The collapse of Avtovaz would also be that of an entire section of Russian industrial history.
In an underground garage, two men in period coveralls are bent over the entrails of a Lada Niva from the 80s, the legendary 4×4, whose freshly painted body shines red.
“Since childhood, my whole life has been linked to the factory. My uncle came to work there in the 1970s, then my father, then my mother and I joined them (…). All our relatives in Togliatti worked at the factory and I myself worked there. I had no other choice, everything is related to the company“, says Sergei Diogrik.
At 43, he takes care of the Lada History club, bringing together enthusiasts from all over the world of the Soviet car. Once a mechanic, he now devotes himself to restoring vintage Ladas.
“It was a powerful production. The record in the early 80s was 720,000 cars per year“, he says, once morest nearly 300,000 cars produced in 2021 in Togliatti, according to the firm Inovev.