Russo-Balt (sometimes Russobalt or Russo-Baltique) was one of the first

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n companies that produced vehicles and aircraft between 1909 and 1923. AG der Russisch-Baltischen Waggon-Fabrik 1906

History

Riga factory

The Russo-Baltic Wagon Factory (; , RBVZ) was founded in 1874 in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, then a major industrial centre of

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Originally, the new company was an affiliate of the Van der Zypen & Charlier company in Cologne-Deutz,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1894 the majority of its shares were sold to investors in Riga and St. Petersburg, among them local Baltic German merchants F. Meyer, K. Amelung, and Chr. Schroeder, as well as Schaje Berlin, a relative of

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

. The company eventually grew to 3,800 employees. Between 1909 and 1915 some 625 cars were built at the railway car factory RBVZ, initially to the designs of the young Swiss engineer Julian Potterat. Potterat had formerly been a designer at Automobiles Charles Fondu in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, and was now at age 26, director of the RBVZ car section and a principal designer. In 1915 the Riga factory was evacuated, with the equipment being transferred to St. Petersburg, Fili (Moscow) and

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

. Today in Riga, Latvia, there is a company named Russo-Balt that manufactures trailers. Another self-proclaimed successor is the luxury armored SUVs producer Dartz.

St Petersburg factory

In early 1912 company director M. V. Shidlovsky hired 22-year-old

Igor Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, (25 May 1889 – 26 October 1972) was a Russian-American aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. His first success came with the Sikorsky S-2, the second aircraft of his design and construc ...

as the chief engineer for RBVZ's new aircraft division in St. Petersburg. Sikorsky's airplane had recently won a military aircraft competition in Moscow. He brought several engineers with him to RBVZ, and agreed that the company would own his designs for the next five years. This group quickly produced a series of airplanes. Among these were the S-5, S-7, S-9, S-10 (1913), S-11, S-12, S-16 (1915), S-20 (1916), ''Russky Vityaz'' (''The Grand'') (1913), a series named '' Il'ya Muromets'' starting in 1913. Relatedly, in 1914, Shidlovsky was appointed commander of the newly formed EVK (''Eskadra vozdushnykh korablei'', Squadron of Flying Ships). This squadron flew ''Il'ya Muromets'' bombers during World War I. The

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

brought an end to the aircraft business. Sikorsky left for France in 1918. Shidlovsky and his son were arrested in 1919, while attempting to go to Finland, and were murdered. After the 1917 revolution a second factory was opened in St. Petersburg, where they built armoured cars on chassis produced in Riga.

Moscow factory

In 1922, the production was moved from St. Petersburg to BTAZ in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The Moscow plant was evacuated to

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

in 1941, leading to the establishment of the Kazan Aircraft Production Association. The Moscow site later became home to the Khrunichev Space Center.

Concept car

The brand "Руссо-Балт" was resurrected in 2006 by a group of German and Russian investors to propose a luxury concept car, the Russo-Baltique Impression, billed as a

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

with strong hints of European styling of the early 1930s. The car uses mechanical parts of Mercedes origin (Mercedes CL63 AMG), was first introduced at the 2006

Concours d'Elegance Concours d'Elegance ( French: ''concours d'élégance'') is a term of French origin that means a "competition of elegance" and refers to an event where prestigious vehicles are displayed and judged. It dates back to 17th-century France, where a ...

. The car was meant to be produced by the German company Gerg GmbH (or perhaps Russo-Baltique Engineering GmbH). Total production of 10 to 15 cars maximum was expected, with a production rate of 2 to 3 cars a year. The selling price would have been around 50,000,000 rubles or 870,000 US dollars, but the project never materialized. The current owner of the international trademark "Russo-Balt" is Russo-Balt, LLC (OOO), Moscow, Russia.

List of products

Russo-Balt produced trucks, buses and cars, often more or less copies of cars from the German Rex-Simplex or Belgian Fondu Trucks. Only two original vehicles have survived to the present day. One is a Russo-Balt

fire engine A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

built on a Type D truck chassis in 1912. This is on display at the Riga Motor Museum in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. The other is a Russo-Balt K12/20 from 1911, which is shown at the Polytechnical Museum in

Aircraft

* S-5 (1911) * S-7 (1912) * S-9 (1913) * S-10 (1913) * S-11 (1913) * S-12 (1913) * S-16 (1915) * S-20 (1916) * ''Russky Vityaz'' (''The Grand'') (1913) * '' Il'ya Muromets'' series (S-22 to S-27) starting in 1913 * ''Alexander Nevsky'' (1916)

Aircraft engines

* RBVZ-6 (1915) * MRB-6 (1915)

Cars

* 24/30 (1909) * Type C (1909) ** C24/30 (1909) *** C24/30 Faeton (≥ 1909) *** Landole C24/30 (1909) ** C24/40 (1913) ** C24/50 (1909/'10/'1/'2) ** C24/55 (1912) ** C24/58 (1909/'10/'1/'2/'3) * Type K (1909) ** K12/20 (1909) * Type E (1914) * Impression (2006)

Military vehicles

* Type C (1912) (based on normal model) * Armoured versions of different models (1914)

Trucks

* Type D (1912) * Type M (1913) * Type T (1913)

References

External links

Official site of the Latvian manufacturer
{{Authority control Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Russia Bus manufacturers of Latvia Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Russia Truck manufacturers of Latvia Concept cars Manufacturing companies established in 1874 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1923 Manufacturing companies based in Moscow Manufacturing companies based in Riga 1874 establishments in the Russian Empire 1923 disestablishments in Russia Companies nationalised by the Soviet Union Car manufacturers of Latvia