Stop 3: Zavod imeni Likhachova
Welcome to the ZiL auto factory.
ZiL stands for Zavod imeni Likhachova. This was an auto factory that was established in the 1930s. It reached its heyday in the 1970s, when it exported over 300,000 cars in the decade alone. ZiL cars were being exported to 57 countries and they had over 5,000 mechanics trained in various foreign markets (Pike). This plant, at its peak, employed 100,000 workers and featured its own cafeterias barber shop, bus line, and even fire department. Its entire complex was part of a 400-hectare Soviet industrial hub (Luhn).
In the 20th century, ZiL was prominent throughout the USSR. It was known both for its luxurious cars as well as its affordable, lower model. The luxurious cars – sedans, limos – were intended for politicians and wealthy individuals, and only a handful were produced each year because they were so exclusive. Can anyone guess how many they made annually?
Yup, that’s right. Only about 25 cars per year (Luhn).
While the luxury cars evoke memories of a bygone era, so do the affordable, lower model cars. To the right, we can see Zaporozhets, which are the affordable USSR car, just like the East German Trabant. This was the car that was driven by the masses. Similarly, there are LuAZ-967s, which are considered the car of the Russian Airborne Troops. This was a sturdy vehicle designed to perform and function well. This, too, evokes memories of a bygone era.
Ultimately, the plant fell into debt and disrepair in the 1990s. By 1999, the premium division had closed because Russian officials had decided to switch their official mode of transport to Mercedes.
After many years of abandonment and falling into ruins, the plant and its surrounding regions are being transformed into an upscale, self-sufficient apartment complex, also known as a city-in-city. This complex will entail boutique shops, schools, a riverside park, a concert hall, and even a branch of St. Petersburg’s famous Hermitage museum.
This is one of the more unusual stops on our tour, as we cannot actually see much of the progress that has been made. We can see across the horizon the ruins and the destruction that has begun in anticipation of the future development. I will pass out a booklet of photos featuring the mock-ups of this future city-in-city.
This development has been criticized for disrespecting the heritage of the area because of the extensive and heavily modern new plan. Unlike the other two sites we’ve seen so far, it truly strives to start from the ground up without retaining any of the traditional infrastructure or themes that were closely tied to the ZiL Auto Factory. That being said, it is also a project that exceeds the other sites on the tour with respect to scope: it is not just a play space – it is also a living space for people, as it includes apartment buildings as well.
We will come back to the theme of respecting (or failing to) the history of a site in its post-industrial transformation at the end of the tour, but I challenge you all to think about how authentically Moscovite the city-in-a-city will feel?
