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121-612: Avtotor was founded in 1996 by a group of investors, led by current majority owner and chairman of the board of directors, Vladimir Scherbakov , former Deputy Prime Minister of the USSR and Chairman of the State Committee for Labour and Social Problems . With an investment of $ 130,000,000, an assembly plant was installed in an unoccupied shipyard in Kaliningrad, with an original plan to produce Nissan automobiles. The name of

242-655: A famine between 1930 and 1933 that killed millions. The Soviet forced labour camp system of the Gulag was expanded. During the late 1930s, Stalin's government conducted the Great Purge to remove opponents, resulting in mass death, imprisonment, and deportation. In 1939, the USSR and Nazi Germany signed a nonaggression pact , but in 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest land invasion in history, opening

363-579: A car assembly industry as a means of import substitution and providing local employment, despite the small size of the local market. Following economic reforms in the 1980s, including the lowering of import tariffs, and the ability to import Australian-built vehicles duty-free under the CER agreement, many car companies ended assembly in New Zealand. They switched to importing completely built-up vehicles from Japan , Australia, or Europe. More significantly,

484-541: A closer relationship with France and Britain. In 1939, half a year after the Munich Agreement , the USSR attempted to form an anti-Nazi alliance with France and Britain. Adolf Hitler proposed a better deal, which would give the USSR control over much of Eastern Europe through the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . In September, Germany invaded Poland, and the USSR also invaded later that month, resulting in

605-536: A contract with BMW to become a licensed importer for the German automaker. Later, the company began a partnership with General Motors , starting full-scale assembly on the Chevrolet Lacetti . In September 2012, the company began the production of the commercial vehicle Hyundai HD-78 , with a capacity up to 3.5 tonnes, and in 2013, of the trucks Hyundai HD-170 and HD-120. In March 2013, the company started

726-596: A female workforce was employed. CKD military vehicles could be stored for shipment in one-vehicle-per-crate form (or SUP, Single Unit Pack), or as several vehicles (usually two to three) divided in two or more crates. Vehicles shipped to certain countries could be lacking some items, such as cabs, beds, or tires, that were built and provided locally. Mahindra & Mahindra Limited in India began its business in 1947 with assembling CKD Jeeps . Mahindra expanded its operations to include domestic manufacture of Jeep vehicles with

847-768: A first partnership agreement with AMC to assemble Rambler automobiles in Europe . Beginning in 1962, and continuing until 1967, AMC also sold CKD kits of its passenger cars to Renault. They were assembled in Renault's factory in Haren, Belgium , and sold through its dealers in Algeria , Austria , Belgium , France , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg . The deal allowed AMC to sell its cars in new markets without significant foreign direct investment (FDI). The arrangement benefited

968-482: A fleet of strategic bombers and during war situation was to eradicate enemy infrastructure and nuclear capacity. The air force also had a number of fighters and tactical bombers to support the army in the war. Strategic missile forces had more than 1,400 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed between 28 bases and 300 command centers. Semi Knocked Down A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit , knocked-down kit , or simply knockdown or KD )

1089-519: A greater union which he initially named as the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia (Russian: Союз Советских Республик Европы и Азии , romanized : Soyuz Sovyetskikh Respublik Evropy i Azii ). Joseph Stalin initially resisted Lenin's proposal but ultimately accepted it, and with Lenin's agreement he changed the name to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), although all republics began as socialist soviet and did not change to

1210-657: A high level of local content under license from Kaiser Jeep Corporation and later American Motors Corporation (AMC). In the 1950s and 1960s, Lotus Cars sold its Lotus Seven car in CKD form to avoid the UK purchase tax that applied to sales of fully assembled vehicles. By 1959, and with the introduction of the Mini , British Motor Corporation (BMC) products were still either imported or assembled from CKD kits in several international markets. In 1961, Renault began negotiations for

1331-597: A new profitable market. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Stalin ordered Marxist-Leninist parties across the world to strongly oppose non-Marxist political parties, labour unions or other organizations on the left, which they labelled social fascists . In the usage of the Soviet Union, and of the Comintern and its affiliated parties in this period, the epithet fascist was used to describe capitalist society in general and virtually any anti-Soviet or anti-Stalinist activity or opinion. Stalin reversed himself in 1934 with

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1452-552: A plant that was expected to have an annual output of 150,000 units. Daimler AG has a CKD assembly plant in South Carolina that re-assembles Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans for sale in the United States and Canada at Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner dealers, along with Dodge dealers before Fiat Group 's takeover of Chrysler Group LLC —essentially to circumvent the 25% tariff on imported light trucks known as

1573-411: A product. It is also a method of supplying parts to a market, particularly in shipping to foreign nations, and serves as a way of counting or pricing. CKD is a common practice in the automotive , bus , heavy truck , and rail vehicle industries, as well as electronics, furniture and other products. Businesses sell knocked-down kits to their foreign affiliates or licensees for various reasons, including

1694-631: A status that is retained by the Russian Federation . Covering a sixth of Earth's land surface, its size was comparable to that of North America . Two other successor states, Kazakhstan and Ukraine , rank among the top 10 countries by land area, and the largest country entirely in Europe, respectively. The European portion accounted for a quarter of the country's area and was the cultural and economic center. The eastern part in Asia extended to

1815-475: A union of equals, in practice the Soviet Union was dominated by Russians . The domination was so absolute that for most of its existence, the country was commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as 'Russia'. While the Russian SFSR was technically only one republic within the larger union, it was by far the largest (both in terms of population and area), most powerful, and most highly developed. The Russian SFSR

