
Medal badge 1975: January 9, 1975.
Medal badge 1976: January 21, 1976
The "Social Emulation Winner" medal badge for 1977- 1980:
From 1977 until 1980, the medal badge was established and approved under the Tenth Five-Year Plan, by the Presidential Order of the Central Council of Trade Unions on April 8, 1977.
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