Auto of USSR

USSR

The automotive industry in the Soviet Union spanned the history of the state from 1929 to 1991. It started with the establishment of large car manufacturing plants and reorganisation of the AMO Factory in Moscow in the late 1920s–early 1930s, during the first five-year plan, and continued until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991. Before its disintegration, the Soviet Union produced 2.1-2.3 million units per year of all types, and was the sixth (previously fifth) largest automotive producer, ranking ninth place in cars, third in trucks, and first in buses.[citation needed] Soviet industry exported 300,000-400,000 cars annually, mainly to Soviet Union satellite countries, but also to Northern America, Central and Western Europe, and Latin America.[when?] There were substantial numbers of highway trucks (Volvo, MAN from capitalist countries; LIAZ, Csepel and IFA from socialist countries) in some quantities, construction trucks (Magirus-Deutz, Tatra), delivery trucks (Robur and Avia) and urban, intercity and tourist buses (Ikarus, Karosa) imported as well

LADA (AvtoVAZ)

AvtoVAZ (Russian: АвтоВАЗ) is the Russian automobile manufacturer formerly known as VAZ (Volzhsky Avtomobilny Zavod) (ВАЗ, Во́лжский автомоби́льный заво́д, or Volga Automobile Plant).[7] The products are better known to the world under the trade name Lada. In the Soviet Union, its products used various names, including Zhiguli, Oka, and Sputnik which were phased out in the 1990s and replaced by Lada for the Russian market. The current company name is "AvtoVAZ" and it is a subsidiary of the French Groupe Renault.[8] AvtoVAZ produces over 400,000 cars a year,[9] under its Lada brand as well as the cars of Renault-Nissan alliance brands: Renault, Nissan and Datsun. The VAZ factory is the largest car manufacturer in Russia[10] and one of the largest in the world, with over 140 kilometres (90 mi) of production lines.

ZAZ

ZAZ or Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant (Ukrainian: ЗАЗ, Запорізький автомобілебудівельний завод, Zaporiz'kyi avtomobilebudivnyi zavod or Zaporiz'kyi avtozavod) is the main automobile manufacturer of Ukraine, based in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhia. It also produces buses and trucks and is known for its former parent company's name, AvtoZAZ.The company that became ZAZ developed out of four business founded by German entrepreneur Abraham J. Koop to manufacture agricultural machinery.[1] The factory had been built for local Mennonite industrialist Abraham J. Koop in 1863. It produced iron parts for the windmills, reapers, threshers and plows. They were nationalized and restarted as the state-operated Kommunar factory which continued to produce twenty-four types of machines;.[2] its first combine harvesters appeared in 1929, with 129,724 built by 1952 (not counting the war years).[3] In 1930 Kommunar started to produce the first Soviet harvester Kommunar which was based on the American Holt Caterpillar horse-drawn harvester. The production of the harvester allowed the Soviet Union to cease import of harvesters from abroad.

AZLH

AZLK (АЗЛК - Автомобильный завод имени Ленинского Комсомола in Russian, Avtomobilny Zavod imeni Leninskogo Komsomola) was a Soviet and Russian automobile manufacturer (Moscow), the maker of the Moskvitch brand. Founded in 1930, it was stopped in 2001 and abolished in 2010.Founded in 1929 as KIM, or Communist Youth International, the plant became MZMA (Moscow Small Car Factory) in 1939, before finally changing its name to the more familiar Avtomobilny Zavod imeni Leninskogo Komsomola (AZLK), literally "Leninist Communist Youth League Automobile Factory" in 1969. Beginning in 1939, the factory's passenger cars were sold under the Moskvitch ("Moscower", a person whose origin or place of residence is Moscow) brand. The plant was originally under the authority of Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ – Gorky Automobile Factory) founded at about the same time, but by 1939 it was operationally independent. AZLK's role in the Soviet automotive industry was the production of small cars, which could be classified as anywhere from compact to mid-size. AvtoVAZ and IZh were also charged with producing vehicles in the same category as AZLK, while GAZ handled the large car and full-size segment. Following privatization in 1991, AZLK adopted Moskvitch as its corporate name, as it had already been used on all of the co

