Despite their venerable age and hard labour, the vintage vehicles at the Moscow Transport Museum are in good condition, says Joseph Busuttil from the Old Motors Club. 

When the Knights of St John were expelled from Malta by Napoleon in 1798, many of them went to St Petersburg, then the capital of Russia. The majestic Winter Palace and Hermitage of the Tsar features, among other priceless artefacts, the throne and footrest of the Grand Master.

The Royal Court was at the disposal of the Knights, including the royal stables. Situated in Zelinogorsk in the outskirts of the city, the stables for the four-legged animals eventually gave way to the four-wheeler, when the facility became the garage of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate in the Soviet era. More recently, the compound was converted into the Automobile and Motorcycle Museum, incorporated in the Science and Culture Park.

1954 metallic green Buick with silver side stripes.

The Russian empire has had a long history of machinery development. The first petrol engine vehicle, the Yakovlev Freze, came out in 1896. Another early model was the Russo-Bolt C24-30, one of which graced the garage of Tsar Nicholas II. One of these models placed ninth in the 1912 Monte Carlo Rally. Car production was initially small, in private hands, and heavily dependent on imported parts. In 1916 the Tsarist government decided to allocate funds for the setting up of six motor plants across the country.

Although the subsequent communist administration initially watered down these projects, yet the vastness of the country, transport needs, and individual demands eventually saw the strong development of a number of national motor companies. These included AutoVAZ, created in tandem with the Italian Fiat, that came out with the Lada, still in production today.

GAZ was set up in 1932, and manufactured luxury sedans like the Volga and Chaika (seagull) for Soviet VIPs. AZLK came to life in 1929 and closed down in 2001, producing during this period the iconic Moskvich.

Luxury sedans and limousines used as official State cars also came off the line of ZiL, while ZAZ, set up in 1956 and still going strong, was earmarked for providing the people with budget cars, styling some of them on Fiat models.

In the St Petersburg Museum, over 150 old vehicles and motorcycles offer fine examples of the available private transport to supply mass market customer needs, as well as some higher echelons vehicles. These feature various GAZ models, including a black 1973 Mark II, a black 1958 M1, a cream and grey 21, as well as a blue 1960 police vehicle. A row of colourful 1970s Moskvich vehicles is followed by a same era line of Ladas, one of which was the first car owned by former prime minister Dmitry Medvedev.

1977 red Moskvich covered in snow in central St Petersburg near the Neva river.

An interesting scheme makes it possible to rent one of these vehicles

A few foreign models enhance the museum. There is a 1954 green with silver side stripes Buick once owned by the leader of former Yugoslavia, Josef Tito. German cars are represented by a 1954 white Mercedes Benz 500, and a 1938 cream Hanomag Rekord. From former Czechoslovakia comes a rare 1949 Tatra model, while a sole 1926 Ford Model A flies the flag for the West.

With so many Russians suffering injuries during World War II, there was an urgent demand for cars for people with a disability. This was met by the production of the first hand operated vehicle in the late 1940s, the CM3-CIL model, a light brown and green coloured small car with a canvas roof and doors, a well preserved model of which stands in the collection.

Come communism in 1918, Moscow became the Russian capital where today one finds the official Moscow Transport Museum. Formerly the garage headquarters of Moscow Transport, the vast building was rehabilitated, restored and turned into a state-of-the-art museum through a private-public partnership. Over 300 vintage vehicles of all sorts are spread carefully over five sections: pre-war, post-war, military, heavy vehicles, and public transport. Despite their venerable age and hard labour, most vehicles are still in a very good condition and roadworthy. An interesting scheme makes it possible to rent one of these vehicles, with or without a driver. Many of the exhibits go out en masse to colour the streets of the capital on special occasions, like Victory Day on May 9.

There is a number of GAZ models in pristine condition, like the model M12 made for high ranking officials, and the M13, earmarked for the elite – President Nikita Khrushchev, President Fidel Castro, and first man in space Yuri Gagarin all had one. The Podeba M20, made between 1946 and 1958, was one of the first Soviet cars of original design, and given to the top military brass. Another interesting exhibit is a two-tone cream and rust 1955 Moskvich 401-420, that was based on the Opel Kadet. There are also two Moskvich rally cars, a red G5 and a green G7, that took part in national and international competitions between 1969 and 1974.

1956 white Mercedes Benz 500.

The Moscow museum is replete with foreign pre- and post-war models coming from Packard, Plymouth, Cadillac, Ford, Buick, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Renault. The military section is dominated by a 1941 Studebaker US 6 truck – 100,000 of which were supplied to the USSR during World War II. The Red Army only installed its renowned and deadly Katyusha rocket launchers on this truck, which was appreciated for its overtaking capacity, off road driving, reliability and comfort.

At the far eastern end of Russia, one finds the Automotive Antiques Museum in Vladivostok. Set up in 1990, it has four sections, one of which recounts the history of Soviet car construction in the 1930s and has several GAZ models on display. Another section shows the post war output, with a number of Moskvich, Podeba and Volga models.

The official vehicles used by the Russian government have their own area. There is an early 1950s black ZIS-101, the first official limousine, as well as the GAZ 12 and 13. Pride of place goes to a black 1948 ZIS-110B convertible in which President Khrushchev toured Vladivostok in 1959. The final section has a mix of military vehicles used by the USSR and its allies and enemies in the second world war. Of special interest is the first Japanese army jeep, a captured 1936 Kuragone Type 95.

Finally the museum hosts a wide range of motorcycles, some Russian, like a 1946 K15, a MIA of the same year, and a 1951 ISH-49. Foreign models feature a BSA S26 (1926), a Harley Davidson 28B (1928), an Indian 741-B (1941), and several Czech and German examples.

As one goes around this vast country in the harsh winter weather, with temperatures dipping below 10 degrees Celsius in St Petersburg, under 20 in Moscow, and minus 40 in Vladivostok, one cannot help but admire the strong survival spirit of the Russians, who are resilient in the face of adversity, and also venture out in their old cars in such climates – as this red, snowed up 1970s Moskvich model on the banks of the frozen Neva river in central St. Petersburg shows.

Row of 1970s Moskvich models.