1936-701: A version of Daewoo Lanos for full-scale production and equipping it with a domestic engine. The German automotive giant Volkswagen Group also produces SKDs in Ukraine at its Solomonovo plant, producing cars under its Škoda and Volkswagen Passenger Cars marques . In Russia , KD assembling facilities are owned by Avtotor , which produced Hummer H2 , BMW 3 Series , and BMW 5 Series in Kaliningrad , and Renault Logan in Moscow using facilities that once belonged to AZLK . In Kaluga , Volkswagen Group had

2057-405: Is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, and then exported to another country or region for final assembly. CBU , on the other hand, stands for "Completely Built Up" and signifies import of a finished product. A common form of knock-down is a complete knock-down ( CKD ), which is a kit of entirely unassembled parts of

2178-573: Is derived from the Russian word sovet (Russian: совет ), meaning 'council', 'assembly', 'advice', ultimately deriving from the proto-Slavic verbal stem of * vět-iti ('to inform'), related to Slavic věst ('news'), English wise . The word sovietnik means 'councillor'. Some organizations in Russian history were called council (Russian: совет ). In the Russian Empire ,

2299-655: Is his background, his education , his profession . These are the questions that will determine the fate of the accused. That is the meaning and essence of the Red Terror ." During his rule, Stalin always made the final policy decisions. Otherwise, Soviet foreign policy was set by the commission on the Foreign Policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , or by

2420-606: The 504 pick-up . The 404 and 504 were massively marketed worldwide through local CKD assembly shops: the 404 was assembled, besides France and Argentina, in Australia , Belgium, Canada (at the SOMA plant shared with Renault), Chile, Ireland, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, New Zealand , Nigeria, Portugal, Perú, Rhodesia, South Africa, and Uruguay; the 504, mainly in Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, South-Africa, Australia, and China by

2541-602: The CMP family , were crated and shipped overseas in KD form, in various degrees of completeness, to Allied countries to sustain their war effort. Assembly lines were preferably set up in local automotive factories where appropriate tooling and equipment could be easily found, but, where needed, other types of buildings could be used, especially in on-the-field situations, and on occasion, even open-air rebuilding camps were set up, managed by military personnel. Owing to male mobilization, sometimes

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2662-565: The Chevrolet Aveo , Epica , Malibu , Orlando , Captiva , and the Opel Astra , Zafira , Meriva , Insignia , Mokka , and Antara . Since the existence of the project, Avtotor has produced over 362,000 cars for GM's brands. General Motors discontinued its partnership with Avtotor in 2015, citing poor economic outlook in the country. Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR ), commonly known as

2783-520: The Council of People's Commissars ), headed by the Chairman (Premier) and managing an enormous bureaucracy responsible for the administration of the economy and society. State and party structures of the constituent republics largely emulated the structure of the central institutions, although the Russian SFSR, unlike the other constituent republics, for most of its history had no republican branch of

2904-606: The Eastern Front of World War II . The Soviets played a decisive role in defeating the Axis powers , suffering an estimated 27 million casualties , which accounted for most Allied losses. In the aftermath of the war , the Soviet Union consolidated the territory occupied by the Red Army , forming satellite states , and undertook rapid economic development which cemented its status as a superpower . Geopolitical tensions with

3025-757: The Guangzhou Peugeot Automobile Company which developed a specific crew cab version. In 1968, the independent German automotive firm, Karmann , began assembly of CKD kits of AMC's newly introduced Javelin for distribution in Europe. American Motors also provided right-hand drive versions of their automobiles to markets such as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa . The components were shipped in containers to Australia from AMC's plants in Kenosha, Wisconsin , or Brampton, Ontario . Assembly of Rambler and AMC vehicles in Australia

3146-638: The Hummer H2 . In July 2005, the Cadillac CTS , SRX and STS joined them. On 21 November 2008, production of the Chevrolet Lacetti began in full cycle, including welding and painting. This investment in the organization of the production on the part of GM in Avtotor amounted to 80 million euros. The other models produced at the Kaliningrad plant included the Cadillac Escalade ,

3267-723: The Kia Optima . In June 2005, Avtovar collaborated with NAVECO, part of the Nanjing Automobile Corporation , to produce Avtotor-Trucks starting with the Yuejin line up, a broad range of low-bed delivery trucks with a payload of 0.8 tonnes to 24 tonnes. Production of BMW vehicles began in August 1999 with the BMW 5 Series (E39) and 7 Series . In the first year, Avtotor produced 555 cars. In March 2001,

3388-755: The Land Forces , the Air Force , the Navy , Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) and the Internal Troops . The OGPU later became independent and in 1934 joined the NKVD secret police, and so its internal troops were under the joint leadership of the defense and internal commissariats. After World War II, Strategic Missile Forces (1959), Air Defense Forces (1948) and National Civil Defense Forces (1970) were formed, which ranked first, third, and sixth in

3509-528: The Moscow State Institute of International Relations . The Marxist-Leninist leadership of the Soviet Union intensely debated foreign policy issues and changed directions several times. Even after Stalin assumed dictatorial control in the late 1920s, there were debates, and he frequently changed positions. During the country's early period, it was assumed that Communist revolutions would break out soon in every major industrial country, and it

