Lukashenko calls him the face of the country. What's happening at MAZ today

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO during a visit to OJSC MINSK Automobile Plant - the management company of the BelavtoMAZ holding, April 2016 Photo from the archive Alexander Lukashenko during a visit to OJSC Minsk Automobile Plant - the management company of the BelavtoMAZ holding, April 2016 Photo from the archive 12 News Topics

Visiting the Minsk Automobile Plant in April 2016, President Alexander Lukashenko said: “MAZ, like BELAZ and the motorcycle plant, is the face of our country. We under no circumstances can and do not have the right to ruin these enterprises. Therefore, in response to skeptics and those , who today does not believe in this: MAZ will always be there, both with me and after me. Whatever it costs me (I’m telling you this as President), I will save this plant. Because this is not only a matter of my honor ". Where will your children go to work? Our happiness is here on this earth. And we must think about how to save jobs for our children. So let's roll up our sleeves together and set ourselves the main task: to be MAZ!"

The history of the Minsk Automobile Plant could well form the basis of an Oscar-winning film. It has everything you need for an exciting plot: an intriguing plot and room for action, an intense climax and intricacies of fate, unexpected endings and an inspiring ending. Over its almost 80-year history, the company has survived everything. In the new episode of the BELTA YouTube project “In fact: decisions of the First” you will find out why the Soviet truck manufacturer started with American Fords and Studebakers, how the Minsk tractor conquered Paris and Brussels and what, according to President Alexander Lukashenko, saved the Belarusians from unemployment and poverty.

How Fords and Studebakers were assembled in Minsk

Well, let's rewind our film eight decades ago. The date of birth of the Minsk Automobile Plant is considered to be August 9, 1944. It was on this day that the USSR State Defense Committee decided to organize a car assembly plant in Minsk. This decision was approved personally by Stalin.

Video screenshot

What time it was, you know well. The Belarusian capital had just been liberated from the Nazi invaders, and exhausted but unbroken Minsk residents began to rebuild their city. Former partisans and front-line soldiers, who had never built large factories in their lives, much less engaged in mechanical engineering, asked to be taught this as soon as possible. “We want to work and live in such a way that we feel that it was not in vain that we shed our blood for the freedom of our Motherland,” they declared.

People had to assemble cars during the day and go out at night to unload trains delivering components. Over the weekend, if you can call it that, the factory workers devoted their last energy to the restoration and improvement of the capital. And just a couple of months later, in November 1944, the first batch of equipment assembled in Minsk was sent to the front. These were... American cars "Mac", "Ford", "Chevrolet" and "Studebaker". They were supplied to the Minsk plant from the usa in the form of units and parts under the Lend-Lease agreement. After the first batch, hundreds of others followed. In two years, more than 18 thousand American trucks were assembled for the front and the national economy in Belarus, and in 1946 the plant stopped producing them.

When Belarus began to assemble its trucks

In general, before the war in the USSR, only three enterprises produced trucks: the Stalin Plant in Moscow, the Gorky and Yaroslavl Automobile Plants. Moreover, heavy vehicles were the prerogative of Yaroslavl. True, very few of them were produced. And all plans for a large-scale reconstruction of the plant were ruined by the war. In the summer of 1945, after the Victory Parade, an inspection of automobile equipment that was to be produced in the post-war years took place in the Kremlin. And then the fate of the automobile plant under construction in Minsk was decided. Belarusians had to organize the production of their own trucks. Five-ton Yaroslavl trucks were taken as the basis. The issue with the name was resolved simply - MAZ. And on the emblem they depicted a Belarusian bison. This is how the creators emphasized the strength, power and dynamics of the car.

By the way, about this period, Alexander Lukashenko once told a student at the National Children's Technopark: “Think about it, back in 1944 the war was still raging, a third of the population died, almost all of our cities and villages were destroyed, roads and bridges were destroyed, and in Minsk already "Restoration work is underway . Our fraternal republics, which were then part of the Soviet Union, provided us with enormous help. An automobile plant is being built, which after about three years - in 1947 - produces the first MAZ trucks."

By the middle of the century, the Minsk Automobile Plant began producing 40-ton dump trucks. Neither the domestic nor the global automotive industry knew any analogues. In 1958, the 40-ton MAZ-530 dump truck was even awarded the Grand Prix at the World Industrial Exhibition in Brussels as a vehicle with particularly high load-carrying capacity. In the same year, an event occurred at the plant that largely predetermined the fate of the enterprise. Here, prototypes of the MAZ-500 and MAZ-503 were assembled, which were to replace the first family.

