For generations, the Russian city of Tolyatti has been synonymous with leading car manufacturer Avtovaz, maker of one of the country’s most recognizable brands, the Lada automobile.
But as the West imposes sanctions on Russia over its military action in Ukraine, Tolyatti and the Avtovaz workers are bracing for hard times.
In a small apartment in the city’s Avtozavodsky district, a residential area surrounding the sprawling factory, several Yedinstvo (Unity) workers gathered and said they were worried about their future.
“It’s a factory town. Everyone here works either for the factory or for the police,” says Alexander Kalinin, 45, who has been a freight elevator driver at Avtovaz for 15 years.
Created for the Soviet Union in the 1960s to meet the growing demand for affordable cars, the Avtovaz factory’s flagship Lada vehicles became widely recognized for their simplicity and durability.
The factory was established in the town of Stavropol about 780 kilometers (485 miles) southeast of Moscow, renamed Tolyatti after Italian communist politician Palmiro Togliatti.
The plant survived the economic crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and was finally taken over by the French car company Renault.
“For Tolyatti, the factory is everything. The whole city was built around it,” says 33-year-old Irina Myalkina, who has been working in the spare parts warehouse for 11 years.
“When I started I was full of enthusiasm, I was hoping for a good income. I still hope so,” added Myalkina with a sad smile.
“People are nervous”
Most of the factory’s assembly lines stopped running after Moscow transferred troops to Ukraine on February 24 and sanctions meant it could no longer receive components from ships.
The workers are on paid leave, with two-thirds of their usual wages, which means Myalkina will be paid 13,000 rubles (about US$140) instead of her usual 20,000 rubles (US$215).
The prices of food and other basic goods are skyrocketing, in Tolyatti as elsewhere in Russia.
“People are nervous,” Myalkina said.
After completing the Avtovaz takeover, Renault funneled billions of euros into the Soviet-era factory, but also made massive staff cuts, leaving fewer than 40,000 workers out of 70,000.
“There were many problems with staff departures, but still there was a clear positive trend,” said Andrei Yakovlev, head of the Institute of Industrial and Market Studies at the Moscow School of Economics.
“A major Russian automaker was in the making.”
Now his future is very much in doubt as Renault is under intense pressure to boycott Russia and is considering withdrawing from Avtovaz.
No one from the company agreed to an interview and on a recent visit even refused entry to the Lada Museum in Tolyatti.
When AFP was filming near the factory, the Avtovaz security service called the police, who interrogated the journalists and released them after several hours.
Factory workers are forced to take their three-week summer vacation in April while Renault considers its options.
second jobs
Many employees have already had to take on second jobs, such as Leonid Emchanov, 31, a mechanic who now works part-time as a security guard to support his family.
“I’m the only one in the family who works. I have two children, my wife is on maternity leave. I have to have two jobs, but even that isn’t enough,” he said.
If Avtovaz cannot survive this crisis, its demise would mean the end of an industrial era for Russia and its many Lada enthusiasts.
In an underground car park in Tolyatti, two men in vintage overalls were working on an 1980s Lada Niva, an iconic four-wheel drive vehicle that had been given a fresh coat of red paint.
“My whole life has been connected with the factory since I was a child,” said one of the mechanics, Sergei Diogrik.
“All our relatives in Tolyatti worked at the factory, and I myself worked there. I had no choice, everything has to do with the company,” he added.
The 43-year-old founded and runs the Lada History Club, bringing together fans of the Soviet car from all over the world.
“It was a strong producer. The record in the early 1980s was 720,000 cars a year,” he said, compared to nearly 300,000 cars produced in 2021.
“It was fashionable to come here. Now it’s fashionable for young people to go to Moscow or elsewhere,” added Diogrik.
He said he’s trying to remain hopeful, noting that the factory and its workers have already weathered the economic hardships of the 1990s.
“A Russian who survived the 1990s, especially in Tolyatti, will be fine now, everything will be fine.”