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Soviet Union [USSR] Development of Automotive Transport
In 1910 a railroad car factory in Riga began producing the
first passenger automobiles and trucks in imperial Russia. Under
the Soviet regime, automotive transportation developed more slowly
than in western Europe and the United States. As early as the
1930s, problems of poor road infrastructure, shortage of spare
parts, and insufficient fueling, repair, and maintenance facilities
plagued automotive transportation. Some manufacturing plants were
set up with Western help.
During World War II, automotive production concentrated almost
exclusively on trucks and light, jeep-like vehicles. Their chassis
were also adapted for armored cars and amphibious and other types
of military vehicles. During major battles and operations,
automotive transportation carried needed troops and matériel to the
front. While Leningrad lay besieged (1941-44), trucks, driving over
the frozen surface of Lake Ladoga, brought in about 600,000 tons of
supplies and brought out over 700,000 persons. During the entire
war, Soviet automotive transport carried over 101 million tons of
freight in support of military operations. A sizable portion of the
Soviet vehicle fleet was provided by the United States as part of
the lend-lease agreement.
Since 1945 Soviet authorities have continued highway
construction, so that by 1987 the public road networks, which
excluded roads of industrial and agricultural enterprises, amounted
to 1,609,900 kilometers, of which 1,196,000 kilometers were in the
hard-surfaced category--concrete, asphalt, or gravel. Nevertheless,
about 40 percent of this category of roads were gravel. In
addition, there were 413,900 kilometers of unsurfaced roads.
The road network varied in density according to the geographic
area and the industrial concentration. Thus, the Estonian Republic
had the highest road density while the Russian and Kazakh republics
had the lowest. The latter republics, however, contained vast,
economically underdeveloped and sparsely populated areas. Overall,
the European portion, excluding the extreme northern and Arctic
areas, had the densest road network, particularly in areas having
concentrations of industries and population
(see
fig. 19).
In 1989 many roads were not all-weather roads but rather were
unimproved and unstable in bad weather, especially during thaws and
rains. Except for 25,000 kilometers of all-weather surfaces, all
rural roads in the European and Central Asian parts of the country,
as well as all roads in Siberia and the Far East, were little
better than dirt tracks. Trucks, carrying light loads (fewer than
four tons) and traveling at low speeds, broke down frequently.
These roads caused delays in shipments, high fuel consumption, and
increased tire wear. In marshy and permafrost areas, unsurfaced
roads were usable only when the ground and rivers were frozen, from
about November to May. Russians have coined a word,
rasputitsa, to describe the time of year when roads are
impassable. Repair and refueling facilities along rural roads were
rare or nonexistent. Nevertheless, in rural areas, roads were the
prime arteries for shipping farm products and bringing in the
required equipment and supplies. Poor road conditions were a major
factor in the Soviet Union's serious agricultural problems,
particularly the one of perishables spoiling before they reached
the market. Rural populations relied on bus transportation over
poor roads for essential access to urban areas.
Data as of May 1989
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