Soviet LAZ-697 bus, manufactured by the Lvov Bus Factory, 1970 The LAZ-697 “Tourist” was a Soviet two-axle middle-class intercity coach produced in Lvov, Ukrainian SSR, from 1959 to 1985, designed for enhanced passenger comfort on long-distance and tourist routes. The LAZ-697 was developed as a more comfortable variant of the LAZ-695 city bus series, using the same mechanical base but optimized for intercity travel and tourism. Initial prototypes were created in 1958 in colla