In less than 10 years, industrialization in the newly emerging Soviet Union turned yesterday's agrarian state into one of the world leaders in industrial production. However, after the abolition of the USSR, many enterprises turned out to be "unnecessary", they were privatized by private owners or, at best, sold out, thereby filling the pockets of future oligarchs.
1. KAZ
The Kutaisi Automobile Plants may have been the most controversial machine-building enterprise in the Soviet Union, but it created a huge economic network around itself, providing jobs for many thousands of Soviet citizens. First of all, the assembly quality suffered at KAZ, and the legendary Kolkhida truck became the object of hatred and ridicule of domestic drivers. However, in addition to trucks, the plant produced many other useful things. After 1991, KAZ was privatized and fell into disrepair. Today only the wind blows in the workshops. There is only one small assembly line, bought for their needs by the Chinese.
2. SeAZ
The Serpukhov Automobile Plant became famous throughout the country, first of all, for the fact that they assembled the famous wheelchair "disabled" for people with disabilities. The build quality of the wheelchairs began to seriously lame during the years of perestroika, and after 1991, dark times came for the plant. The enterprise was privatized. At first, the owners tried to integrate it into the new economy, but they failed to achieve success. As a result, an industrial park has been organized on the territory of SeAZ today for renting space for the needs of private production.
3. RAF
Perhaps the main manufacturer of minibuses in the Soviet Union was the Riga Bus Factory. The quality of Baltic technology has always been at a very high level, but despite this, the degradation of the 1980s affected this enterprise as well. The RAF could not survive the "dashing 90s". The products of the legendary plant were rapidly ousted from the market by the brand new GAZelles. As a result, in 1998 the Riga company was declared bankrupt. In the future, there were rumors about the revival of the brand, but it never came to fruition.
4. KrAZ
The Kremenchug Automobile Plant was the main manufacturer of large-capacity trucks in the USSR for work, including in the super-heavy conditions of the Far North. They were excellent cars in all respects. Even in the 1980s, the plant produced huge volumes of quality products. However, in the 1990s, dark times began at KrAZ. The transition to a market economy did not benefit the famous Soviet plant. At first, the enterprise was "floundering" at the expense of defense orders, but today most of the shops are simply empty, and the production of trucks is close to zero. Although there is no talk of bankruptcy of the plant, there is little good.
5. ZIL
The Likhachev plant is a Soviet enterprise that needs no extra introduction. The first problems at the plant, which produced trucks famous throughout the country, began back in the years of perestroika. ZiL could not fit into the market. In the 1990s, the volume of production began to fall rapidly, shops were closed one by one, and expensive equipment was often simply scrapped. Several years ago, the Mexicans bought out the last surviving assembly line of the plant and deployed it in their country. According to the local businessmen, the machines of the times of Joseph Stalin will be able to produce trucks of acceptable quality for another 50 years.
Continuing the topic, read about LuAZ: how things are today at the plant that produced Soviet SUVs.