Citizens of the USSR, who achieved outstanding creative success in any field of activity, were encouraged by the main prize of the country. The Stalin Prize was awarded to those who radically improved production methods, as well as to the creators of scientific theories, technologies, and outstanding examples of art (literature, theater, cinema, painting, sculpture, architecture).
Joseph Stalin
There was an award named after the leader for thirteen years - from 1940 to 1953, and was established a little earlier - in December 1939. The Stalin Prize did not have a state fund, the laureates were subsidized from the personal salary of I. V. Stalin, which was huge according to the status - his two positions were paid ten thousand rubles each monthly.
The prize fund was also roy alties for publishing the leader's books in the USSR and abroad, which were also many, and the payments in those days were rather big (Alexei Tolstoy even became the first Soviet millionaire). The Stalin Prize took verya lot of money, almost everything. That is why after the death of the leader, a meager amount remained on his savings book - nine hundred rubles, while the average salary of a worker often exceeded seven hundred.
History
In 1939, in December, the sixtieth birthday of the leader was officially celebrated, and in honor of this event a prize named after him appeared. In February 1940, the Council of People's Commissars already decided to establish prizes of one hundred thousand rubles (1st degree), fifty thousand rubles (2nd degree) and twenty-five thousand rubles (3rd degree) for the best literary works (prose, poetry, dramaturgy, literary criticism), as well as for achievements in other fields of art. In addition, the prize was awarded annually to figures who made a special contribution to science, culture, technology or the organization of production.
In 1941, the Stalin Prize was awarded to the very first laureates. The record holder for the number of Stalin Prizes awarded was S. V. Ilyushin, the famous aircraft designer, seven times marked by the special attention of the leader. Film directors Yu. A. Raizman and I. A. Pyriev, writer K. M. Simonov, aircraft designer A. S. Yakovlev, composer S. S. Prokofiev and some others received the award six times each. Actresses Marina Ladynina and Alla Tarasova became five-time winners of the Stalin Prize.
Institution
The USSR Stalin Prize (originally called the Stalin Prize) was established by two decrees. On December 20, 1939, the Council of People's Commissars decided: sixteen annual awards named afterStalin (100 thousand rubles) to award scientists and artists for particularly outstanding work in the following areas: technical, physical and mathematical, biological, chemical, medical, agricultural, economic, philosophical, legal and historical and philological sciences, painting, music, sculpture, theatrical art, architecture, cinematography.
There were also ten awards of the first degree, twenty - the second, thirty - the third degree for the best inventions, plus three awards of the first degree, five - the second and ten - the third degree for special achievements in the field of military knowledge. A separate decree regarding the writers who were awarded the annual Stalin Prize was adopted in February 1940, and it indicated that four prizes of the first degree were due to winners in each type of literary activity: prose, poetry, literary criticism, dramaturgy.
Changes
The size of the Stalin Prize in rubles and the number of laureates have changed many times, and never downward, on the contrary - instead of one laureate of the first degree, for example, already in 1940 there were three in each nomination. In 1942, the premium (first degree) increased to two hundred thousand rubles. In addition, in 1949 a new one appeared - the International "For the Strengthening of Peace Among Nations". He distributed the prizes directly to the Council of People's Commissars, in which two special committees were created: one worked on awarding prizes in science, military knowledge and invention, and the second de alt with literature andart.
At first, only new works that were completed in a given year were celebrated. Applicants who finalized their works in terms later than mid-October were included in the lists of the next year. Then the deadlines were revised, and the winners could be people who deserved the award for work over the past six to seven years. Thus, those who were awarded the Stalin Prize found themselves in favorable conditions. Many testimonies indicate that Iosif Vissarionovich took the most direct part in the distribution of prizes in his name (and his own finances), sometimes the decision was made almost individually.
Liquidation
After Stalin's death, the will was not found, so publication fees could not be used to encourage laureates. After 1954, the Stalin Prize ceased to exist. Then the notorious campaign to eradicate the cult of the leader began.
In 1956, the Lenin Prize was established, which in fact replaced the Stalin Prize. Laureates of the Stalin Prize after 1966 changed diplomas and badges of honor. Even the name was systematically changed everywhere, in encyclopedias and reference books, the Stalin Prize began to be called the State Prize of the USSR. Information about the winners turned out to be mystified and dosed.
Separation rules
There was a special resolution of the Council of People's Commissars on the fair distribution of the prize between several participants in the work for which it was awarded. If two people (co-authors) were awarded one prize, then the amount was divided equally. For three, the distribution was different: the leader receivedhalf, and two performers - a quarter of the total amount. If there were a lot of people, then the leader received a third, the rest was equally divided in the team.
