Issue 1 (90)
| WHEELCHAIR OR MICRO-CAR: ORGANIZING MOTORIZED VEHICLE PRODUCTION FOR THE DISABLED PEOPLE IN THE USSR (SECOND HALF OF THE 1940S–1950S) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2026 | Number | 1 (90) |
| Pages | 34-43 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 94(47)“1940/1950“ | BBK | 63.3(2)63 |
| Authors | Tverdyukova Elena D. |
Topic | SOVIET INDUSTRY: TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY |
| Summary | The article analyzes the problems of organizing the production of motorized vehicles for disabled people in the USSR. The study is based on paperwork from the funds of the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Archives of Economics and the Russian State Archives of Contemporary History. The technical and operational characteristics of motorized wheelchair are known to specialists, however, the specifics of production at the Serpukhov Motorcycle Plant, which since 1951 was the only plant in the USSR to produce motorized vehicles, are not sufficiently covered by scholars. The studied materials indicate the impossibility of the plant to master the production of a technically complex machine. The motorized vehicles, in addition to design flaws, were distinguished by poor workmanship. Their cost remained high and caused the unprofitability of the plant. The article clarifies the circumstances of the beginning of the micro-cars design in the USSR with the possibilities of their using for the needs of people with physical injuries. The author presents the materials of the discussion on the feasibility of developing a full-fledged car or constructive improvement of motorized wheelchairs. It is concluded that the reason for the slow reconstruction of the Serpukhov Motorcycle Plant and the “non-technological” production of motorized wheelchairs was the reluctance of the Ministry of Automotive Industry and the plant’s administration to seriously engage in the introduction of labor-intensive operations against the background of the parallel development of a fundamentally different vehicle project for the disabled. As a result, instead of developing a functional specialized car, the country’s leadership made a choice in favor of releasing a general model of a micro-car and modifying it for the needs of disabled people. | ||
| Keywords | motorized wheelchair, micro-car, invalids of the Great Patriotic War, Serpukhov Motorcycle Plant, automobile industry | ||
| References |
Kanunnikov S. V. Khochu mashinu! Lichnyy avtomobil’ v sovetskoy povsednevnosti, 1917–1991 [I Want a Car! The Private Automobile in Soviet Everyday Life, 1917–1991]. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2025. (in Russ.).] Kanunnikov S. V., Shelepienkov M. A. Polnaya istoriya avtomobiley Rossii i SSSR: Legkovye avtomobili. Motokolyaski i osobo malyy klass [The Complete History of Cars in Russia and the USSR: Passenger Cars. Micro-Cars and the Ultra-Small Class]. Tula: Salon operativnoy pechati Publ., 2022. (in Russ.). Krivosheev G. F., Andronikov V. M., Burikov P. D., Gurkin V. V. et al. Grif sekretnosti snyat. Poteri Vooruzhennykh Sil SSSR v voynakh, boevykh deistviyakh i voennykh konfliktakh: statisticheskoe issledovanie [Declassified. The Losses of the USSR Armed Forces in Wars, Combat Actions and Military Conflicts: A Statistical Study]. Moscow: Voenizdat Publ., 1993. (in Russ.). Vershgora P. P., Pavlov V. V. [A Person on the Side of the Road]. Literaturnaya gazeta [Literary Newspaper], 5 June 1958. (in Russ.). |
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