ZiL

History

ZiL was founded on 2 August 1916 as the Moscow Automotive Society (AMO) () and the factory was built in Tyufeleva Grove south of Moscow, inside a meander of the Moskva River, being completed in 1917 just before the Russian Revolution. It was a modern building with the latest in American equipment and was designed to employ 6,000 workers. The plans were to produce Fiat F-15 1.5-ton trucks under licence in 1917, but 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, which was shown at a parade on 7 November. Nevertheless, the factory still managed to assemble trucks bought from Italy from 1917 to 1919. On 30 April 1923, the factory was named after Italian anarchist Pietro Ferrero, but in 1925 was renamed to First National Automobile Factory (1-й Государственный автомобильный завод; 1-y Gosudarstvennyy avtomobil'nyy). In 1927, Ivan Likhachev was appointed as a head of the factory. In April 1929, it was agreed on to expand the plant to build Autocar 2.5-ton truck models.

From 1929 to 1931, the ZiL factory was re-equipped and expanded with the help of the American company A.J. Brandt Co.{{cite web

Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the ZIS plant was soon evacuated to new facilities in cities further east, including Ulyanovsk, Chelyabinsk, Miass, and Shadrinsk. These factories continued to manufacturer automobiles as separate entities after the end of the war in 1945. The ZIS plant began manufacturing refrigerators in 1950. ZIS was a major provider of training, tooling, and technical support for the establishment of First Automotive Works in 1953, as part of Soviet assistance to the People's Republic of China. The Jiefang CA-10, based on the Soviet ZIS-150, was the first Chinese-produced truck and began production in 1956.

In 1956, during the De-Stalinization period, the factory's name was changed again to Zavod imeni Likhachyova ("Factory named after Likhachev") after its former director Ivan Likhachev. ZiL had a history of exporting trucks to Cuba, trade resumed in the early 21st century.

By the mid-1970s, ZiL was struggling to compete as a truck manufacturer with the newly-built KAMAZ plant located in Naberezhnye Chelny. The ZIL-130 was severely outdated and its main development project, the ZIL-170, was transferred to KAMAZ. Production of the ZIL-133, a modernised version of the ZIL-130 with a 3 axle configuration, began in 1975 to hold over until a new model could be produced. ZiL began concentrating on development of the ZIL-169 which featured a brand new engine that was designed in-house at the factory. However, testing found serious flaws with the new transmission, which had to be redesigned. Delays meant that the earliest examples of the ZIL-169 were only produced in 1985, and preparations for full-scale production were only completed just before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

ZIS 101 (1938) 1X7A8090.jpg|ZIS-101 (1936) ZIS 102 A (1941) 1X7A8092.jpg|ZIS-102 (1937) ЗИС-Спорт в Музее автомобильной техники УГМК (Верхняя Пышма) 02.jpg|ZIS-101A Sport (1939) XXVIII выставка Олдтаймер-галерея ЗИС-110 «Такси».jpg|ZIS-110 (1945) ZiS-110B in Museum of technique 2016-08-16.JPG|ZIS-110B (1949)

Limousines

ZiL became associated with the production of luxury cars, despite being primarily a manufacturer of trucks, beginning with the ZIS-101 in 1936. Initially based on American cars, a number of executive car and limousine models of increasingly Soviet design were produced over time. ZiL limousines quickly became very popular with the nomenklatura – the elite of the ruling Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The ZiL limousines were the official car that carried the Soviet heads of state, and many Soviet Union allied leaders, to summits or in parades. The limousines were flown to international summits as, for example, in 1987 and 1990 to Washington, D.C. in the US for Mikhail Gorbachev's official state visits.{{cite news

ZiL lanes, road lanes dedicated to vehicles carrying top Soviet officials, received their nicknames from the frequent sight of ZiL cars in them.

ZiL-111G in Ilya Sorokin's Oldtimer-Gallery, 21 March 2010.jpg|ZIL-111G (1962) ZIL-114-limo.jpg|ZIL-114 (1967) Zil-117 convertible.jpg|ZIL-117 convertible (1971) ZiL automobile - 13April-Rehersal-Alabino.jpg|ZIL-4104 convertible (1981) ZIL 41047 (1990) 1X7A8072.jpg|ZIL-41047 (1985)

After the final ZiL limousine was built in 2012, the Moscow factory administration stopped truck production and the company was declared bankrupt in 2013. 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. Most factory buildings were dismantled in 2015.

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. The company took part in the Moscow International Automobile Salon 2016.

After the building of "MSTs6 AMO ZIL" was demolished in 2020, it was believed that the company ceased to exist. However, it was reported in 2021 that MSTs6 continued to operate. Its staff and equipment were moved to the Moscow Oblast.{{cite web

Owners and management

In 2003, ZiL was transferred to the management of the Moscow Automobile Company ("MAC"), a subsidiary of the Center for Investment Projects and Programs ("CIPP"), which specializes in management consulting, crisis management and the organization of project financing.

Media

The ZiL factory is portrayed in a number of English language documentaries. The 2001 documentary by Daniel Leconte, Lenin if you knew (renamed USSR Memories), follows the fate of a family associated with the factory as well as the factory itself in the 1990s. The factory is also a feature of the 2014 documentary, The Last Limousine.

Awards

• In June 1942 the VMS was awarded the first Order of Lenin for the excellent organization of the production of ammunition and weapons.
• In October 1944 the plant was awarded the Order of Red Banner of Labour.
• In 1971 the plant was awarded the Order of Lenin for the third successful implementation of the Eighth Five-Year Plan.
• In 1975 the plant was awarded the Order of the October Revolution for the successful completion of works on creation of capacities up to 200 thousand cars per year issuance.

References

Literature

• {{cite book| title = Factory and Community in Stalin's Russia: The Making of an Industrial Working Class
• {{cite book| title = National Suicide: Military Aid to the Soviet Union

References

1. "Список аффилированных лиц".
2. "99 Years of ZiL: From Car Plant To Potential New Heart of Moscow?". Moscow Times.
3. "ZIL resume exports to Cuba".
4. (31 October 2016). "ЗИЛ после жизни". Журнал "Огонёк".
5. (8 August 2017). "How a Soviet auto giant became a ghost factory". Russia Beyond The Headlines.
6. link. Русский Автомобиль
7. link. Livecars.ru. (27 August 2016)
8. "Длительная медитация уменьшает стресс и замедляет старение".
9. Leconte, Daniel. (2001). "USSR Memories - Daily life of a Russian family in the Soviet Union". wocomoDOCS.
10. "'The Last Limousine' ('Posledniy limusin'): Vladivostok Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
11. (2016-08-02). "Завод имени И.А. Лихачева (ЗИЛ)".
12. "AMO-ZIL website, history 1916-1923".
13. "AMO-ZIL website, history 1924-1931".
14. (2016). link. Moscow Polytechnic University
15. (1968). "Western technology and Soviet economic development, 1917 to 1930". Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace.