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[UKRAINIAN RAILWAYS: A TRAIN RACE] Stakhanovsko-krivonosovskoye dvizheniye na Yuzhnoy [i.e. The Stakhanov-Krivonos Movement on the Southern Railways]

Kharkiv: 4-ia Gostipografiya Transzheldorizdat, 1935. Item #1619

[51] leaves printed on rectos + 15 leaves with mounted illustrations. 18,5x27 cm. In original red cloth with gilt lettering and image of the badge ‘To Shock Worker of Stalin’s Call’ (mass prize for Soviet railway employees). Mint.
Extremely rare.
This propaganda edition served both as an inspiration and expression of admiration for delegates of the Moscow Congress of Railway Shock Workers. The publication includes a rare group picture of delegates of the Southern Railways.
The edition was designed by I. Oleinik with photographs provided by V. Afonina. The title page was imprinted via a template. The same technique was used for blue decorations depicting trains or railroads. Separate leaves feature reproductions of works by O. Dmitriev, V. Levandovskii, N. Khlomenok, N. Esperov, N. Troshin, etc.
The publication contains texts dedicated to a number of outstanding Soviet shock workers, including Alexey Stakhanov, a miner who became the most famous shock worker among countless enthusiasts of socialist competition, and Petr Krivonos, a train driver who exceeded the standard speed despite the same fuel consumption. Krivonos worked for the Donets Railways, which held a special place in developing Ukrainian heavy industry. He served as an inspiration for other employees of the Southern Railways, launching a competition among train drivers of 52 different routes.
The edition comprises photographs of record-breaking drivers and coal miners striving to load 80 thousand wagons daily. The publication also includes photos of railway conductors, dispatchers, and constructors of car-production enterprises.
One of the photomontages combines 13 heads of shock workers placed in a row like wagons behind the heads of Stalin and Lazar Kaganovich (1893-1991). The latter led the People’s Commissariat of Communication Routes of the Soviet Union and was mostly known for his harsh treatment and execution of those deemed threats to Stalin’s regime. Another montage includes various issues of the Ukrainian newspaper Bil’shovik Pivdennoi [i.e. Bolshevik of the Southern One]. The edition also features an impressive rating showing the percentage results of four machinists and their photographs. One of the last mounted illustrations is a caricature of the train ‘Krivonos Movement’ rushing towards and colliding with the figure of a man named ‘old traditions’.
No copies found in Worldcat.

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