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Avtozavod (colloquial: Avtaz, Aftaz) — the name established for the Avtozavodsky District of Nizhny Novgorod.

The district's population as of January 1, 2008 is 307,100 people.

It grew up on the site of Monastyrka village, in connection with the construction of the Gorky Automobile Plant.

Location

Avtozavodsky District of Nizhny Novgorod is located in the riverside (zarechny) part of the city and covers an area of 9,400 hectares.

Its economic significance is defined primarily by the operations of GAZ and its supplier and manufacturing enterprises.

Origins

The official history of the district dates from 1931, when the Presidium of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Executive Committee considered the matter of establishing a District Soviet in Avtozavodsky District. By that time, approximately 30,000 people were living on the territory of what is now Avtozavod.

Given the considerable geographic distance from the other districts of Nizhny Novgorod, a decision was made to designate the Avtozavod territory, together with the populated areas within its vicinity, as a separate, fourth district of Nizhny Novgorod. The district was formed from lands belonging to the Kanavinsky District of Nizhny Novgorod and the Dzerzhinsky District of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

Initially the district consisted of the Avtozavod workers' town along with its associated settlements: Amerikansky, Vostochny, Severny, Zapadny, and the villages of Karpovka, Monastyrka, and Malyshevo. Its total area at the start of the Second Five-Year Plan was 27.7 sq km. In 1934 the territory expanded with the incorporation into the city of Gorky of the villages of Gnilitsy, Strigino, Nagulino, and shortly afterwards the settlement of Doskino.

In 1931 the first five residential buildings of Sotsgorod were occupied, and construction began on a bread factory, a factory-kitchen, a school, a laundry, a bathhouse, a club, and a canteen.

Alongside the construction of housing and social and cultural facilities, attention was paid to residents' health, and qualified medical care was organized for the population of the district. In 1933, for example, Hospital No. 1 received its own dedicated building on Ilyich Avenue and became a multi-specialty institution. Departments began operating in the fields of internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, and obstetrics. That same year, the central district polyclinic also moved into a new building.

Gorky Automobile Plant

In 1932, an automobile plant came into operation, giving life to the district and becoming an inseparable part of it. The prehistory of its construction is as follows. On the site of the future plant, lost among swamps and wasteland, stood a remote little village called Monastyrka. In July 1929, a government commission arrived in Monastyrka to select a site for the construction of the largest automobile plant in Europe and the first in the Soviet Union.

On 2 May 1930, in a ceremonial setting attended by the plant's construction workers, worker delegations from Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Dzerzhinsk, and representatives of the city's party, trade union, and public organizations, the laying of the future plant took place. A capsule was sealed into the foundation containing a document that read: "The Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant will become one of the most important socialist strongholds on the Volga."

The giant plant was built in record time. On 1 January 1932, it joined the ranks of the country's operating enterprises. And already on 29 January, the first GAZ-AA truck rolled off the assembly line.

Construction, production setup, and personnel training were carried out in close cooperation with the American firm Ford. During the Soviet era, the plant had its own trained workforce: talented engineers, highly skilled workers, and experienced managers. The Gorky Automobile Plant is the largest enterprise to have brought fame to Avtozavodsky District and Nizhny Novgorod far beyond the boundaries of the Region. At present, GAZ JSC is experiencing significant difficulties that have led to mass layoffs.

GAZ JSC is one of the largest exporters in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. Trucks occupy the leading position in the company's export product mix. Over the years of its existence, more than 100 different vehicle models have been developed, and over 15 million passenger cars and trucks have been produced.

In the early 1930s, simultaneously with the construction of the plant, a large residential development was built — the Sotsgorod of the automobile factory, Severny, and other settlements. Among the first streets of the district were Kirov Avenue and Ilyich Avenue. The buildings that survive on these streets appear old and darkened by time; today they yield to newer structures in height and beauty, but it was they that welcomed Sotsgorod's first residents. The acute housing shortage of those distant years led to a situation in which, alongside permanent housing, a large number of temporary barrack-type dwellings were built. Alongside such structures, a number of buildings were erected that continue to impress with their majestic beauty and distinctive architecture. Chief among these is the so-called radial building (constructed 1935–1937), the Mir cinema (1933), and the Palace, built somewhat later. Its current staff call the building "a pearl of Stalinist architecture", and today it hosts all manner of children's and youth clubs.

