Mikhail’s Soviet Reserve
If in current Russia the longing for the Soviet past is still evident in each corner of the country, Mikhail Krasinets is, with his collection of more than 300 cars, one of the best representatives of those Russians who still cling to a time that the nostalgic consider glorious.
After a month in Moscow I had spent my last Saturday afternoon at the Transport Museum. At night, while searching for information to complete a new blog entry I discovered on the internet that less than 300 km to the south, in the province of Tula, there was a fan with a collection of more than 300 Soviet cars in the open air. When I finally found Chernousovo on Google Maps I was able to check bird's eye view that the last time the map was updated the cars were still there. The navigators told me that in less than four hours I could be enjoying this "museum" in the open air.
Sunday morning I woke up early and for the first time in the country I arrived at my destination in a reasonable time, without retentions or stops, the route to Chern' was much faster than I thought. After a few kilometres on a track where I thought that even in 4x4 mode I wouldn’t be able to continue, I arrived at Mikhail's property.
As the first visitor that day Maria and Mikhail welcomed me enthusiastically. Although his English was almost as non-existent as my Russian, Mikhail strove to guide me through his domains and explaining the history of his most iconic vehicles. The remains of a Latvija van worked as an information bureau. In one of the windows he had hung the certificates that prove his contribution to the preservation of the Soviet automobile memory.
The visit began at the back of their house, where he had the most valuable specimens.
Just over half a dozen Western cars were scattered among dozens of Soviet cars. Surely he explained to me, but I could not understand how those Ford Granada Coupé, Opel Commodore Coupé, a Mercedes and a few Ford Taunus, among them one that Mikhail claimed was the only one of the first series in Russia.
The previous week I had written a post talking about the Pobeda in Lomakov Museum. In Mikhail's land there were not only Pobeda by tens, but also Volga, Moskvich, Lada, Zaporozhets, etc. In that first plot, also had several limousines that had belonged to hierarchs of the Soviet regime. He featured a huge GAZ Чайка (Chayca).
I wonder if I understood that Khrushchev had given a car like that to Fidel Castro. No doubt that car was the favourite of his collection. He lifted the hood to show me the impressive V8 and gave many details about that example, pity that his English was too Russian and I could not understand much.
Mikhail was also particularly proud of his 1972 Moskvich 3.5.5 prototype. Moskvich factory was abandoned after its closure in 2010. Pictures of the looted facilities are spread on the internet. Moscow Transport Museum houses a large part of the manufacturer's prototype collection and historical vehicles,
probably Mikhail’s prototype exited the factory before that. Now the engineless car is rusting away in the open.
Just across the way there were tens and tens of cars lined up by model. At one end there were also a few military trucks and vans. Before I had time to go to the area where he had the Lada Mikhail began to hurry, it seems that his haste had to do with
the clouds that were approaching and the rays that could be seen in the horizon. He took me to the interior of the Latvija where he showed me a book by Andy Thompson about Soviet cars in which there were several photos of his limousines. By the time Thompson took the pictures the cars were at the same place, but the corrosion was still not so obvious. While signing in the guestbook a few drops began to sound on the Latvija’s roof that did not presage at all good. Mikhail, busied himself in writing his phone number to a paper while telling me to leave quickly.
By the route he indicated me to leave that place it was not more than 4 km until arriving at a solid road. As soon as I left Mikhail's house, the car began not to obey the steering wheel. It was advancing, but crossing from side to side of the road, then it walked the furrows marked on the road and kept advancing until the groove became too deep and the belly touched the ground, I managed to recede, but not out of the groove, so that after going back and forth several times the car stranded. I called Mikhail, but on the phone his English was already 100% made of Russian words. I continued walking until I discovered that the solid road was just 400m from the car. I had never walked on such a ground; I could barely stand. The floor was like butter, only that of dark brown, almost black.
After more than two hours, once the rain had subsided, I received a call from Mikhail. He was waiting with his Niva by my car. We hooked a rope from hitch to hitch and he told me that once I got out of the hole I shouldn't return to the way, but follow him through the wheat field to the road. That's how it was, we headed the wheat field by the roadside and in a heartbeat we left that mud. When we were finally on firm ground Mikhail warned me to clean the car’s front so that all the wheat that had entered towards the radiator does not blind it. Then he was proud of the aptitudes of his Russian Niva, able to rescue any foreign car that dared to enter its territory.
No doubt the visit to Mikhail was an unforgettable experience, because of the classics collection and for the muddy affair. If you ever have a chance to go there make sure the road is dry or you have a true off-road.
