We continue the material cycle commemorating the 95th anniversary of the magazine “Za Rulem.”
When a print publication has no rivals, staying afloat can be easy. But when new newspapers and magazines seem to appear every day and readers show no clear preference, the landscape becomes tougher.
That was the environment into which Za Rulem emerged in 1928. Alongside it, titles such as “Crocodile,” “Soviet Photo,” “Literary Newspaper,” “Peasant Woman,” “Around the World,” “Spark,” “Sail,” “Worker,” “Roman Newspaper,” and many others were thriving.
The topic of these publications was clear and in demand. And what would “Behind the Wheel” offer if cars were not yet present in the country?
First car
The creators of the new magazine set an ambitious task: to captivate readers with something that did not yet exist. From the very first issue, esteemed authors were invited to contribute, lending authority that could not be questioned.
The groundbreaking article “The Future of the USSR Automobile Industry” was written not by a speculative theorist, but by a real professor—Evgeny Alekseevich Chudakov.
From the following issues, the professor began to publish material on the car’s design. And these were not brief notes, but in-depth articles, akin to a rigorous textbook.
Chudakov did not shy away from presenting the situation honestly: “In terms of motorized transport, our Union ranks behind many industrialized countries.” That was a bold statement. If one wanted to understand how a car works, the file “Behind the Wheel” and Professor Chudakov’s writings were a strong, unmatched resource.
From school to passenger car series
Evgeny Chudakov’s biography is remarkable. He came from the village and graduated with honors from the Imperial Moscow Technical School at the age of 26.
Almost immediately, the young engineer was sent to the United Kingdom to oversee the purchase and acceptance of cars and motorcycles. Yet in 1918, Chudakov returned to Russia amid world-changing upheavals. He believed his place was in his homeland, not in London.
In Moscow, he joined the department of his alma mater, which had become the Moscow Higher Technical School. Over time, Chudakov began to handle nearly all car and automotive matters.
In the Scientific Automobile Laboratory (NAL), later transformed into NAMI, a de facto design bureau for domestic car factories emerged.
Chudakov and colleagues organized motorcycle meetings with foreign manufacturers, developed the first serial passenger car, the NAMI-1, and negotiated with Americans on producing domestic trucks.
Driving was one of Chudakov’s favorite pastimes.
Labor awards
Since the onset of the war, Chudakov contributed to adapting imported equipment for low-octane fuel and developing technologies for clearing snow from military airfields, as well as modernizing aircraft engines.
In 1943, the esteemed academician declined the Stalin Prize awarded to him. He personally sent a message to Stalin requesting the 100,000 rubles allocated for the construction of a tank column “For advanced science.” Stalin replied with gratitude to the Red Army, acknowledging Chudakov’s care for armored troops.
Evgeny Chudakov became a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the first director of its Institute of Mechanical Engineering. His work continues to be studied by students, with many pieces published in the pages of the magazine behind the wheel. As cited in departmental histories and contemporary retrospectives.