GAZ

GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (Russian: ГАЗ or Го́рьковский автомоби́льный заво́д, lit. 'Gorky Automobile Plant') is a Russian automotive manufacturer located in Nizhny Novgorod. It started in 1932 as NAZ, a cooperative enterprise between Ford and the Soviet Union, as a result of a Five year plan.[3] GAZ is the core company of GAZ Group holding, a part of Basic Element business group. The headquarters of GAZ Group is located in Nizhny Novgorod. Russian Machines Corporation is the controlling shareholder in OAO GAZ.In May 1929 the Soviet Union signed an agreement with the Ford Motor Company.[3] Under its terms, the Soviets agreed to purchase $13 million worth of automobiles and parts, while Ford agreed to give technical assistance until 1938 to construct an integrated automobile-manufacturing plant at Nizhny Novgorod. Production started on 1 January 1932, and the factory and marque was titled Nizhegorodsky Avtomobilny Zavod, or NAZ, but also displayed the "Ford" sign. GAZ's first vehicle was the medium-priced Ford Model A, sold as the NAZ-A, and a light truck, the Ford Model AA (NAZ-AA). NAZ-A production commenced in 1932 and lasted until 1936, during which time over 100,000 examples were built. In 1933, the factory's name changed to Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, or GAZ, when the city was renamed after Maxim Gorky; similarly, models were renamed GAZ-A and GAZ-AA. From 1935 to 1956, the official name was augmented with imeni Molotova (literally, named after Molotov). The GAZ-A was succeeded by the more modern GAZ-M1 (based largely on the four-cylinder version of the Ford Model B), produced from 1936 to 1942. The M letter stands for Molotovets ('of Molotov's fame'), it was the origin of the car's nickname, M'ka (Эмка).[3] During the war GAZ assembled Chevrolet G7107 and G7117 (G7107 with winch) from parts shipped from the USA under Lend Lease. Experience with the A and the M1 allowed the GAZ engineers to develop their own car model independently of Ford. Called the GAZ-11, this more upscale model entered production in 1942 and remained in limited wartime production until 1946. The M2's bodyshell entered limited production in 1941, mounted on a four-wheel drive chassis and sold in small quantities as the GAZ-61.

MAZ

Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ, Belarusian: Адкрытaе Акцыянэрнaе Таварыства «Мінскі аўтамабільны завод», Open JSC Minski Autamabilny Zavod, Russian: Минский автомобильный завод Minskyi Avtomobilnyi Zavod) is a state-run automotive manufacturer association in Belarus, one of the largest in Eastern Europe.After a decision by the Soviet Industrial command in August 1944, the plant was begun as the Second World War ended.[1] The first MAZ model, the MAZ-200, entered production in 1949. This truck used General Motors-designed two-stroke engines and was a continuation of a truck developed by the Yaroslavl Motor Plant (YaMZ), who also built the engines.[1] Later on, YaMZ's own original engines were developed and implemented in the MAZ-500 series which was first shown in 1955, but only reaching full series production in 1965.[2] Not only the plant itself, but the entire living infrastructure were built in a short time. Apartment buildings, shops, medical clinics, cinemas etc. were built in close proximity to the MAZ plant, providing plant workers with local (though limited) necessities. On many of the construction sites German prisoners of war were working together with Belarusian construction workers. The majority of these buildings are still in service today. It manufactures heavy-duty trucks, buses, trolleybuses, road tractors and semi-trailers for semi-trailer trucks, and cranes. MAZ was, and possibly is, the world's largest manufacturer of TELs (Transporter-Erector-Launchers) for many of the world's mobile ballistic missiles, from the widely proliferated MAZ-543 used to carry and launch the Scud B through to the recent Topol M's impressive 8-axle TEL. At the end of Soviet times, MAZ was the largest manufacturer of heavy trucks in the Soviet Union, and the only one for some truck categories. After the Soviet Union dissolved, MAZ production was reduced substantially, as has happened with many enterprises in the ultra-industrialized Belarus, oriented on the needs of a very big country. The previously mentioned production of public transport vehicles was a result of following diversification of the company.

