Machines of the chief combine operator of the USSR
Unlike his predecessor Leonid Brezhnev, Mikhail Gorbachev was not a fan of cars. Moreover, the author of liberal reforms and Soviet democracy showed that he was an opponent of luxury, which he tried to emphasize in every possible way.
Before the appointment of Mikhail Sergeevich to the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, little was reported about the cars driven by the Gorbachev couple. In his autobiographical memoirs, this moment was skipped both by the former secretary-general himself and by his wife, Raisa Maksimovna. But during the years of party service
The Gorbachevs used personal cars based on the status of nomenklatura officials.
In the Soviet Union, “member bearers” are those who are euphemistically followed by people (from the title of the position – a member of the Central Committee or a member of the Politburo).
When Gorbachev came to power, he inherited the ZIL-41051 (and 41052) from his late predecessor Konstantin Chernenko, apparently a restyled version of the 114th ZIL of the Brezhnev era. The main difference was in the so-called armored capsule made of “military” steel.
Capsule bodies were welded on equipment for infantry fighting vehicles at the Kurgan Machine-Building Plant.
The car itself was actually built around this protected cabin, making this car one of the safest among its similar foreign counterparts. In 1988, ZIL-41047 appeared in Gorbachev’s convoy – the last serial modification of Zilovsky limousines for the Politburo.
At the time of his appointment as chairman of the Central Committee, Gorbachev was also given the “The Seagull” (GAZ-14) with a special bright interior. Raisa Maksimovna used this car mostly for her own purposes. And although the “Seagull” was much more comfortable than the “Volga” (GAZ-24), based on the officer families of the following CPSU class, the first lady was still not satisfied with this car.
Later, he received a car that fully corresponds to the status of a high-ranking officer – ZIL-41045. Allegedly, this particular car is on display in the Museum of Legends of the USSR, located on the federal highway M-4 DON. Another Gorbachova car was found in Kazakhstan. In 2017 in Alma-Ata exhibited The limousine “ZIL-41047” for sale, according to the owner, also belonged to the wife of the former secretary general.
Viktor Kuzovlev, the former head of Gorbachev’s bodyguard, who at various times worked with the top leadership of the USSR, recalled in his book:
It was Raisa Maksimovna who felt her passion for cars.
According to her, the First Lady asked her to ride Soviet limousines with a personal driver during her visits abroad. At the same time, cars were delivered to each city on a business trip by plane.
According to Kuzovlev’s book, it was Raisa Maksimovna who instilled in Gorbachev’s institutional tradition to stop the cortege in the middle of the street for spontaneous communication with ordinary people, violating all security protocols. According to the memoirs of the officer, the guards practiced such improvisations with difficulty. Kuzovlev gives an example of how employees of the 9th KGB Directorate in Paris and Japan literally had to make a way through a crowd with their hands.
Unlike Brezhnev, Gorbachev tried not to accept expensive gifts, but one of the most generous gifts he received in the late 1980s was Ronald Reagan’s Pontiac Grand Prix trophy. But the Secretary General did not manage to get into a sports car, he was immediately transferred to the AZLK museum.
“The Seagull” instantly lined up
Perestroika and cost accounting introduced new rules to the auto industry of the USSR, for which, as history shows, Russian factories were not ready. Despite the fact that in the second half of the 1980s, almost all Soviet automobile factories presented their new models. So, the Zaporozhye Automobile Plant released Tavria, VAZ employees received a whole family of front-wheel drive cars Sputnik, the Izhevsk Automobile Plant introduced the Orbita hatchback, and Moscow AZLK introduced the front-wheel drive Moskvich-2141 , GAZ did not go into the series when buying the 3105 model .
Subsequently, all these models lost the fight with competitors due to the lack of full-fledged competitive experience in the new market conditions.
The struggle against privileges declared by Gorbachev, first of all, dealt a blow to the “member carriers”, who most clearly personified the nomenclature advantages of the Soviet establishment over the ordinary Soviet citizen.
One of the first victims of this struggle was the gas project “Martı”.
Not only was it closed, in fact the entire technical base was lost, as well as the production equipment. For the model, the damage was fatal, so when the political course changed, “The Seagull” could not be restarted.
There were rumors that the idea of destroying Chaika was inspired by Gorbachev’s wife, but there is no evidence or authoritative evidence of this. Things were not better with ZIL, the updated passenger line of the plant was supposed to start with the launch of the promising ZIL-4102 model. It was predicted that this car would compete with the Rolls-Royce models.
In fact, borrowing many solutions for the 4102 was from British luxury limousines.
For the first time, a Soviet limousine had a load-bearing body, fiberglass panels and independent suspensions. The equipment included all the options available at the time, including power accessories, air conditioning, cassette player, digital radio, 10 audio speakers, an on-board computer and a velvet interior with a rear passenger footrest.
And this project was not destined to come true. The Special Purpose Garage (GON) has abandoned the car. According to various sources, the Secretary General did not like the car, but still there is no documentary confirmation of these facts. After leaving the leadership of the country, Gorbachev retained some privileges, including a personal car from the GON garage. Recently, there was an armored Mercedes-Benz S600.