The Automobile Industry in Russia.
By Oscar M. Kartoschinsky.
At the very beginning of the War Russia found herself short of motor trucks and automobiles, which were needed for the transportation of troops, munitions and supplies. She requisitioned all private cars, confiscated the automobiles owned by German firms in Russia, bought up all the cars that were held in stock by Russian automobile dealers, but all this was not sufficient to cover the need. Among the first purchasing agents sent out by the Government to foreign countries were those instructed to purchase automobiles. At the same time engineers were sent out for the purpose of making a study of the automobile industry abroad.
The War taught Russia a good deal about her industrial situation. It made her realize the significance of the lack of home, industries and the danger of being entirely dependent upon other countries for prime necessities. The automobile industry was probably the best example of this. Only because of the War did Russia finally come to the realization of how poorly this industry had been developed. But then, the whole industrial life of the country is developed but to a slight degree, and, moreover, there are other factors which complicate the rapid growth of the automobile industry in a country with a very poor system of roads.
The question of streets and roads is a very important one in all Russian cities. This becomes especially apparent when you take into consideration the fact that many Russian cities are still without electric trolleys. In the capital of Russia, Petrograd, the first electric trolley line was introduced only eight years ago. Such an important commercial city as Odessa had its first line installed even more recently. Life was not running at a very rapid pace in the great cities of Russia if the largest city of the country was satisfied, only eight years ago, with horse cars and cabs. However, things are changing very rapidly, and the slow "Izvoshchik" no longer satisfies the urban population in Russia.
It is interesting that automobiles appeared first, not in the capitals of Russia, but in the small, the so-called provincial cities which, at the same time, happen to be the great commercial centers. Odessa and Kharkov, on the one hand, and Warsaw and Lodz on the other, began to introduce this means of locomotion
