Аннотация

In 1900-1917 Russia imported most of cars and trucks from Europe and the United States. Before 1914 very narrow Russian auto-market was overwhelmed by German and French vehicles, and American manufacturers, including Ford, made their first attempts to sell cars in Russia. M.S. Friede, successful Ford dealer in St. Petersburg and Moscow, boasted in 1912-13 that by that time Fords had become the most popular and the most numerous cars in all parts of the Empire. The Russian Governmental statistics and other sources do not support his vision. American trucks and cars gained biggest importation share during World War I, and mostly because of Whites and Packards. However, Friede’s optimistic reports could draw Ford’s attention to encouraging selling perspectives in Russia, and at the same time Ford production methods acquired propagandists and admirers in pre-revolutionary Russia.