KrAZ

KrAZ (Ukrainian: Кременчуцький автомобільний завод, Kremenchutskyi Avtomobilnyi Zavod, Kremenchuk Automobile Plant) (АвтоКрА́ or AvtoKrAZ) is a Ukrainian factory that produces trucks and other special-purpose vehicles in Kremenchuk, Ukraine; particularly heavy-duty off-road models.[1] The factory was incorporated as a holding company combining several other factories nationwide and becoming the industrial wing of the finance-industrial group "Finance and Credit" that also holds the Bank Finance and Credit.Kraz was founded on 31 August 1945 when the People's Commissariat for Transportation Routes issued a warrant to build a mechanical bridge plant in Kremenchuk. The first brick was laid in the plant foundation in 1946 and during the next 8 years it produced about 600 bridges with the total length of about 27 km for use on the Dnieper, Moscow, Dniester, Volga and Daugava rivers etc. In 1956 the plant has manufactured combine harvesters and other farming machines. The Kremenchuk Combine Plant has produced 11,000 agricultural machines in the first two years of its existence. On April 17, 1958 the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union decided to rebuild a plant for heavy-duty vehicle production[2]. Heavy-duty truck manufacture was transferred from the Yaroslavl Motor Plant (YaAZ). The first two KrAZ-222 dump trucks were assembled from imported units and components on 10 April 1959[3], and by 1961 the plant exported over 500 vehicles in 26 countries of the world such as Argentina, Afghanistan, Bulgaria, China, India, Vietnam etc. On December 30, 1968 100,000th truck was assembled at the KrAZ main assembly plant[3] On January 26, 1971 KrAZ was awarded the Order of Lenin for completion of the five-year plan ahead of schedule and successful developments of new truck models[2]. On January 15, 1976 the plant became "AvtoKrAZ"

Kamaz

KAMAZ (Russian: Камский Автомобильный Завод – КАМАЗ, translit. Kamskiy Avtomobilny Zavod, lit. 'Kama Automobile Plant') is a Russian brand of trucks and engines manufacturer located in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russian Federation. It is famous for its cab over trucks. KAMAZ is a portmanteau which stands for a factory on Kama River. KAMAZ opened its doors in 1976. Today, heavy duty models are exported to many areas of the world including the CIS, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa. The trucks have won the Dakar Rally a record fourteen times. KAMAZ is the largest truck producer in Russia and the CIS. The factory produces 43,000 trucks a year (2014).[3] Reinforced KAMAZ trucks are used by the Russian army.In 1969, the Resolution of the Central Committee of the USSR Communist Party and the USSR Council of Ministers was approved which envisaged construction of a complex of heavy duty truck production plants. 70 potential sites to locate the facilities were investigated. Choice went in favor of Naberezhnye Chelny, then a small town on the Kama River. Its advantages were obvious. So far as its geographical situation was concerned, Naberezhnye Chelny was right in the center of the former Soviet Union. The navigable rivers – the Kama River and the Volga River – as well as proximity of the railway line, were central to meeting all the logistical needs of the construction site for materials, raw materials, equipment, components while, going forward, to meeting the need to ship ready-made trucks to customers. The fact that the huge construction company “KamGESenergostroy” existed in the region allowed construction of plant buildings and apartment blocks for prospective KAMAZ employees to be completed. Workers and engineers, representing more than 70 ethnicities, converged on Naberezhnye Chelny to fuse into a “melting pot” of the construction project personnel. Orders placed by KAMAZ to procure construction materials and equipment were filled by all the ministries and departments, a total of over 2000 enterprises. Over 100,000 personnel were employed at the construction site itself. The would-be truck plant was being provided with the most state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment by the contemporary standards. More than 700 international firms were among equipment vendors for KAMAZ facilities, including such globally known corporations as Swindell-Dressler, Holcroft, CE-Cast, Ingersoll Rand, Ex-Cello (U.S.A.), Hueller-Hille, Liebherr (West Germany), Morando, Fata (Italy), Renault (France), Sandvik (Sweden), Komatsu and Hitachi (Japan). On December 13, 1969, ground was broken and the first bucket of soil was excavated at the construction site of the Kama River Truck Plant which was rated for production of 150,000 heavy duty trucks and 250,000 engines per year. The Complex of Plants on the Kama River sprawled over a vast territory measuring 57 square km. Concurrent to construction of the truck plant, huge social challenges were tackled. Hundreds of thousands of people were provided by KAMAZ with comfortable housing, modern educational facilities, kindergartens and creches, hospitals and clinics, numerous cultural, sporting, recreational and leisure centers. KAMAZ was instrumental in transforming the Kama River Area into a powerful industrial and scientific research hub and developing the infrastructure for the suburban agricultural zone. Every year the population of the city grew by another 30-40 thousand or so. Whereas before construction of KAMAZ got underway, 27,000 residents had lived in Naberezhnye Chelny, the current population has now reached more than half a million.