3630-657: The Pacific Ocean to the east and Afghanistan to the south, and, except some areas in Central Asia , was much less populous. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) east to west across 11 time zones , and over 7,200 kilometres (4,500 mi) north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra , taiga , steppes , desert and mountains . The USSR, like Russia , had the world's longest border , measuring over 60,000 kilometres (37,000 mi), or 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 circumferences of Earth. Two-thirds of it

3751-739: The Paykan (meaning "arrow" in Persian ). Bought by Chrysler in 1967 and then part of the sale to the PSA Group by the Chrysler Corporation of its European operations in late 1978, the Rootes business basis in Iran became the primer for the very significant PSA Peugeot Citroën business in Iran involving engine and CKD deliveries, particularly from the 405, introduced in 1990 and facelifted as

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3872-790: The Popular Front program that called on all Marxist parties to join with all anti-Fascist political, labour, and organizational forces that were opposed to fascism , especially of the Nazi variety. The rapid growth of power in Nazi Germany encouraged both Paris and Moscow to form a military alliance, and the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in May 1935. A firm believer in collective security, Stalin's foreign minister Maxim Litvinov worked very hard to form

3993-464: The Soviet Union , was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by area , extending across eleven time zones and sharing borders with twelve countries , and the third-most populous country . An overall successor to the Russian Empire , it was nominally organized as a federal union of national republics ,

4114-528: The Soviet republics , and the control of the Communist Party weakened. The failed coup attempt in August 1991 against Gorbachev by hardline communists hastened the end of the Soviet Union , which formally dissolved on December 26, 1991, ending nearly seven decades of Soviet rule. With an area of 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi), the Soviet Union was the world's largest country,

4235-772: The State Council , which functioned from 1810 to 1917, was referred to as a Council of Ministers. The Soviets as workers' councils first appeared during the 1905 Russian Revolution . Although they were quickly suppressed by the Imperial army, after the February Revolution of 1917 , workers' and soldiers' Soviets emerged throughout the country and shared power with the Russian Provisional Government . The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin , demanded that all power be transferred to

4356-635: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), saying that it was "overly juridical" and potentially infringed on national sovereignty. The Soviet Union later signed legally-binding human rights documents, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1973 (and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ), but they were neither widely known or accessible to people living under Communist rule, nor were they taken seriously by

4477-769: The largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world . As an Allied nation, it was a founding member of the United Nations as well as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council . Before its dissolution, the USSR was one of the world's two superpowers through its hegemony in Eastern Europe, global diplomatic and ideological influence (particularly in the Global South ), military and economic strengths, and scientific accomplishments. The word soviet

4598-538: The right to food , the right to work , and the right to education . The Soviet conception of human rights was very different from international law . According to Soviet legal theory , "it is the government who is the beneficiary of human rights which are to be asserted against the individual". The Soviet state was considered as the source of human rights. Therefore, the Soviet legal system considered law an arm of politics and it also considered courts agencies of

4719-639: The " Buy America Act " provisions (49 USC 5323(j) and 49 CFR Part 661) for public agencies purchasing new equipment with federal funds. North American Bus Industries opened operations in Anniston, Alabama , in 1993, with incomplete buses shipped from Budapest , Hungary , to Anniston for final assembly. NABI expanded production operations in Anniston to allow full production with its first fully domestically produced bus unit in 2008. The practice of selling "knocked down" railcars, called by that name, pre-dates

4840-768: The " Chicken Tax ". The Sprinter was eventually replaced in the Dodge/ Ram lineup with the similar Ram ProMaster, a rebadged Fiat Ducato . Unlike the CKD Dodge Sprinter, the ProMaster is fully imported to the U.S. from a Chrysler plant in Mexico under of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In 2009, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited announced that it would export pickup trucks powered by diesel engines from India to

4961-481: The 1920s, it refused to rubber stamp proposals from the party and Council of Ministers. In 1990, Gorbachev introduced and assumed the position of the President of the Soviet Union , concentrated power in his executive office, independent of the party, and subordinated the government, now renamed the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR , to himself. Tensions grew between the Union-wide authorities under Gorbachev, reformists led in Russia by Boris Yeltsin and controlling

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5082-424: The 1950s, the Soviet Union expanded its efforts in space exploration and took a lead in the Space Race with the first artificial satellite , the first human spaceflight , the first space station , and the first probe to land on another planet . In 1985, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev , sought to reform the country through his policies of glasnost and perestroika . In 1989, various countries of

5203-432: The 1990s, people in the West were also interested in the radioactive hazards of nuclear facilities, decommissioned nuclear submarines , and the processing of nuclear waste or spent nuclear fuel . It was also known in the early 1990s that the USSR had transported radioactive material to the Barents Sea and Kara Sea , which was later confirmed by the Russian parliament. The crash of the K-141 Kursk submarine in 2000 in

5324-793: The 20th century, as evidenced by an advertisement by JG Brill Company in the Street Railway Journal from 1898. Many rail equipment builders have used kits or incomplete vehicles, often to meet local assembly and production requirements or quotas, or to satisfy tariffs. Some examples include: Unserviceable military aircraft are also sold as "knock-downs" after they have ended their service life , packaging them with serviceable aircraft. This allows them to be used for cannibalization of spare parts . The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus uses knock-down kits to assemble A320 family aircraft outside Europe. The Airbus A320 final assembly line in Tianjin , China, assembles fuselage, wing, and tail sections made in Europe with avionics and engines made in

