The PAZ-652B funeral bus that had been undergoing restoration for several years has returned to public view, arriving at the Moscow Transport Museum’s warehouse, which sits in the historic Pokrovskaya Vegetable Warehouse district. This update comes via the Telegram channel “Retrobus: direct injection,” a source that tracks vintage buses and their journeys through Russia’s transportation heritage network.
According to the channel, the restoration of this rare model took place at SVARZ, the Sokolnicheskaya car repair and construction facility, in recent years. The PAZ museum, which houses the vehicle, was once employed as a hearse and has been restored to reflect its original use and historical appearance. After years of service in other roles, the bus was decommissioned and assigned as an entry gate at a Ritual base until 1998, after which it found its way to the museum collection.
Produced by the Pavlovsk Bus Plant, the PAZ-652B model was manufactured from 1962 to 1968. When used for funeral services in Moscow, these buses were re-equipped at the Aremkuz facility near the Paveletsky railway station, where specialized bodywork and equipment were installed to meet ceremonial requirements. This process ensured that the buses could perform their task with dignity while preserving distinctive design traits from the era.
In a separate note from regional news, it was reported that a local resident in Primorye reportedly stole a hearse for a personal use case, attempting to transport his girlfriend around in a vehicle designed for solemn ceremonial duties. Such anecdotes underscore how public artifacts like a hearse can become part of unexpected, human-interest stories that travel beyond their official histories, reminding audiences of the social contexts in which these vehicles operated and the lore that springs up around them.
Today, the PAZ-652B stands as a crossroad between memory and museum practice. Its current placement in the Moscow Transport Museum helps illustrate the mid-20th-century design language of Soviet ceremonial vehicles, while its restoration journey highlights the careful craftsmanship and archival work that preserves industrial heritage. Visitors and researchers alike can gain a clearer sense of the vehicle’s original configuration, its engineering specifics, and the ceremonial roles it fulfilled in the Moscow metropolitan area. The vehicle’s paintwork, markings, and overall silhouette have been preserved to reflect the era, enabling a tangible link to the rituals and traditions that surrounded funeral processions in the Soviet period. The museum’s approach to display prioritizes accuracy, allowing future generations to study the evolution of municipal transport design and the social significance of official ceremonial fleets.