New Wonder: Stakhanov, Working Class Hero

One for us socialists

A first working class hero. It was reported in August 1935 that he had mined a record 102 tons of coal in six hours (14 times his quota). He was celebrated as a "model Soviet worker" as part of an effort to encourage workers and peasants to surpass their own quotas. In Soviet history and iconography, a Stakhanovite (or shock-worker) follows the example of Aleksei Grigorievich Stakhanov, employing hard work or Taylorist efficiencies to over-achieve on the job. Stakhanov and other "model workers" were promoted in the press, literature, and film, and other workers were urged to emulate their heroic examples.

And comerad, remember to work hardest for our common goal! May Stalin be with you!

Have Fun, Ukas

Great splash!
It's good to commemorate the workers. During war, the homefront is often at least as important as the frontlines, and during peace time the workers are really what build and maintain nations.
Any thoughts on what it will actually do in game play?

Hero of the working class

One is reminded of Animal Farm and Boxer...

zulu9812 said:

One is reminded of Animal Farm and Boxer...

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You cynic! In fact Stakhanov lived until 1977, if memory serves. However, his mining achievements were the product of Soviet truth-tinkering: his heroic quota-exceeding was calculated by adding all his colleagues' totals to his own. The idea was to encourage Soviet workers to miraculously excessive production, rather like Mao's Great Leap Forward thirty years later. It was no more successful than Mao's attempt, but a lot less damaging, since unlike Mao the Soviet government realised pretty quickly that it was impossible and gave up on the attempt.

So I suppose the wonder would give you greatly increased production, but only for a short period. I'm not sure it would be possible to implement that, however...

Plotinus said:

You cynic! In fact Stakhanov lived until 1977, if memory serves. However, his mining achievements were the product of Soviet truth-tinkering: his heroic quota-exceeding was calculated by adding all his colleagues' totals to his own. The idea was to encourage Soviet workers to miraculously excessive production, rather like Mao's Great Leap Forward thirty years later. It was no more successful than Mao's attempt, but a lot less damaging, since unlike Mao the Soviet government realised pretty quickly that it was impossible and gave up on the attempt.

So I suppose the wonder would give you greatly increased production, but only for a short period. I'm not sure it would be possible to implement that, however...

Click to expand...

Stakhanov was a product of Stalin era propaganda but also the spirit of modern socialism at the time. On the other hand country was recovering from a long civil war and also hundreds of years of poverty before the revolution and people wanted to believe in the new system. These kind of propaganda tricks helped greatly in the progress, even if not true.

Mao's great leap was only effective as a show of power, and the effect was more internal. It was damaging because it turned productivity to destruction, Stakhanovism was planned and used only to enhance normal production.


Besides, we all see very effective propaganda tricks every day in our countries. Lying and exaggeration are means to make us trust to our system and keep going every day. Question is, do you have liberty to express your views about those means and education to notice them and food to eat so you have a chance to study? People of the Soviet Union were taught to believe to omnipotence of their Nation and system. But I imagine if a person from 1920's Soviet Union would be brought to our day to hear all this criss-cross bs he would simply go nuts.

But to the point:

Make the wonder require communist govt and communism tech (I use tech called propaganda). Any time you change the govt also benefits of the wonder will disappear, so you won't make use of Stakhanov when you are republic or fascist etc. You can also make it obsolete with some modern era tech. I'll probably give it 4 culture and 4 production. Or then it can give coal mines to every city with coal resource within city limits.

Nice splash!

Wasn't there a movie about this guy?

Restrict it to communist governments and make it go obsolete with a tech not to far behind it.Maybe it should give +25% production to every city (through adding a building to city).But than it has to be a great wonder... It comes down to the question if there should be a one-city-only or empire effect...?

It was a major propaganda phenomena and touched the whole Soviet Union, so empire effect imo. Great wonder is appropriate, because it's named after a single person and one one civ can build it.

I can add "Stakhanovist miner union" improvement to go with the wonder. One could restrict the effect so, that there will be different union requiring coal resource like Stakhanovist coal miner union. THen it can be built only to cities which has coal within radius.

why not use it as a palace wonder, like forbidden palace, but restricted to communism.
this would reduce waste in ALL cities as waste is communal