5445-434: The Airbus Tianjin and Mobile plants receive their fuselages, wings, and tail sections from Europe via ocean freight using specially designed ships , as the plants are located in port cities. From 1908 to 1940, the Sears, Roebuck & Co. mail-order catalog offered over 400 styles of homes. Buyers were provided with all of the materials and the instructions needed to build a house. Everything that arrived by train or in

5566-427: The CPSU, being ruled directly by the union-wide party until 1990. Local authorities were organized likewise into party committees , local Soviets and executive committees . While the state system was nominally federal, the party was unitary. The state security police (the KGB and its predecessor agencies ) played an important role in Soviet politics. It was instrumental in the Red Terror and Great Purge , but

5687-411: The Communist authorities. Under Joseph Stalin , the death penalty was extended to adolescents as young as 12 years old in 1935. Sergei Kovalev recalled "the famous article 125 of the Constitution which enumerated all basic civil and political rights" in the Soviet Union. But when he and other prisoners attempted to use this as a legal basis for their abuse complaints, their prosecutor's argument

5808-458: The EU or the United States and locally sourced components for interiors. Airbus opened a similar A320 final assembly line in the United States in September 2015, located in Mobile, Alabama ; again using European-made fuselages, wings, and tail sections. However, the Mobile final assembly line will use more locally sourced components than the Tianjin line; engines, interior components, and avionics will be sourced mainly from American suppliers. Both

5929-593: The French automaker because its product range lacked large-sized cars, and it needed to offer an "executive" model for its European markets. The situation changed by 1977. By this time, AMC sought outside support for a new car in the sub-compact market segment, which led to the first of many agreements with Renault. Volvo's Halifax Assembly Plant , which opened in 1963, completed vehicles in CKD form from Sweden for North American consumers. Halifax Assembly closed in December 1998. In 1967, Rootes Group UK began exporting CKD Hillman Hunters to Iran where they were sold as

6050-537: The Kaliningrad factory began in 2006. Chery car sales began in Russia in May 2006. In the first six months of 2007, 18,558 vehicles were sold (of which Amulet - 10,119, Tiggo - 4,986, Fora - 2,596, QQ - 825, Oriental Son - 32), allowing Chery to take 12th place in the overall ranking in terms of sales in Russia. In 2007, in Russia, it sold 37,120 Chery cars. The factory produced 40,000 Chery cars that same year from semi-knocked-down kits. In March 2008, Avtotor stopped assembling cars for Chery. The main cause being

6171-465: The Netherlands, various parts are added to the car, most notably the rear subframe with the drive train as well as the battery pack. Motor Coach Industries opened its Pembina, North Dakota , assembly plant in 1963, as part of an expansion into the US market. Unfinished KD (knocked down) coach bodies are shipped from Winnipeg, Manitoba , by flatbed trailer and completed, outfitted, and delivered at Pembina. This practice simplifies US Customs and meets

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6292-413: The Netherlands. It is used for the assembly of their Model S sedan and Model X SUV for the European Union , but not all of Europe since only cars imported to the EU benefit from circumventing the 10% import duty (e.g. cars to Norway are shipped directly from the United States). For the most part, the car is still manufactured in the Tesla Factory in Fremont, California . During the final assembly in

6413-421: The Pars in 1999 and 206 introduced in 2001. In 2004, Peugeot's partner Iran Khodro produced 281'000 Peugeot vehicles, securing a 36% market share. In 1967 as well, Peugeot introduced CKD-based production of a light pick-up vehicle based on the Peugeot 403 in Peugeot's Berazategui factory (in Buenos Aires ) under the name Peugeot 4TB. In 1973, this model was replaced by the 404 pick-up and later (1990) by

6534-481: The Politburo after the deaths of Lenin and Stalin, as well as after Khrushchev's dismissal, itself due to a decision by both the Politburo and the Central Committee. All leaders of the Communist Party before Gorbachev died in office, except Georgy Malenkov and Khrushchev, both dismissed from the party leadership amid internal struggle within the party. Between 1988 and 1990, facing considerable opposition, Mikhail Gorbachev enacted reforms shifting power away from

6655-499: The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the world's first constitutionally socialist state . The revolution was not accepted by all within the Russian Republic , resulting in the Russian Civil War . The RSFSR and its subordinate republics were merged into the Soviet Union in 1922. Following Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin came to power, inaugurating rapid industrialization and forced collectivization that led to significant economic growth but contributed to

6776-420: The Russian name of the Soviet Union as СС has been taboo, the reason being that СС as a Russian Cyrillic abbreviation is associated with the infamous Schutzstaffel of Nazi Germany , as SS is in English. In English-language media, the state was referred to as the Soviet Union or the USSR. The Russian SFSR dominated the Soviet Union to such an extent that, for most of the Soviet Union's existence, it

6897-450: The Soviet Union and turned into SSRs, which was not recognized by most of the international community and was considered an illegal occupation . After the Soviet invasion of Finland , the Karelo-Finnish SSR was formed on annexed territory as a Union Republic in March 1940 and then incorporated into Russia as the Karelian ASSR in 1956. Between July 1956 and September 1991, there were 15 union republics (see map below). While nominally

7018-477: The Soviet Union . Boris Yeltsin , the leader of the RSFSR, oversaw its reconstitution into the Russian Federation , which became the Soviet Union's successor state; all other republics emerged as fully independent post-Soviet states . During its existence, the Soviet Union produced many significant social and technological achievements and innovations . It had the world's second-largest economy and largest standing military. An NPT-designated state , it wielded

7139-417: The Soviet Union's priorities changed. Despite previous conflict with the United Kingdom , Vyacheslav Molotov dropped his post war border demands. The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc , which began following World War II in 1945. The term cold war is used because there

