This book is the third in the series of books about Soviet badges by one of the authors of the 2012 reference guide Awards of Soviet Republics that had already become a "collector's bible". Just like the latter, Sysolyatin's catalog of early Soviet labor badges is by far the most comprehensive and well-structured reference on the subject published to date. It includes high-quality photos of 520 badges (in most cases showing both the obverse and reverse) plus a large number of award documents and related honorary certificates. Most of the items have come from the author's own collection.All of them have an estimated current market value in rubles. All have a brief description and are accompanied by very detailed historical background information.

The book covers labor badges of the pre-WW2 period including membership badges of Soviet trade unions, Shock-Worker badges of All-Union and republican level, awards for winning competition in various industries, and awards for participation / excellent work in top Soviet construction projects. This superb book can be an invaluable tool for the collector of early Soviet badges. Although some other publications have dealt with the subject before - e.g Avers 8 by Krivtsov et al or Badges of Distinction of (Industrial) Departments by Zak and Alekseev - none is nearly as complete or organized as this reference guide. With only 100 copies in print (half of which were not for retail distribution), this book has become an instant bibliographic rarity.