“In the early 60s, we had our own design base at the plant. And the designers of our plant are creating a fundamentally new progressive generation of automotive equipment, the family of which was called MAZ-500 (with the so-called tilting cab over the engine). This design was created for the first time in the Soviet Union in relation to heavy-duty vehicles. This entailed the technical re-equipment of the plant. And from January 1, 1966, the plant completely switched to the production of MAZ-500 cars. And the last car of the first generation, MAZ-200, rolled off the main assembly line on December 31, 1965 “You can see it in front of the factory entrance,” noted Marina Sevastyanovich, HEAD of the Minsk Automobile Plant museum.

Marina Sevastyanovich. Video screenshot

How a Belarusian truck conquered Europe

MAZ's engineering thought was several decades ahead of the production capabilities of not only the plant itself, but also the entire Soviet automotive industry. Just look at the prototype of the famous MAZ-2000 “Perestroika” concept car. At the exhibition in Paris, the truck created a real sensation. The Belgian magazine Transporama wrote: “Engineers from many companies carefully studied Perestroika, and their disdainful grin quickly gave way to a grimace of surprise: why do the Russians have such a prototype, but we don’t?” The European press did not skimp on praise: “Sensation of the world Paris Motor Show”, “Road train of the 21st century”.

In 1991, the restructuring itself ended, and work on the truck of the same name stopped. At the plant, as in all post-Soviet republics, there was no time for dreams and dreams. The main task was survival.

What happened at MAZ in the 1990s

“It was difficult, of course. I just had small children. I remember running around factories, looking for MILK , but couldn’t find it. There were difficulties with food and with work. Some people worked part-time - after work or before. I repaired cars for friends , was engaged in straightening. Thank God, it’s over,” recalls Grigory Titarev, a straightening worker at the cabin welding and painting shop.

Grigory Titarev. Video screenshot

Now, according to him, the situation at the enterprise is stable, there is a lot of work. “We often work on Saturdays and earn money. I bought myself a car, I bought a dacha two years ago. Everything is fine with me. Now I’m actually thinking about buying a new car at the dealership (I have a used one). It’s set up, I like it. I’m already retired. But sit It’s boring at home, I go to work. And I’m going to work some more. Why sit at home, I have to work,” says the factory worker.

Alexander Gimpel, an adjuster for cold stamping equipment in the press shop, has been working at MAZ for almost half a century. He joined the company at the end of 1977 and has been working in his workshop ever since.

“The 1990s... It’s not that it’s hard, but there was less work. This useless collapse of the Soviet Union... The salary was small - 35-40 dollars. And the card system was in stores. When Alexander Lukashenko led the country, well done, he didn’t let it close enterprise. Slowly, little by little, the plant began to gain momentum. There are a lot of people, people need to be given work. Movement is life, that’s why I’m retired, but I’m still working. They asked me to stay this year,” said Alexander Gimpel.

Alexander Gimpel. Video screenshot

The collapse of the Soviet Union led to collapse at the plant, recalls mechanical assembly mechanic Alexander Linnik: “Collapse, theft. Salaries were very small - the equivalent of 30 dollars. Strikes. Such nonsense there was. When our current President came to power , he behaved normally recommended. He began to fight against banditry, which flourished then, against theft. I think it is his great merit that we live so normally today. Now we have completely different machines, completely different equipment. The machines are very serious, complex. A lot of electronics. Now "There is a lot of work, but there are not enough workers. For some reason, the blue-collar profession is not valued among young people now. Young people, I think, want everything at once and a lot, but that doesn’t happen. You can only steal a lot, but here you have to work."

Alexander Linnik. Video screenshot

Why do the Belarusian authorities support giant enterprises?

In the 90s and early 2000s, the Belarusian authorities really paid top priority to their industrial giants. They were sometimes criticized for the priority they gave to microeconomics. They say that the market should regulate the work of enterprises, and let people worry about their own fate. But Alexander Lukashenko had a different view. The President emphasized that supporting people and work collectives is the sacred duty of the authorities.

Alexander Lukashenko during a visit to MAZ, May 1998

In 2000 alone, Belarusian factories received assistance from the state in the amount of almost Br100 billion. This helped preserve their workforces. And over time, enterprises began to bring the budget tens of times more than at the time of receiving preferences. But it could have been much simpler: sell, close, cut, divide. And find yourself on the outskirts of one empire or another.