7260-480: The Soviet Union's superpower status, the economy struggled due to its centralized nature, technological backwardness, and inefficiencies. The vast military expenditures and burdens of maintaining the Eastern Bloc, further strained the Soviet economy. In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev 's policies of Glasnost (openness) and Perestroika (restructuring) aimed to revitalize the Soviet system but instead accelerated its unraveling. Nationalist movements gained momentum across

7381-424: The Soviet authorities admitted. The Soviet Union was the world's second largest producer of harmful emissions. In 1988, total emissions in the Soviet Union were about 79% of those in the United States. But since the Soviet GNP was only 54% of that of the United States, this means that the Soviet Union generated 1.5 times more pollution than the United States per unit of GNP. The Soviet Chernobyl disaster in 1986

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7502-406: The Soviets, and gained support from the workers and soldiers. After the October Revolution , in which the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government in the name of the Soviets, Lenin proclaimed the formation of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic (RSFSR). During the Georgian Affair of 1922, Lenin called for the Russian SFSR and other national Soviet republics to form

7623-415: The Supreme Soviet were members of the CPSU. Of the party heads themselves, Stalin (1941–1953) and Khrushchev (1958–1964) were Premiers. Upon the forced retirement of Khrushchev, the party leader was prohibited from this kind of double membership, but the later General Secretaries for at least some part of their tenure occupied the mostly ceremonial position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet ,

7744-551: The US led to the Cold War . The American-led Western Bloc coalesced into NATO in 1949, prompting the Soviet Union to form its own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact , in 1955. Neither side engaged in direct military confrontation, and instead fought on an ideological basis and through proxy wars . In 1953, following Stalin's death , the Soviet Union undertook a campaign of de-Stalinization under Nikita Khrushchev , which saw reversals and rejections of Stalinist policies. This campaign caused tensions with Communist China . During

7865-430: The USSR. Moscow eventually stopped threatening other states, and instead worked to open peaceful relationships in terms of trade, and diplomatic recognition. The United Kingdom dismissed the warnings of Winston Churchill and a few others about a continuing Marxist-Leninist threat, and opened trade relations and de facto diplomatic recognition in 1922. There was hope for a settlement of the pre-war Tsarist debts, but it

7986-424: The United States in knockdown kit (CKD) form, again to circumvent the chicken tax . Mahindra planned to export CKDs to the United States as complete vehicles that will be assembled in the United States from kits of parts shipped in crates. However, Mahindra's United States CKD and export plans never materialized and were subject to several lawsuits. In 2013, Tesla started operating an assembly plant in Tilburg ,

8107-409: The Warsaw Pact overthrew their Soviet-backed regimes , and nationalist and separatist movements erupted across the Soviet Union. In 1991, amid efforts to preserve the country as a renewed federation , an attempted coup against Gorbachev by hardline communists prompted the largest republics—Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus—to secede. On December 26, Gorbachev officially recognized the dissolution of

8228-449: The accident, but this led to a relatively low number of deaths (WHO data, 2005). Another major radioactive accident was the Kyshtym disaster . The Kola Peninsula was one of the places with major problems. Around the industrial cities of Monchegorsk and Norilsk , where nickel , for example, is mined, all forests have been destroyed by contamination, while the northern and other parts of Russia have been affected by emissions. During

8349-639: The assembly of the Hyundai i40 sedan and wagon, and in July 2013, of the brand's flagship, the Hyundai Equus . In October 2015, the Hyundai Elantra was added to the line-up. Kia was the initial licensor for Avtotor's manufacturing, and the plant has produced more than 240,000 vehicles for Kia. Among the models produced at the Avtotor plant are the Clarus, Rocsta, Avella, Besta, Pregio, Carnival I, Carnival II, Carnival IV, Rio I, Rio II, Opirus I, Opirus II, Magentis I, Magentis II, Carens I, Carens II, Sportage I, Sportage II, Sportage III, Ceed, Soul, and Mohave. In February 2016, Avtotor started production on

8470-517: The auto industry as knocked-down export ( KDX ), and cars assembled in the country of origin and exported whole to the destination market are known as built-up export ( BUX ). Technically, the terms "knock-down", "incompletely disassembled kit", and "kits of parts" are all misnomers because the knock-downs were never built up in the first place. The parts shipments are often not in the form of kits, but rather bulk-packed by type of part into shipping containers . The degree of "knock-down" depends on

8591-460: The avoidance of import taxes, to receive tax preferences for providing local manufacturing jobs, or even to be considered as a bidder at all (for example, in public transport projects with "buy national" rules). A semi-knocked-down kit ( SKD ) or incompletely disassembled kit (although it has never been assembled) is a kit of the partially assembled parts of a product. Both types of KDs, complete and incomplete, are collectively referred to within

8712-465: The company is a portmanteau of "auto" and the German word "tor", meaning "gate". In 1997, the new plant also began assembling Kia automobiles. In the aftermath of the 1998 Russian financial crisis and the ensuing drop in automobile sales, the company found itself in a difficult financial position. To mitigate the consequences of the crisis, the company changed its business model. The company secured

8833-429: The country was limited. The state restricted rights of citizens to private property . According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , human rights are the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." including the right to life and liberty , freedom of expression , and equality before the law ; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture ,

