The legendary “Victory” – 80 years: as the grandson of Yakub Kolas restores the family car
One is filmed, the other is restored by the grandson of Jakub Kolas. The 80th anniversary of the model is the history of cars that have become more than a means of transportation.
She was a Soviet-era movie star and the dream of millions. For someone out of reach. For 10 years, only about 240 thousand cars moved from the conveyor. Yes, and just like “Victory” was not sold. We needed either a special permit or a service to our country. This year, the legendary car turned 80 years old. Time and rust are ruthless even to legend. Until now, without losing the victorious look, only a few were crouched.
GAZ-M-20 rolled off the assembly line in 1957. The car that Stalin did not like, but still went, the car is a legend. Although the body is no longer in its native color, the model is recognizable immediately.
“Victory” – the absolute premiere: the first personalized Soviet car. M-20 in the name is a factory index, where the letter “M” is “Molotovets” (in honor of the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs, patron of the Gorky Automobile Plant). 20 - the volume of the gasoline engine. Behind this door was kept a full tank of "Victory" - assure, the first in Minsk.
In November 1946, on the estate of Yakub Kolas began to build not only a two-storey house, but also a garage: the poet complained that his Opel Olympia is in the open air and does not start well in the cold. The construction was done by German prisoners of war. The Opel Olympia was later replaced by the Opel Admiral, both of which were gifts.
And in 1953, Kolas bought his own “Victory” on the author’s fee. Now the car belongs to his grandson Andrey Mickiewicz and is under restoration. Since the late 1960s, the car did not go, for some time stood in the courtyard of the house-museum and rusted heavily. To send it for repair in Gorky, where they released “Victory”, wanted the eldest son of the writer, but then there were not enough funds. Now experts have replaced the rotten floor, spars and sills – only about 15% of the original parts. Work is slow: restorers try to preserve as much of the car’s native elements as possible. And in the former garage of Kolas today there is an interactive exhibition where you can see models of cars belonging to him.
