It is difficult to explain what this car was like to the citizens of the Union in the 1970s! The name of Volga was pronounced with a breath, rare private owners were envied openly or secretly. She was almost a fetish and definitely a dream car.
How am I supposed to explain that I wanted to drive on the Volga during my studies at a driving school? Most of my fellow students aspired to the Zhiguli, as they were the most popular. No, in our family was and could not be the Volga! But I thought, maybe this is the only chance in my life to drive the country’s main car?
It has come true! He studied on a tormented life and negligent cadets, an unspecified color “twenty-four”. And I could not imagine that they would call her a “ship”, and I would have to travel several Volgas of different models …
Big ship…
In 1977, when this very rare aquamarine-colored car rolled off the assembly line of the Gorky Automobile Plant, another masterpiece by Eldar Ryazanov “Office Romance” appeared on the screens. The hero of the picture Novoseltsev, performed by Andrey Myagkov, compares the Volga with a much more successful colleague Samokhvalov (Oleg Basilashvili) with a small apartment. In the context of that time, this expression had a different meaning.
Those who owned the Volga usually lived not in small apartments, but in more decent apartments. The prestigious set included, in addition to the Volga and the apartment, imported furniture, radio equipment and, of course, a dacha. The hero of “Office Romance” bought the Volga, probably in “Birch”. He comes from a business trip abroad. And those who earned the currency exchanged it at home for some kind of parallel money (first they were called certificates, then checks) and “sold” (a characteristic term for those years) in Beryozka stores, where the rest of the citizens were ordered to go.
“LOVE BAG AT WORK”The film, in which the Volga GAZ‑24 played an important supporting role, was released in 1977. Scriptwriters Eldar Ryazanov and Emil Braginsky. Directed by Eldar Ryazanov. In 1977, the box office picture came in first place in the Union – 58.4 million viewers. |
… lovely swimming
By the way, this Volga was also bought in 1977 right there – in Beryozka. Hence the rare coloring. Many wanted a black Volga and at least dreamed of joining the party and the economic elite. After all, the cars of officials were, as a rule, black. And the higher the position, the blacker. But blue is much nicer in my opinion.
Despite the astronomical price for the vast majority of Soviet citizens – about 9,000 rubles, it was very difficult to buy the Volga. Most of the cars went in taxis and as official ones. The rest were assigned not to ordinary, but to some extent citizens close to power: leaders, scientists, artists, famous athletes. However, during the period of accumulation of the first socialist capitals, there were people who were willing to pay 20 or even 25 thousand rubles for a new car on the black market!
Of course, there were very rational reasons for the love for the GAZ‑24. The Volga was the only Soviet car available to ordinary citizens in which the knees of the rear passengers did not rest against the backs of the front seats. And the only one that can seriously be called a five-seater. Those who did not and could not have the Volga could be convinced of this: almost everyone got into a taxi at least once.
When the new, still non-serial Volga GAZ-24 was introduced to the press, it was often even called a six-seater. On early cars, there was a folding insert between the front seats, turning the seats into a kind of sofa. The insert was soon removed, as of course nobody took the car seriously as a six-seater, especially considering that the gear lever was on the floor. But that’s why the driver’s seat has been shifted to the left as much as possible. But if there’s only two in the front, you’re definitely not pushing your elbows with a passenger.
Besides, officials and other directors usually sat next to the driver. A kind of socialist democracy, something like a party maximum.