Alexander Lukashenko during a visit to MAZ, February 2003

Take a look at the Baltic countries, for example. They went to the West at the cost of destroying the real sector of the economy. Maybe you remember the VEF radio plant in Latvia, famous throughout the Soviet Union, or the Riga RAF minibuses? In the 90s, these enterprises went bankrupt. For a long time, their territory was abandoned, production buildings were destroyed. Now the space is rented by trade and commercial firms.

There will be industrial giants in Belarus, said Alexander Lukashenko. It was precisely such enterprises that supported the entire Belarusian economy during difficult years . The state was able to save them and take them to a completely new level. And this, the President emphasized, saved the country and people from unemployment and poverty. From hunger, as they say in Belarus.

How competitors from the West and East looked at MAZ

Cooperation with the German automobile industry - manufacturers of MAN and Neoplan cars - also helped the Minsk Automobile Plant to stay afloat in the 90s. But European companies were unable to take the bait of the Belarusian enterprise, so the partnership was short-lived. And as time has shown, Belarus was the only winner from this.

In the 2010s, a Russian competitor, the Kama Automobile Plant, began to take a closer look at MAZ. For years there has been talk of a merger of the two enterprises. But over time, it became known that KAMAZ only wanted to take control of its competitor; no one was going to invest in Minsk production. That is, MAZ, with all its history, was supposed to become simply an auxiliary workshop of KAMAZ. “What is the point of privatization then? How will MAZ and its workforce benefit?” - asked Alexander Lukashenko. Even later, information appeared: its Western shareholders were behind KAMAZ’s plans. And then everything fell into place. Of course, they were not interested in an equal and fair partnership with Belarus. By the way, flirting with the West also played a cruel joke with KAMAZ.

“We didn’t go to great lengths to bring foreigners here. That’s why the imposed sanctions didn’t hit us as hard as, say, KAMAZ. The Germans entered there first of all. We didn’t particularly indulge our machine builders in this area. We have Germans too worked. Both "MAZ-MAN" and "Neoplan" were at MAZ at one time. The contract ended, I shook their hands and said: “Thank you, we will continue to develop ourselves.” No matter what it costs us, these difficulties, difficulties. By the way, we also promoted such areas of cooperation in RUSSIA. But your leaders at that time believed that if the Germans or Americans came, these would be such technologies, this would be such happiness...” noted Alexander Lukashenko at one of the meetings with the governor of the Penza region of Russia.

In recent years, cooperation between the two giants has improved. As they say, there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped.

“We have always, remember, KAMAZ, MAZ - there was some kind of red tape. But now there is no competition. We produce goods for KAMAZ - components, KAMAZ makes for us. When individual companies (Western - note BELTA) left, here that’s how they work. And there is enough market,” said the head of the Belarusian state at a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

It was high time for MAZ and KAMAZ to understand: it is better to compete in rally raids. Belarusian and Russian crews have been taking part in races for many years, conquering steppes and deserts. This is where the real scope for competition lies. And serious passions are boiling there. It would be like this everywhere.

What are the prospects for the Minsk Automobile Plant?

Today, MAZ passenger vehicles are represented by fifteen models and thirty modifications based on them. And the model range of trucks consists of six hundred samples, including about three thousand modifications of tractors, on-board vehicles, dump trucks, timber trucks, chassis to be equipped with cranes, drilling rigs, tanks, fuel tankers, municipal and road equipment. The products of the Minsk Automobile Plant are known in fifty countries. In addition to traditional sales markets, these are the countries of the European Union, Africa and Latin America.

The company says that the plant is overloaded with work. New modifications of buses and trucks are being developed here, and special equipment is in demand. Among the new directions is the development of electric transport. But the main hopes are placed on the new plant.

Alexander Ignatyuk. Video screenshot

“Our plans for the development of passenger vehicles are grandiose. With the support of the head of state, we are building a new bus plant and will almost double production capacity. In recent years, we have produced 1,300-1,500 units of passenger vehicles. This year we will make approximately 1,810. After commissioning of the new plant, we will produce at least 3,000 per year. Next year we will have the most active part of construction. We will already erect the building, deliver equipment there, and by the end of the year the plant will be almost ready. All that remains is start-up and adjustment and commissioning. At the beginning of 2025 “It will be operational within a year,” said Deputy General DIRECTOR of MAZ OJSC - Director of Economics Alexander Ignatyuk.

How the history of the Minsk Automobile Plant will develop further depends on many factors. We do not undertake to guess or predict. Today we know the main thing - the plant lives and develops. Thanks to the factory workers who did not abandon their native enterprise, and the decisions that were made by the First.

The project was created using targeted funds for the production of national content.