Hard work pays

It seems like a throwback to the Soviet era. Russian president Vladimir Putin has announced a competition to find Russia’s best workers.

Putin told a cabinet meeting that there would be cash prizes for the winning welder, stone mason, electrician, miner and lorry driver. Russia’s Ministry of Health and Social Development has already started selecting regional candidates through employers and trade unions.

In the Soviet Union, the best workers got cash bonuses and had their achievements trumpeted on honours boards. The most famous of them was miner Alexei Stakhanov, who set a record for coal extraction in 1935. In Putin’s version, the winner in each category will win $4,000, and prizes for first and second runners up will be $2,800 and $1,200, respectively.