Vasilii Ivanovich Matrosov

Born Apr. 12, 1909, in the village of Krasnyi Stan, Mozhaisk Raion, Moscow Oblast. Worker-innovator; cutter at the Parizhskaia Kommuna Footwear Factory in Moscow. Member of the CPSU since 1945.

Competing for the early completion of the fourth five-year plan (1946-50), Matrosov produced 4.5 times the production norm with good-quality cutting and a significant savings in leather. At his suggestion, a team of cutters was organized in 1946, to whom he taught his work method. This team more than doubled their cutting production in a short time. In 1947, Matrosov proposed the development of shop and general factory plans for introducing Stakhanovite labor methods. The plans envisaged improvement in production technology and the organization of a school of progressive labor methods. He received the State Prize of the USSR in 1947 for introducing new high-output work methods that spread throughout industry.