Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed an order establishing a "Hero of Labor" award for Russia.
A press release from Putin's office on March 29 said the award was being established "to raise the prestige of selfless and conscientious labor."
The award existed in Soviet times.
First created in 1921, the "Hero of Labor" award was given to exceptional workers in Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), but in 1927 it was expanded and given to outstanding laborers across the Soviet Union.
In 1938 the title of the award was changed to "Hero of Socialist Labor" and its first recipient was Josef Stalin.
Nikita Khrushchev and Kazakhstan's Communist Party leader Dinmuhammad Kunaev won the award three times, as did nuclear physicist, later rights activist Andrei Sakharov.
Sakharov's awards were later stripped from him.
A press release from Putin's office on March 29 said the award was being established "to raise the prestige of selfless and conscientious labor."
The award existed in Soviet times.
First created in 1921, the "Hero of Labor" award was given to exceptional workers in Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), but in 1927 it was expanded and given to outstanding laborers across the Soviet Union.
In 1938 the title of the award was changed to "Hero of Socialist Labor" and its first recipient was Josef Stalin.
Nikita Khrushchev and Kazakhstan's Communist Party leader Dinmuhammad Kunaev won the award three times, as did nuclear physicist, later rights activist Andrei Sakharov.
Sakharov's awards were later stripped from him.
