Day: May 17, 2022

Debunking the persistent legend of Russo-Italian rust.

Fiat’s cooperation in the establishment of the VAZ factory, along with Alexei Kosygin’s new policies⁽¹⁾, helped mobilize the Soviet citizenry en masse. With the quite excellent Fiat 124 as a basis, the end-product was arguably a better car to own and drive than anything offered by ZAZ⁽²⁾, AZLK⁽³⁾ or GAZ⁽⁴⁾ at the time.

The establishment of the VAZ factory was, as we now know, politically motivated⁽¹⁾. For the Soviet government at least, the project was a major success: they took a good initial design and successfully adapted it to their country’s conditions and needs. They even sold it successfully in export markets. For the Italians, though, things played out somewhat differently: Continue reading “VAZ: Diplomacy, Politics, and Urban Legends (Part Three)”