The first winners of the Stalin Prize in physics - P. L. Kapitsa, in mathematics - A. N. Kolmogorov, in biology - T. D. Lysenko, in medicine - A. A. Bogomolets, V. P. Filatov, N. N. Burdenko, in geology - V. A. Obruchev, the famous gunsmith V. A. Degtyarev was noted for inventions, in aircraft design - S. A. Lavochkin, in painting - A. M. Gerasimov, in sculpture - V. I. Mukhina.
The designer of Kyiv and Komsomolskaya metro stations, architect D. N. Chechulin, was also awarded the Stalin Prize. A. N. Tolstoy received it for the book "Peter the Great", M. A. Sholokhov - for the novel "Quiet Don", and the playwright N. F. Pogodin was awarded after staging the play "The Man with a Gun".
How papers were reviewed
The work of the scientific warehouse was considered preliminary with the involvement of scientists, expert commissions of practitioners, and even entire research institutes, corresponding to the speci alty. Then the assessment turned out to be more complete and comprehensive with the issuance of a special opinion for the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.
If necessary, representatives of research institutes and scientific organizations were present at the meetings of the Committee. Decisions were made by closed ballot voting.
Badge of Honor
After receiving the award, each laureate received the corresponding title and honorary badge of the laureateThe Stalin Prize, which had to be worn on the right side next to the orders. It was made of silver in the form of a convex oval, covered with white enamel and bordered on the bottom with a gold laurel wreath. The enamel depicted the sunrise - golden rays, against which a red enamel star with a golden rim shone at the top. The inscription in gold letters read: "To the Laureate of the Stalin Prize."
The top of the oval was framed by a corrugated ribbon of blue enamel with gold trim, on which was written "USSR". A silver and gilded plate, to which a badge of honor was attached through an eyelet and a ring, was also with an inscription: it indicated in Arabic numerals the year the prize was awarded. The publication in the press about the laureates of the current year always appeared on December 21 - the birthday of I. V. Stalin.
War
In the terrible years of the war, this high award also found those who distinguished themselves, since the creative intelligentsia worked like never before - in a powerful patriotic impulse and with enduring initiative. Soviet scientists, innovators, and inventors were well aware that it was now that the country needed their work more than during times of peace and tranquility. Even 1941 brought the greatest achievements of the intelligentsia in almost all areas of life.
Industry was reorganized on a war footing, raw material resources expanded, production capacity increased. The Stalin Prize of the first degree was awarded to the work of a group of academicians under the leadership of the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences V. L.metallurgy, energy, building materials and everything else. The result has been a huge expansion in all kinds of industries.
N. D. Zelinsky did a lot for defense chemistry. He also received this award. Professor M. V. Keldysh and Candidate of Technical Sciences E. P. Grossman worked hard for the Soviet aircraft industry: they developed the theory of elastic vibrations and came up with a method for calculating aircraft for flutter, for which they were awarded the Stalin Prize, 2nd degree.
Dmitry Shostakovich
Outstanding in terms of creative power, the composer wrote his famous "Seventh Symphony" in besieged Leningrad before the evacuation. This work immediately entered the treasury of world musical art. The all-conquering humanism, the readiness to fight to the death with the dark forces, the unshakable truth that sounds in every note, won worldwide recognition immediately and forever. In 1942, this work was awarded the Stalin Prize of the first degree.
Dmitry Shostakovich - three more times the winner of the Stalin Prize in addition to the first: for the beautiful trio in 1946 - the first degree prize, and then - the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR, in 1950 his oratorio "The Song of the Forests" was awarded the Stalin Prize of the second degree "to the verses of Dolmatovsky and music for the film" The Fall of Berlin ". In 1952, he received another Stalin Prize of the second degree for a suite for the choir.
Faina Ranevskaya
For many years, the favorite of the public worked, who did not play a single main role in the cinema. It's exclusivetalented actress. She received the Stalin Prize three times: twice in the second degree and once in the third.
In 1949 - for the role of Losev's wife in Stein's "Law of Honor" (Moscow Drama Theater), in 1951 - for the role of Agrippina in Suvorov's "Dawn over Moscow" (the theater is the same), in the same year - for the role of Frau Wurst in the film "They Have a Motherland". In principle, any role performed by Faina Georgievna could be awarded this honor, since the classics of Soviet cinema were mostly created by this actress, winner of the Stalin Prize. She was great in her time, and even now there is probably no person who would not know her name.
