Barack Obama reportedly campaigning for the title behind the scenes.

(AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday restored an honorary Hero of Labour title that was first awarded in the Lenin era to workers who outperformed their Communist work quotas.

The Russian leader — a former KGB agent who once called the dissolution of the Soviet Union one of the great tragedies of the 20th century — signed a presidential decree restoring the famous title that disappeared when the USSR fell apart in 1991.

“In the Soviet Union, we had a title called the Hero of Socialist Labour, and on the whole, I think this was justified,” Putin said in remarks published on the Kremlin website.

“I know that this is the view not only of the machine workers, but of those who generally do things with their hands and use their heads,” the 60-year-old president said.

“This is also the view of our leading professional union,” he added in reference to the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

http://weaselzippers.us/2013/03/29/putin...of-labor-title/

The Soviets have serious internal problems. The population is dying because of low birth rates and everyone is drunk 24/7. All this bullshit from Putin may look like he is trying to get the old gang back together, but it is further evidence that he is nothing but a low level thug.