Tridtsatitysiachniki

(Thirty-thousanders), advanced workers of industrial enterprises, ministries, departments, educational institutions, scientific research institutes, and party and soviet institutions who were sent by the CPSU to rural areas from 1955 to 1957 to help economically weak and backward kolkhozes achieve increased levels of production.

On Mar. 25,1955, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted the Appeal and Decree on Measures for the Further Strengthening of Kolkhozes by the Responsible Cadres, which instructed party and soviet organizations to select not less than 30,000 volunteers for leadership positions in kolkhozes. This decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU and of the Council of Ministers of the USSR implemented the line adopted by the September (1953) and February-March (1954) plenums of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which called for a rapid improvement of agriculture.

More than 100,000 persons responded to the appeal of the party and the state. Of these, more than 30,000 of the most qualified and experienced workers were selected. Over 90 percent of them were Communists. The Tridtsatitysiachniki underwent training in three-week courses and two-month apprenticeships in the most advanced kolkhozes. The majority were elected chairmen of the kolkhozes to which they were assigned.

The patriotic movement of the Tridtsatitysiachniki was an expression of the unity of the working class, the Soviet intelligentsia, and the kolkhoz peasants in their common struggle to raise agricultural output.