OJSC AMO ZiL, known fully as the Public Joint-Stock Company – Likhachov Plant () and more commonly called ZiL (, was a major Russian automobile, truck, military vehicle, and heavy equipment manufacturer that was based 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 last ZiL vehicle was assembled in 2012. The company continues to exist only as real-estate development site, on which a new urban district will be built by the LSR Group construction company.

History

The factory was founded on 2 August 1916 as the Moscow Automotive Society or AMO (). The factory was completed in 1917, just before the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, and was built south of

near

Moscow River The Moskva (, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river that flows through European Russia, western Russia. It River source, rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk Oblast, Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through central M ...

in Tjufeleva grove. 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 The Fiat Tipo 15 is a light military truck produced by Fiat Veicoli Industriali. Introduced in 1911, the Tipo 15 was used by the Royal Italian Army in the Italo-Turkish War and in the First World War. It was also produced in the Soviet Union a ...

1.5-ton trucks under licence. Because of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

and the subsequent

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, it took until 1 November 1924 to produce the first vehicle which was shown at a parade on 7 November, the

AMO-F-15 The AMO-F-15 was a light truck based on the Italian Fiat 15Ter made at the AMO-plant in Moscow in the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s. It was the first Soviet truck to be produced in the first series, with a total of more than 6,000 units made ...

. Nevertheless, the factory still managed to assemble trucks bought from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 1917–1919. On 30 April 1923 the factory was named after Italian anarchist

Pietro Ferrero Pietro Ferrero (; 2 September 1898 – 2 March 1949) was the founder of Ferrero SpA, an Italian confectionery and chocolatier company. His company invented Nutella, a hazelnut-cream spread, which is now sold in over 160 countries. His company ( ...

, but in 1925 was renamed to First National Automobile Factory (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: 1-й Государственный автомобильный завод). 2 years later in 1927

Ivan Likhachev Ivan Alekseyevich Likhachev (; 15 June 1896 — 24 June 1956Биография � ...

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. In 1929—1931, the factory was re-equipped and expanded with the help of the American A.J. Brandt Co., and changed its name to Automotive Factory No. 2 Zavod Imeni Stalina (ZIS or ZiS). After

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

denounced the

cult of personality A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Cas Mudde, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create ...

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

in 1956, the name was changed again to Zavod imeni Likhachyova, after its former director

Ivan Likhachev Ivan Alekseyevich Likhachev (; 15 June 1896 — 24 June 1956Биография � ...

. ZIS 101 (1938) 1X7A8090.jpg,

ZIS-101 The ZIS-101 was a limousine produced by the Soviet car manufacturer '' Zavod Imeni Stalina '' from 1936 to 1941. Its chassis was reverse-engineered from a Buick 33-90, except for the front suspension, engine, exhaust and battery carried over fro ...

(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 The ZIS-110 is a Soviet Union, Soviet limousine produced by Zavod Imeni Likhacheva, ZIL from 1946 to 1958. The 110 was developed from the reverse engineering of a 1942 Packard Super Eight during 1944. The first five prototypes were completed by ...

(1945) ZiS-110B in Museum of technique 2016-08-16.JPG, ZIS-110B (1949)

ZiL lane ZiL lanes (also sometimes called "Chaika lanes") are lanes on some principal roads in Moscow dedicated to vehicles carrying senior government officials. Known officially in Russian language, Russian as ''rezervniye polosy'' ("reserved lanes") not ...

s, road lanes dedicated to vehicles carrying top Soviet officials, were named after the car. 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 Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

's official state visits. ZiL had a history of exporting trucks to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, trade resumed in the early 21st century. 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''. ZiL-111G in Ilya Sorokin's Oldtimer-Gallery, 21 March 2010.jpg, ZIL-111G (1962) ZIL-114-limo.jpg,

ZIL-114 The ZIL-114 is a limousine from the Soviet car manufacturer ''ZIL'' introduced in 1970 to replace the ZIL-111 series which was gradually becoming out of date. In almost all respects, the ZIL-114 improved on the 111, 111A and 111G models. The eng ...

(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 The Moscow International Automobile Salon or MIAS () was until 2018 the biennial auto show held at Crocus City Mall, Crocus Expo in Moscow, Russia. The show is scheduled by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, which cons ...

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 Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

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.

Awards

* In June 1942 the VMS was awarded the first

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

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 The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

for the successful completion of works on creation of capacities up to 200 thousand cars per year issuance.

References

Literature

* *

External links