Released in 1975 these five Soviet stamps look at motor vehicle production in the early USSR.
Starting from the top left the vehicles are:
RUSSO-BALT (1909). The first and only model to be produced in the Russia of those years. The parts were Imported and assembled at the Russian-Baltic plant in Riga.
AMO-F-15 (1924). First Soviet lorry.
The AMO-F-15 was a classic piece of Soviet production design. Reliable and very durable, the truck's basic design was also used for ambulances, fire trucks, military trucks and more. They were produced in very large numbers until new designs were developed in the early 1930s.
NAMI-1 (1927). First Soviet car.
The Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Engines Institute, abbreviated as NAMI, designed the car. It was only ever produced in relatively small numbers.
YA-6 (1929). First bus.
The YA-6 was the first Soviet designed bus that was based on the YA-5 five ton truck. The bus was produced between 1929-1932 at the Yaroslavl Motor Plant.
GAZ-A (1932). The car with which Soviet mass production started.
The GAZ-A was produced in cooperation with the Ford motor company and was basically a Soviet version of the Ford Model A. Between 1932-1936 over 40,000 were produced. It was replaced by the GAZ M-1 which, while also based on a Ford design, was reengineered to be more authentically Soviet and to depend less on foreign parts.
As Sputnik Magazine related in 1975: Pre-revolutionary Russia did not have a motorcar industry. The production of the Russian-Baltic plant cannot be counted. During World War I construction began of a few car plants but not one of them was actually built. Car production in our country actually began in 1924. The end of the first five-year plan (1931-32) marked the beginning of the intense development of the industry in the USSR.