SFRJ ZA POČETNIKE - Alija Sirotanović

Alija Sirotanović (14 August 1914 – 16 May 1990) was a Yugoslav miner, Hero of Socialist Labour and perhaps the most famous of all Yugoslav udarniks. He was held up by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia to be a model of a hard-worker in the former Yugoslavia. Sirotanović worked in the coal mine in Breza. In 1947 Sirotanović set a record in coal extracting. On 24 July 1949, Sirotanović participated in an inter-mine competition at the mine at Kreka. He and his eight-man crew mined in an 8-hour shift 128 carloads of brown coal, that is, 152 tons of coal in a single shift, some 40 tonnes more than the first record of Soviet 'hero of labour' Alexey Stakhanov.
As there was a Soviet–Yugoslav rift at the time of the contest, his accomplishment was widely praised and publicized by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. Josip Broz Tito is said to have offered to fulfill any wish Sirotanović had, but all Sirotanović is reported to have requested was a bigger shovel. Tito granted his wish, and the larger shovel that was designed for him was later named after him: Sirotanovićka. He was offered an apartment in Breza, but he refused and decided to stay in his house in Trtorići. (Wikipedia)