When we speak about the origins of the Russian automobile industry, one name comes to mind – Russobalt. Cars of this brand were produced at the Russo-Baltic Wagon Corporation factory in Riga starting in 1908. However, few remember the Russian auto industry had a history predating this. The first automobile of Russian build was presented to the public on July 16, 1896, at the Nizhniy Novgorod Industry and Art Exhibition. It was designed by the Russian engineers Yevgeny Yakovlev and Pyotr Freze. The motor and transmission had been produced at Yakovlev’s factory and running gear and body at Freze’s factory.
The construction was that of an open carriage with a motor and its large wooden wheels (with the rear wheels outsizing the front) with a rubber tires made it resemble a carriage all the more. The maximum speed of the ‘automobile’ was 21 km/hour and it carried enough fuel to run for 10 hours straight. The exterior of the machine resembled the automobile of Karl Benz. Freze and Yakovlev had seen Benz’s Victoria at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. Be things as they may, the Russian engineers introduced their own improvements and these improvements were recognized by the automotive community. For example, Benz’s transmission was made more reliable through the use of drive belts made of multi-layer rubberized fabric. Freze had somewhat tweaked the running gear. Yakovlev substantially lightened the motor and transmission, in part by creating a motor that occupied less space than Benz’s.
The appearance of Russian automotive production was quite timely. And although in the end things did not work out as planned, the first Russian automobile was conceived as a commercial product for mass production. And that was no coincidence. It was in 1896 that the Paris – Marseilles – Paris race was held and Edouard Michelin equipped several hundred automobiles with inflatable tires. It was also around this time that Russia introduced road rules and England got rid of a law forbidding automobile traffic without a red flag bearer. There was a clear trend for progress in the automotive industry, and the era of travel without horses had begun in England and across the ocean.
So why did this project not succeed. It is difficult to say now, but such is often the case with pioneers. It is possible the society was not quite ready for this innovation and – of particular importance to any start-up – the state was in no hurry to support a private initiative.
Yakovlev passed away in 1898 and his heirs, not interest in producing internal-combustion engines, repositioned the factory. Freze was forced to purchase motors from abroad, and in 1910 he outright sold his factory to the Russo-Baltic Wagon Corporation.
Alexander Ryazantsev
