Cars of the Soviet Union: The definitive history [Hardcover]

Andy Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2008

The story of the Soviet Union’s cars has to be seen in the context of a planned society in a vast, relatively undeveloped territory in which everything was planned well in advance, in which consumer items were not a priority until well after the Second World War when the country had developed the necessary heavy industry to be in a position to develop consumer products. This extraordinarily detailed study charts the history of Soviet cars from the birth of the Soviet Union in 1917 until its demise in 1990, with a conclusion about the post-Soviet era. It is the story of an insular, state-run car industry in which the carefully thought-out ideas of ministerial planners, rather than fickle customers in a free market, determined what cars were made in a country where the open road was often a 300-mile track across a windswept steppe. This is a fascinating book, full of rarely seen photographs and illustrations, largely in color, that will interest all car enthusiasts.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

The story of the Soviet Union’s cars has to be seen in the context of a planned society in which everything was planned well in advance, and consumer items were not a priority until well after the Second World War when the country had developed the necessary heavy industry to be in a position to develop consumer products. This extraordinarily detailed study charts the history of Soviet cars from the birth of the Soviet Union in 1917 until its demise in 1990, with a conclusion about the post-Soviet era.

About the Author

Andy Thompson is a Director of a Housing Association who has been fascinated by this subject since childhood, when he started collecting Lada brochures. Since then he has amassed a huge collection of Russian research material, including catalogs, books and magazines, and become an expert along the way. He lives in Cumbria.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Haynes Publishing (August 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844254836
• ISBN-13: 978-1844254835
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,302,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Piece of Work, June 26, 2009

By 

Thomas A. McPherson "SeriousAutoHistorian" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cars of the Soviet Union: The definitive history (Hardcover)

This is a fabulous piece of work on a long neglected subject. The information contained herein is excellent, well organized and highly detailed. The author knows his subject. Although I wish that it contained more original "factory-type" photographs, given what would have been the source of such material - the lack of such images is possibly understandable. The "cars on the street" pictures and images lifted from official sales literature are good. This is without a doubt the finest book produced thus far on vehicles built behind the iron curtain and I highly recommend it to anyone with a serious interest in automobiles. This is a significant contribution to automotive history.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cars for Czars, August 2, 2009

By 

James P. Martin (New Rochelle, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cars of the Soviet Union: The definitive history (Hardcover)

Everything, I mean everything, you always wanted to know about Russian cars. Thoroughly researched with plenty of photos of cars rarely seen this side of the Iron Curtain. Makes fascinating reading for car nuts.