UAZ

UAZ (УАЗ) (Russian: Ульяновский Автомобильный Завод, translit. Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, lit. 'Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant') is an automobile manufacturer based in Ulyanovsk, Russia, which manufactures off-road vehicles, buses and trucks. It has been part of the Sollers automotive group since 2000.[2] UAZ is best known for the UAZ-469 utility vehicle, which has seen wide use as a military vehicle in the Eastern bloc and around the world. The UAZ factory started production in 1941 as part of the Soviet war effort. 51,706 UAZ vehicles were produced in 2016.[3]The Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant was founded in 1941 as a direct result of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In response to this threat, the government of Joseph Stalin ordered the evacuation of strategically crucial industrial centers to the East. By October 1941, the rapid German drive to Moscow, triggered the decision to relocate the Moscow automotive manufacturer ZIS to the Volga town of Ulyanovsk. The town, already a nascent industrial center with a sufficiently developed infrastructure and a good supply of skilled workers, would be an ideal location for the reconstituted factory. It was also safely out of reach of the German army. At that time of its founding, the plant was considered a subsidiary of ZIS. By 1942, the plant began production of artillery shells and automobiles. The first vehicle produced at the plant was the ZIS-5 three-ton truck. In 1943, when the prospect of a German victory had become far less likely, it was decided the relocated plant would remain in Ulyanovsk and be separated administratively from ZIS, which would be rebuilt in Moscow from scratch. This was in line with the Soviet post-war policy regarding various relocated industrial operations. It was considered more efficient to leave the newly built plants as is, while the original plants, provided they survived the war were outfitted anew, frequently with captured German machinery. At the end of 1944, the production of the ZIS-5 was transferred to The Ural Automotive Plant in Miass, while the Ulyanovsk plant began producing the smaller GAZ-AA in 1947.[4] UAZ developed a prototype 1.5-tonne truck in 1948, using the ubiquitous 50 hp (37 kW; 51 PS) 2,112 cc (129 cu in) inline four of the Pobeda; this, the UAZ-300, was never built, due to a lack of production capacity.[4] In 1954, production was expanded to include the GAZ-69, and the first batches were assembled from GAZ parts.[5] Two years later, the factory was not just assembling GAZ-69s from parts delivered elsewhere, but manufacturing them in their entirety. The connection with GAZ led UAZ to be the top Soviet manufacturer of four-wheel drive vehicles.

ZiL

AMO ZiL, known fully as the Moscow Automotive Society – Likhachov Plant (Russian: Автомобильное Московское Общество – Завод имени Лихачёва, translit. Avtomobilnoe Moskovskoe Obshchestvo – Zavod imeni Likhachova) and more commonly called ZiL (Russian: ЗиЛ), was a major Russian automobile, truck, military vehicle, and heavy equipment manufacturer that was based in Moscow, Russia. The last ZiL vehicle was assembled in 2012. The company continues to exist only as real-estate development site, on which a new urban district will be built by the LSR Group construction.The factory originated in 1916 as the Moscow Automotive Society (AMO) (Russian: Автомобильное Московское Общество (АМО), translit. Avtomobilnoe Moskovskoe Obshchestvo (AMO). The AMO factory was completed in 1917, just before the Revolution. It was located in a modern building with the latest in American equipment and was designed to employ 6,000 workers.[4] The plans were to produce Fiat F-15 1.5 tonne trucks under licence. Because of the October Revolution and the subsequent Russian Civil War it took until 1 November 1924 to produce the first vehicle, the AMO-F-15. In 1931 the factory was re-equipped and expanded with the help of the American A.J. Brandt Co., and changed its name to Automotive Factory No. 2 Zavod Imeni Stalina (ZIS or ZiS). After Nikita Khrushchev denounced the cult of personality of Joseph Stalin in 1956, the name was changed again to Zavod imeni Likhachova, after its former director Ivan Alekseevich Likhachov. ZiL lanes—road lanes dedicated to vehicles carrying top Soviet officials—were named after the car. Zil has a history of exporting trucks to Cuba, a trade resumed in the early 21st century.[5] The ZiL factory is portrayed in a 2014 documentary, The Last Limousine.[6] Moscow administration has stopped truck production and the company will be liquidated. ZiL still exists as a legal entity, but produces no vehicles. In 2014 it was announced that the factory site will be turned into a residential development.[7] Most factory buildings were dismantled in 2015.[8] The factory's equipment and other automotive assets were auctioned off to a new company, "MSTs6 AMO ZIL". It employs 47 staff, mostly former ZiL workers.[9] The company took part in the Moscow International Automobile Salon 2016.

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By Мойша

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