{"id":4252,"date":"2023-05-26T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-26T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/?p=4252"},"modified":"2023-06-12T18:27:54","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T01:27:54","slug":"a-peek-behind-the-iron-curtain-cars-of-the-soviet-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/general\/a-peek-behind-the-iron-curtain-cars-of-the-soviet-era\/","title":{"rendered":"A Peek Behind the Iron Curtain: Cars of the Soviet Era"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After World War II ended in 1945, Soviet Union\u2019s communist dictator Joseph Stalin forbade the USSR and its Central and Eastern European allies from having contact with nations from the West. This political and ideological barrier was known as the Iron Curtain. Its existence from 1946 to 1990 defined the Cold War era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think the Iron Curtain is just a metaphor, consider the people behind it. Oppressed under Communist rule and banned from venturing beyond its border, they had little access to anything from the West\u2014including vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, we\u2019ll look at some of the cars produced behind Iron Curtain: the ones that died, those that thrived, and some you haven\u2019t heard of before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Moskvich 400 (\u041c\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0432\u0438\u0447 400) 1946-1956<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
\"Moskvich
Source: www.flickr.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Moskvich, meaning \u201cMuscovite,\u201d was one of the Soviet Union\u2019s most prolific car brands. It had pre-war roots under the name KIM (an acronym that translates to Communist Youth International), the plant that produced the original Soviet compact car. Moskvich 400 was the first vehicle available to the Russian public after WWII. It was modeled after the Opel Kadett 1938\u2014a German car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Moskvich brand endured until 2001 and is known for popular (albeit slow) models like the 408. In 2022, Moskvich announced plans for a comeback, a polarizing topic among modern-day Russians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Lada\/VAZ-2101 Zhiguli (\u041b\u0430\u0434\u0430 \/ \u0412\u0410\u0417 \u0416\u0438\u0433\u0443\u043b\u0438 2101) 1970-1982<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\"Lada\/VAZ-2101
Source: flickr.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Italy\u2019s Fiat had ties to Russian industry before the 191<\/a>7 Revolution, which was why Soviet-owned auto plant AvtoVAZ was permitted to use its Fiat 124 sedan as the basis for the VAZ-2101 Zhiguili in 1970, which was also sold under the Lada nameplate beginning in 1973.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To become VAZ-2101, Fiat 124 was given a Soviet makeover. A heavy steel body, heightened suspension, and aluminum rear brake drums toughened up the petite Italian to survive Eastern European winters. With 19 million units sold, VAZ-2101 Zhiguili, also called \u201cKopeyka\u201d for the smallest Soviet coin or \u201cthe people\u2019s car,\u201d is one of the best-selling vehicles ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Polski-Fiat 125p (Polskiego Fiata 125p) 1967-1991<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\"Polski-Fiat
Source: KGC626<\/a>, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Fiat\u2019s dealings behind the Iron Curtain weren\u2019t exclusive to the USSR. In \u201867, a licensing agreement with Communist-run auto factory Fabryka Samochod\u00f3w Osobowych (FSO) in Warsaw birthed the creation of the Polski-Fiat 125p, an incarnation of the Fiat 125.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polski-Fiat was Lada\u2019s older cousin; it was roomier than most Eastern Bloc cars but also a cheap, watered-down version of what it was based on. Affordability and accessibility made it popular in Poland. Despite its fidelity to an outdated design, Polski-Fiat 125p charged on for decades\u2014a Polski-Fiat pickup truck and a Polski-Fiat EV were made in the 70s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Wartburg 353 1966-1988<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
\"Wartburg
Source: www.flickr.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR), or as we say here, East Germany (German Democratic Republic (GDR)) was the Iron Curtain\u2019s westernmost country. Still, the boundary was fortified in 1961 by the Berlin Wall. East Germany\u2019s best-known contribution to the Communist auto industry was its Wartburg brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eastern European cars were often labeled sub-par, but Wartburg 353 (exported as Wartburg Knight) was a nicely made, relatively stylish offering from Automobilwerk Eisenach (AWE)\u2014DDR\u2019s state-run auto manufacturer. Wartburg collapsed around the same time the Berlin Wall did, but today 353s are collectible vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Volga GAZ-24 (\u200b\u200b\u0412\u043e\u043b\u0433\u0430 \u0413\u0410\u0417-24) <\/strong>1970-1985<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
\"Volga
Source: Lubos Balcar<\/a>, CC BY 3.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The GAZ-24, Russia\u2019s classiest vehicle, was built by\u2014that\u2019s right, an auto plant controlled by the Soviet state called Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ). It replaced the 50s-era GAZ-21 and was exported throughout Europe and parts of Latin America and Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volga GAZ-24 had nicer features than your average Moskvich or Lada, such as font, rear armrests, and a foot-operated windshield washer. Any vehicle was a luxury to those living under the Iron Curtain\u2019s shadow, and the GAZ-24 was more than most could afford. The majority of GAZ-24s driven in Soviet Russia were used as taxis and were known to run for over 620,000 miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>\u0160koda 1000 MB 1964-1969<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
\"\u0160koda
Source: sludgeulper<\/a>, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

After the success of its Octavia model, Czech manufacturer \u0160koda, then overseen by \u00a0Automobilov\u00e9 z\u00e1vody n\u00e1rodn\u00ed podnik (AZNP), shook things up with the 1000 MB, a family car that was the first of many rear-engine \u0160kodas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1000 MB was affordable and had cool amenities like a split-folding rear seat and a tool kit. Movements like the Czechoslovakian Velvet Revolution of 1989 and perestroika signaled the fall of the Soviet Union, and \u0160koda\u2019s future hung in the balance. Their decision to privatize and merge with Volkswagen improved both quality and confidence. Today, nearly one-third of all cars registered in the Czech Republic are \u0160kodas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article originally appeared on MyCarMakesNoise.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After World War II ended in 1945, Soviet Union\u2019s communist dictator Joseph Stalin forbade the USSR and its Central and Eastern European allies from having…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-4252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-msn-slideshow","wpcat-11-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4252"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5792,"href":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4252\/revisions\/5792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycarmakesnoise.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}