At present, the square adjoining the Palace serves as the compositional center of the district, where the main thoroughfares converge.

The years of the Great Patriotic War brought severe trials to the workers of the automobile factory. Yet despite the destruction, the district, together with its enterprises — the automobile plant above all — and its people, continued to live and work. What the fascists destroyed by night, the people rebuilt by day. People labored without regard for time.

For the prompt elimination of damage caused by enemy air raids and the uninterrupted production of output, the automobile plant was rightfully awarded the Order of the Red Banner on March 9, 1944. The Motherland gave high recognition to the heroic labor of the plant's workers in the closing period of the war. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, for the successful fulfillment of State Defense Committee assignments in the production of self-propelled artillery units, the plant's collective was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, First Class, in September 1945.

The heroic chronicle of the Great Patriotic War records the deeds and feats of the automobile plant's workers. Thirty-five of them were named Heroes of the Soviet Union, and 35,619 people were awarded orders and medals.

The memory of the plant's workers who fell on the fronts of the war will live forever in the hearts of all generations. In 1980, marking the 35th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, a Monument of Glory to the fallen workers of the automobile factory was unveiled. The war interrupted the development of the district for a time. In the postwar years, great effort and resources had to be spent on repairing the destruction wrought by the war. But life did not stand still. In the early 1950s, large-scale construction of two-story, 8-to-16-apartment buildings got underway, which helped to somewhat ease the acute housing shortage. In the late 1950s, the scale and character of residential construction changed sharply. Construction of low-rise buildings was almost entirely halted. Buildings of four to five stories became the norm. During these years, residential buildings were increasingly equipped with running water, sewerage, and bathrooms.

Time passed; new plant buildings were erected, and alongside them the district grew year by year, continuously changing its appearance. The efforts of enterprise managers and administrators were directed toward improving the social, cultural, and everyday living conditions of the people.

Year after year the district became increasingly well-appointed: new city blocks were built, road arteries were laid, urban transport expanded, and work continued on landscaping and street lighting.

Main Microdistricts

Streets of Avtozavodsky District:

Mineeva, Leskova, Prygunova, Starykh Proizvodstvennikov, Vedenyapina Street, Yuzhnoye Shosse, Orekhovskaya, Permyakova Street, Poyushcheva Street, Krasnodontsev Street Politboytsov, Sazanova, Plotnikova, Monchegorskaya Street, Sputnik, Komsomolskaya, Sovetskoy Armii, Fuchika, Avtorskaya, Lvovskaya, Druzhayeva, Dyakonova Street, Perekhodnikova, Busygin Ave., Molodezhny Ave., Kirov Ave., Oktyabrya Avenue., Ilicha Ave., A. Gaydar, Chelyuskintsev, Sportivnaya, Yanki Kupaly, Stakhanovskaya, Pitomnik, Avtomekhanicheskaya, Shkolnaya, Strokina,

During the War Years

In June 1943, the city was subjected to three major air raids, with the Molotov Automobile Plant as the primary target.

A total of 1,631 high-explosive bombs and 33,934 incendiary bombs were dropped on the city, of which 1,095 high-explosive and 2,493 incendiary bombs fell on the automobile plant.

At the plant, 50 buildings and structures were destroyed or damaged, along with more than 9,000 conveyors and belt systems, 5,900 units of process equipment, 8,000 engines, 28 overhead cranes, 8 workshop substations, and 14,000 sets of electrical apparatus and instruments.

254 residents of Avtozavodsky District and 28 air-defense personnel were killed; 492 residents and 27 servicemen were wounded.

Parks and Squares

See Also