8954-716: The creation of new state commissions and committees. It gained additional powers relating to the approval of the Five-Year Plans and the government budget . The Supreme Soviet elected a Presidium (successor of the Central Executive Committee ) to wield its power between plenary sessions, ordinarily held twice a year, and appointed the Supreme Court , the Procurator General and the Council of Ministers (known before 1946 as

9075-589: The degree of power consolidation, it was either the Politburo as a collective body or the General Secretary, who always was one of the Politburo members, that effectively led the party and the country (except for the period of the highly personalized authority of Stalin, exercised directly through his position in the Council of Ministers rather than the Politburo after 1941). They were not controlled by

9196-484: The desires and technical abilities of the receiving organization or government import regulations. Developing nations may pursue trade and economic policies that call for import substitution or local content regulations. Companies with CKD operations help the country substitute the finished products it imports with locally assembled substitutes. Knock-down kit assembly plants are less expensive to establish and maintain because they do not need modern robotic equipment, and

9317-606: The duty of the Russian Bolsheviks to protect what they had in Russia, and avoid military confrontations that might destroy their bridgehead. Russia was now a pariah state, along with Germany. The two came to terms in 1922 with the Treaty of Rapallo that settled long-standing grievances. At the same time, the two countries secretly set up training programs for the illegal German army and air force operations at hidden camps in

9438-585: The easing of import restrictions led to many used imports , because they were less expensive than locally assembled used cars, and outsold the 'NZ New' vehicles. The last companies to construct CKD kits in New Zealand were Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi , and Honda , which closed their plants in 1998 when the government announced plans to abolish import tariffs on cars. Other examples include Ukraine , which has almost prohibitive import taxes on finished cars. AutoZAZ assembles CKD kits of some Lada , Opel , Mercedes-Benz , and Daewoo cars. It went as far as adopting

9559-434: The factory began producing the BMW 3 Series (E46) , and later, the new 5 Series (E60) . In July 2009, Avtotor increased the capacity of the plant and began production of the crossovers BMW X5 and X6 . At the end of May 2010, the company announced the start of assembly on the new BMW 5 Series (F10) for the Russian market from kits received from Germany. The BMW line-up produced in Kaliningrad has expanded over time with

9680-640: The fear that the government would deprive the factory of its privileges enjoyed under the Special Economic Zone , such as duty-free import of components. In August 2003, Avtotor and General Motors signed a set of agreements on the organization of production of GM vehicles at the Kaliningrad plant. In August 2004, the Kaliningrad plant started production of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and Chevrolet Tahoe , and in October 2004, of

9801-489: The following models: E65/66 (7 Series) , F01/F02 (7 Series) , E90 (3 Series) , E70 (X5) , E71 (X6) , E83 (X3) and E84 (X1) . In May 2015, BMW released a statement postponing the decision to invest in another plant in Russia due to economic uncertainty in the country. There have been rumors in the media about the quality of Russian made BMWs. These vehicles also did not have factory and manufacturer warranties, unlike their German-made counterparts. Chery car assembly in

9922-779: The founding republics who signed the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR in December 1922. In 1924, during the national delimitation in Central Asia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were formed from parts of Russia's Turkestan ASSR and two Soviet dependencies, the Khorezm and Bukharan PSPs . In 1929, Tajikistan was split off from the Uzbekistan SSR. With the constitution of 1936, the Transcaucasian SFSR

10043-410: The general party membership, as the key principle of the party organization was democratic centralism , demanding strict subordination to higher bodies, and elections went uncontested, endorsing the candidates proposed from above. The Communist Party maintained its dominance over the state mainly through its control over the system of appointments . All senior government officials and most deputies of

10164-525: The globe. The post-Stalin leadership, particularly under Nikita Khrushchev , initiated a de-Stalinization process, leading to a period of liberalization and relative openness known as the Khrushchev Thaw . However, the subsequent era under Leonid Brezhnev , referred to as the Era of Stagnation , was marked by economic decline, political corruption, and a rigid gerontocracy . Despite efforts to maintain

10285-497: The government. Extensive extrajudicial powers were given to the Soviet secret police agencies . In practice, the Soviet government significantly curbed the rule of law , civil liberties , protection of law and guarantees of property , which were considered as examples of "bourgeois morality" by Soviet law theorists such as Andrey Vyshinsky . The USSR and other countries in the Soviet Bloc had abstained from affirming

10406-518: The highest bodies of the party and making the Supreme Soviet less dependent on them. The Congress of People's Deputies was established, the majority of whose members were directly elected in competitive elections held in March 1989, the first in Soviet history. The Congress now elected the Supreme Soviet, which became a full-time parliament, and much stronger than before. For the first time since

10527-472: The implementation of socialist policies and the New Economic Policy (NEP), which allowed for market-oriented reforms. The rise of Joseph Stalin in the late 1920s ushered in an era of intense centralization and totalitarianism. Stalin's rule was characterized by the forced collectivization of agriculture , rapid industrialization , and the Great Purge , which eliminated perceived enemies of

10648-545: The largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR . In practice, its government and economy were highly centralized . As a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , it was a flagship communist state . Its capital and largest city was Moscow . The Soviet Union's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917. The new government, led by Vladimir Lenin , established

10769-466: The mail was designed to fit together, therefore buyers could build the houses themselves or hire contractors. Sears sourced building materials at a high volume, thus keeping prices low and competitive with the local builders. Knock-down furniture dates back to at least the mid-19th century, with the 1859 Thonet No. 14 chair bentwood chair being easily disassembled for transportation. In the late 1940s, Australian designer Frederick Charles Ward founded

