Context:
In a meeting at a martial arts school on Moscow's outskirts, Putin called for physical education rooted in a Soviet-era system.
"I think it would be quite appropriate to recall the positive experience of past decades when the so-called GTO, Ready for Labour and Defence, was in use in our country," he said. The GTO mass physical training programme was introduced in the 1930s under Stalin.
More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/13/putin-stalin-era-physical-jerks