Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 15:06:18 -0500
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: dschimpf@fdl.fdldotnet.com (David Schimpf)
Subject: Buses in Russia
I recently returned from a month-long stay in Russia. I spent most of my
time (three weeks) in Belgorod, a city of 380,000, 700 kilometers
south-southwest of Moscow, near Ukraine.
In Belgorod, I saw a total of 15 separate buses. All but one of them were
Vanagon bodies, air-cooled. I didn't get an opportunity to look at any of
them up close, though. One was a Eurovan-type.
Moscow, however, was a different story. There, 1980s and later buses are
fairly common (at least as common, say, as in Milwaukee-but no rust!). The
new vans are especially common in the parking lots of the G-7 nations'
embassies. I saw no breadloafs or splitties anywhere in Russia (not
surprising, if you consider how the typical Russian feels about Germany:
they don't call WWII "The Great Patriotic War" without meaning it).
The most exciting thing, bus-wise at least, was my ride from the airport in
Moscow to the train station. I was traveling with the Russian professor and
the Russian student who had been in residence at our college for a year,
the professor's wife, and the student's father. We had a total of 13 pieces
of luggage. Our original plans had been to take the Metro (the best and
cleanest in the world) to the train station, but it was clear that the
guards would never let us on with all our luggage (the professor brought
home 6 suitcases of American stuff to his family!). So we had to hire a
large taxi.
After extensive negotiation, we were able to hire a van large enough to
haul the five of us plus all the luggage from the airport to the Kursk
train station (about a 45-minute drive, as it turned out). The cost was
$100 (Moscow is one of the most expensive cities in the world). As we were
waiting for the van to pull up, I saw a Vanagon pulling into the drive. I
thought, "How cool to see one so soon upon arriving in Russia!" Imagine my
surprise when I discovered that this was OUR VAN!!!
So I rode from the airport to the train station in this vanagon. It was a
Caravelle. I couldn't tell what year it was, but it was the vanagon body
style, and it was air-cooled. The front seat was a bench seat that could
seat three. The back seat (actually, the middle seat, but there was no back
seat) also sat three. The rest of the back of the van was for luggage and
was lined with corrugated cardboard to protect the interior.
The van was in pristine shape, well taken care of. My Russian wasn't great,
so I couldn't talk to the driver about it. The one thing I noticed was that
he shut off the motor if he sat at a stop light or sign for more than a few
seconds (it was extremely hot, in the upper 80s).
There is an air-cooled car common in Russia: the "Zaporozhets,"
manufactured in Ukraine. They originated in the early 50s (I think) as a
car designed for veterans and old people. They're tiny cars with
two-cylinder engines. They're still very common in the provinces. They are
also a national joke-all you have to do is say the name and people laugh.
They are notoriously brone to breakdowns. As far as I could tell, they had
none of the loyalty and/or fanaticism associated with a certain air-cooled
vehicle we know and love. I saw people working on them A LOT. The Ladas,
manufactured on a Fiat design by Zhiguli, are nice cars. Volgas (the
Russian officials' choice car, probably because of size, roughly equivalent
to a mid-size sedan) are real tanks that seem to break down a lot. Lada
also makes the Neva, which is a small 4x4 sport-utility-type thing. They're
supposed to be relatively reliable.
I'd be happy to discuss any aspects of my trip (VW-related or not) with
anyone via email, including the Russian education system, the Russian
church, how to drink vodka properly (I had lots of practice!), and the
popularity of black currants.
Now I just need to get our 74 bus on the road.... :)
David Schimpf
74 Bus
79 Chevy Impala Wagon
70s Schwinn Collegiate 3-speed with coaster brake
| 