10890-426: The manufacturer needs to "localize" the car further, i.e., increase the share of parts produced by local manufacturers, such as tires, wheels, seats, headlights, windscreens and glass, batteries, interior plastics, etc., even down to the engine and transmission. At some point, the steel body could be pressed, welded, and painted locally, effectively making KD assembly only a few steps away from full-scale production. By

11011-541: The most common Russian initialization is Союз ССР (transliteration: Soyuz SSR ) which essentially translates to Union of SSRs in English. In addition, the Russian short form name Советский Союз (transliteration: Sovyetsky Soyuz , which literally means Soviet Union ) is also commonly used, but only in its unabbreviated form. Since the start of the Great Patriotic War at the latest, abbreviating

11132-417: The newly elected Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR , and communist hardliners. On 19–21 August 1991, a group of hardliners staged a coup attempt . The coup failed, and the State Council of the Soviet Union became the highest organ of state power 'in the period of transition'. Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary, only remaining President for the final months of the existence of the USSR. The judiciary

11253-400: The nominal head of state . The institutions at lower levels were overseen and at times supplanted by primary party organizations . However, in practice the degree of control the party was able to exercise over the state bureaucracy, particularly after the death of Stalin, was far from total, with the bureaucracy pursuing different interests that were at times in conflict with the party, nor

11374-608: The official Soviet system of importance (ground forces were second, Air Force fourth, and Navy fifth). The army had the greatest political influence. In 1989, there served two million soldiers divided between 150 motorized and 52 armored divisions. Until the early 1960s, the Soviet navy was a rather small military branch, but after the Caribbean crisis , under the leadership of Sergei Gorshkov , it expanded significantly. It became known for battlecruisers and submarines. In 1989, there served 500 000 men. The Soviet Air Force focused on

11495-544: The only legal party and the final policymaker in the country. At the top of the Communist Party was the Central Committee , elected at Party Congresses and Conferences. In turn, the Central Committee voted for a Politburo (called the Presidium between 1952 and 1966), Secretariat and the general secretary (First Secretary from 1953 to 1966), the de facto highest office in the Soviet Union. Depending on

11616-694: The other order until 1936 . In addition, in the regional languages of several republics, the word council or conciliar in the respective language was only quite late changed to an adaptation of the Russian soviet and never in others, e.g. Ukrainian SSR . СССР (in the Latin alphabet: SSSR ) is the abbreviation of the Russian-language cognate of USSR, as written in Cyrillic letters . The Soviets used this abbreviation so frequently that audiences worldwide became familiar with its meaning. After this,

11737-570: The partition of Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II . Up until his death in 1953, Joseph Stalin controlled all foreign relations of the Soviet Union during the interwar period . Despite the increasing build-up of Germany 's war machine and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , the Soviet Union did not cooperate with any other nation, choosing to follow its own path. However, after Operation Barbarossa ,

11858-538: The party's highest body the Politburo . Operations were handled by the separate Ministry of Foreign Affairs . It was known as the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (or Narkomindel), until 1946. The most influential spokesmen were Georgy Chicherin (1872–1936), Maxim Litvinov (1876–1951), Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986), Andrey Vyshinsky (1883–1954) and Andrei Gromyko (1909–1989). Intellectuals were based in

11979-772: The state. The Soviet Union played a crucial role in the Allied victory in World War II , but at a tremendous human cost, with millions of Soviet citizens perishing in the conflict. The Soviet Union emerged as one of the world's two superpowers, leading the Eastern Bloc in opposition to the Western Bloc during the Cold War . This period saw the USSR engage in an arms race, the Space Race , and proxy wars around

12100-469: The struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare , propaganda campaigns, espionage , far-reaching embargoes , rivalry at sports events and technological competitions such as the Space Race . Constitutionally, the USSR was a federation of constituent Union Republics, which were either unitary states, such as Ukraine or Byelorussia (SSRs), or federations, such as Russia or Transcaucasia (SFSRs), all four being

12221-507: The time Henry Ford co-wrote his 1922 memoir, My Life and Work , the Ford Motor Company was already shipping car parts from its Michigan plants for final assembly in the regions of the United States or foreign countries where the cars would be sold. During World War II , a significant number of US- and Canadian-built vehicles, most notably light and heavy trucks like Willys MB / Ford GPW /GPA, GMC-353/ CCKW , and vehicles from

12342-492: The truth". Human rights in the Soviet Union were severely limited. The Soviet Union was a totalitarian state from 1927 until 1953 and a one-party state until 1990. Freedom of speech was suppressed and dissent was punished. Independent political activities were not tolerated, whether these involved participation in free labour unions , private corporations , independent churches or opposition political parties . The freedom of movement within and especially outside

12463-527: The west further raised concerns. In the past, there were accidents involving submarines K-19 , K-8 , a K-129 , K-27 , K-219 and K-278 Komsomolets . There were three power hierarchies in the Soviet Union: the legislature represented by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union , the government represented by the Council of Ministers , and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),

12584-417: The wheels, internal combustion engine , transmission , and battery . They are either supplied as parts for assembly (a "complete" kit) or obtained from third parties (an "incomplete" kit); all of the interiors are already installed at the originating factory. The term SKD for semi-knocked-down refers to a kit with a complete, welded car body, usually coated or already painted. To gain extra tax preferences,

12705-400: The workforce may be less costly than in the country of origin. The plants may also be effective for low-volume production. The CKD concept allows firms in developing markets to gain expertise in a particular industry. At the same time, the CKD kit exporting company gains new markets that would otherwise be closed. In the automotive industry, the most basic form of a vehicle in the KD kit lacks

12826-465: The world's largest lakes; the Caspian Sea (shared with Iran ), and Lake Baikal , the world's largest (by volume) and deepest freshwater lake that is also an internal body of water in Russia. Neighbouring countries were aware of the high levels of pollution in the Soviet Union but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was discovered that its environmental problems were greater than what

12947-624: Was a coastline . The country bordered Afghanistan , the People's Republic of China , Czechoslovakia , Finland , Hungary , Iran , Mongolia , North Korea , Norway , Poland , Romania , and Turkey from 1945 to 1991. The Bering Strait separated the USSR from the United States . The country's highest mountain was Communism Peak (now Ismoil Somoni Peak ) in Tajikistan , at 7,495 metres (24,590 ft). The USSR also included most of

13068-539: Was also the industrial center of the Soviet Union. Historian Matthew White wrote that it was an open secret that the country's federal structure was 'window dressing' for Russian dominance. For that reason, the people of the USSR were usually called 'Russians', not 'Soviets', since 'everyone knew who really ran the show'. Under the Military Law of September 1925, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of

13189-483: Was brought under strict party control after Stalin's death. Under Yuri Andropov , the KGB engaged in the suppression of political dissent and maintained an extensive network of informers, reasserting itself as a political actor to some extent independent of the party-state structure, culminating in the anti-corruption campaign targeting high-ranking party officials in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The constitution , which

13310-595: Was carried out within the terms of the Soviet Civil Code. Some Soviet legal scholars even said that "criminal repression" may be applied in the absence of guilt. Martin Latsis , chief of Soviet Ukraine 's secret police explained: "Do not look in the file of incriminating evidence to see whether or not the accused rose up against the Soviets with arms or words. Ask him instead to which class he belongs, what

13431-542: Was colloquially, but incorrectly, referred to as Russia . The history of the Soviet Union began with the ideals of the Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War , the Soviet Union quickly became a one-party state under the Communist Party . Its early years under Lenin were marked by

13552-404: Was dissolved, resulting in its constituent republics of Armenia , Georgia and Azerbaijan being elevated to Union Republics, while Kazakhstan and Kirghizia were split off from the Russian SFSR, resulting in the same status. In August 1940, Moldavia was formed from parts of Ukraine and Soviet-occupied Bessarabia , and Ukrainian SSR. Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania were also annexed by

13673-628: Was done by Australian Motor Industries (AMI) in Port Melbourne, Victoria . Local content requirements were met by using Australian suppliers for the interiors (seats, carpeting, etc.) as well as for lights, heaters, and other components. Various Rambler models were assembled in New Zealand from the early 1960s until 1971 by Campbell Motors in Thames (later Toyota New Zealand ), which had also built Toyota , Datsun (later known as Nissan) , Hino, Renault, and Peugeot cars. New Zealand had developed

13794-424: Was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers , but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars . The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment,

13915-450: Was not independent of the other branches of government. The Supreme Court supervised the lower courts ( People's Court ) and applied the law as established by the constitution or as interpreted by the Supreme Soviet. The Constitutional Oversight Committee reviewed the constitutionality of laws and acts. The Soviet Union used the inquisitorial system of Roman law , where the judge, procurator , and defence attorney collaborate to "establish

14036-485: Was promulgated in 1924 , 1936 and 1977 , did not limit state power. No formal separation of powers existed between the Party, Supreme Soviet and Council of Ministers that represented executive and legislative branches of the government. The system was governed less by statute than by informal conventions, and no settled mechanism of leadership succession existed. Bitter and at times deadly power struggles took place in

14157-477: Was repeatedly postponed. Formal recognition came when the new Labour Party came to power in 1924. All the other countries followed suit in opening trade relations. Henry Ford opened large-scale business relations with the Soviets in the late 1920s, hoping that it would lead to long-term peace. Finally, in 1933, the United States officially recognized the USSR, a decision backed by the public opinion and especially by US business interests that expected an opening of

14278-543: Was that "the Constitution was written not for you, but for American Negroes, so that they know how happy the lives of Soviet citizens are". Crime was determined not as the infraction of law, instead, it was determined as any action which could threaten the Soviet state and society. For example, a desire to make a profit could be interpreted as a counter-revolutionary activity punishable by death. The liquidation and deportation of millions of peasants in 1928–31

14399-587: Was the Russian responsibility to assist them. The Comintern was the weapon of choice. A few revolutions did break out, but they were quickly suppressed (the longest lasting one was in Hungary)—the Hungarian Soviet Republic —lasted only from 21 March 1919 to 1 August 1919. The Russian Bolsheviks were in no position to give any help. By 1921, Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin realized that capitalism had stabilized itself in Europe and there would not be any widespread revolutions anytime soon. It became

14520-404: Was the first major accident at a civilian nuclear power plant . Unparalleled in the world, it resulted in a large number of radioactive isotopes being released into the atmosphere. Radioactive doses were scattered relatively far. Although long-term effects of the accident were unknown, 4,000 new cases of thyroid cancer which resulted from the accident's contamination were reported at the time of

14641-486: Was the party itself monolithic from top to bottom, although factions were officially banned . The Supreme Soviet (successor of the Congress of Soviets ) was nominally the highest state body for most of the Soviet history, at first acting as a rubber stamp institution, approving and implementing all decisions made by the party. However, its powers and functions were extended in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including

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