Yachting Magazine speaks with Kirill Molodtsov, who is no stranger to yachting but has a long-lasting interest in cars, with a particular focus on preserving the heritage of the Soviet-era ZIL automotive factory.
Our interviewee is not only passionate about yachting but also deeply dedicated to preserving automotive heritage, with a particular focus on ZIL vehicles. Kirill Molodtsov is the mastermind behind the ZIL Museum and owns an extraordinary collection of Moscow Auto Plant products, including some of the rarest models. He has put in significant effort to ensure the legacy of a major car manufacturing facility in Moscow lives on. We joined Mr. Molodtsov at the Leningrad Centre for Automotive History to talk cars and a few things more.
Kirill Valentinovich, how did you come up with the idea of creating a museum and a car collection? Was it a spontaneous passion or a long-standing dream?
As they say, everything starts in childhood. As kids, we collected model cars: Zhiguli, Moskvich, and Volga. We played with them with enthusiasm, and we were also fascinated by railroads. I remember building an 18-square-metre model railway for my son in 2010. It had ten trains running simultaneously, gates lifting, train doors opening, steam whistles sounding, and clocks chiming at the station. It was a whole miniature world.
Later, the Legends of the USSR collectible series were launched and I began to buy those. The first production round included about 200 models.
Each model came with a detailed brochure, describing its technical specifications, the history of its creation, and its foreign counterparts. I wondered which cars could truly be regarded the authentic Soviet products. After all, the first cars in Russia, excluding Russo-Balt and a few other pre-revolution examples, were mostly of foreign origin. In the Russian Empire, emperors and the establishment usually owned imported vehicles. At that time, internal combustion engine production didn’t exist in Russia.
And you decided to study this in more detail?
Yes. I was eager to find out which Soviet cars could be considered independently developed. In my opinion, these are, first and foremost, the Niva and the ZIL-118 and ZIL-119 models. And then I decided to enquire about acquiring one of these. I started searching online and came across a second-generation ZIL-119 Yunost. It was a minibus built in 1996, one of the last in the series. It was located in Naberezhnye Chelny, in working condition but with a few issues—specifically, a cracked gearbox casing.
Did you decide to restore it?
Yes. I purchased and shipped it to Moscow for a full restoration at the legendary Special Workshop 6 of the ZIL factory. That’s when I first got acquainted with the factory staff and the companies operating around it. Unfortunately, the repair couldn’t be completed in desired time because of various difficulties. For example, restoring a gearbox would require casting a special mould. I understood that the factory almost forfeited the necessary know-how and staff. So I turned to an independent specialist Andrey Melkumov, who had been restoring antique cars and World War II-era equipment found on battlefields for a long time. He suggested installing a new engine—an American one, but from about the same era as the vehicle itself. We replaced the gearbox, and I decided to completely redesign the interior. It turned into a real office on wheels. Inside, there’s a large sofa, jump seats, a partition separating the luggage compartment, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a music centre, a coffee maker, a 72-inch TV, electrically retractable tables, and a teak floor. The result was a truly unique vehicle.
What happened next? Did you continue restoring vehicles?
I realised that my interest in this topic was only growing. Around the same time, unfortunate events began to unfold around the ZIL factory. It was announced that the factory would be renovated, and residential complexes would be built in its place. What would happen to the factory itself remained unclear. I had some contacts at the factory, and I started enquiring about what was happening to its legacy. On the factory grounds, there were, for example, parade convertibles built for the Ministry of Defence during Minister Serdyukov's tenure. These cars were never used because replicas of the black ZIL-410441 parade convertibles were recreated at the GAZ factory on Toyota SUV platforms. The ZIL cars were left idle, and the factory began selling everything off.
What exactly was being sold off?
Practically everything. For instance, I participated in an auction and acquired 21 unfinished 'short' ZIL-41041 bodies from the Gorbachev era and 20,000 spare parts. I ended up with about 130 steering wheels—metal ones without any covering. I suggested to the then-director of the factory, Igor Zakharov, that I rent a workshop to finish assembling these cars. Luckily, the workshop team supported the idea. This helped alleviate some of the factory’s expenses for maintaining specialists who, at that time, weren’t producing anything. The project lasted until 2018.
Were you able to finish the cars?
Yes, we built 20 cars. Each one now has an owner. Some are displayed in museums, including in Moscow. A white car is exhibited in a St. Petersburg museum. We also built a convertible that has repeatedly travelled to Crimea and demonstrated excellent performance. Its average speed on the highway was about 100 km/h, and it could reach a maximum of 160 km/h. The fuel consumption of the 6-litre V8 matches the car’s class, but it’s a true legend that leaves an incredible impression.
Such cars must create a special atmosphere...
Absolutely. Even just sitting in the cabin, you feel a unique scent. It’s incomparable to modern cars. You can always find something special in them, even a flaw, like in an old painting, which turns them into works of art. These are not just cars; they are masterpieces, a memory of the industrial culture of a country that produced vehicles worthy of their time.
Why, in your opinion, did the state abandon ZIL?
Honestly, it’s a painful topic. I believe closing ZIL was a big mistake. The factory was revamped in 2011, for example, the workshop for the production of the Bychok trucks was almost fully automated. But by 2012, under the pretext of a lack of demand, the factory was dismantled. Yes, ZIL wasn’t self-sufficient and relied upon subsidies, but it fulfilled the demand for 1.5-5.5-ton trucks. This was important for the national economy, but there was almost no export, and domestic demand proved insufficient. By the time of its closure, the factory employed about 20,000 people, although it used to employ over 50,000. By then, many specialists were nearing retirement age, and young professionals weren’t being trained.
Do you think the factory could have been saved?
I think so. At least in some form. The unique equipment didn’t have to be sold off at auction—it could have been relocated or used for other production needs. But unfortunately, the general trend was that the factory became unnecessary. And this isn’t just our problem. For example, abroad, many factories were also destroyed or repurposed.
Is it true that without ZIL, the Chinese automotive industry, which is now taking over the world, wouldn’t exist?
Exactly! In 1958, the Hongqi ('Red Flag') brand was created in China to produce cars for government use. But even before that, the FAW factory was manufacturing trucks based on ZIS models. Our engineers helped them build factories and trained workers. Later, the Chinese developed new models by copying European, American, and our ZIL designs. Unfortunately, our automotive industry has faced more challenges. But the ability to create high-tech products hasn’t disappeared. For example, for the Aurus project, we purchased a license for an engine but refined it ourselves. Based on this six-cylinder engine, we developed an eight- and a four-cylinder ones. This is high-tech manufacturing, and I’ve seen how they work on this engine at NAMI. It’s truly impressive.
Then why is mass car production is such a challenge here? After all, the country has talented engineers who create complex mechanisms for space, aviation, and defense.
It’s all about economics and demographics. Demand drives supply. If there’s no demand, production doesn’t develop. Let’s compare: before World War I, the Russian Empire had about 140 million people, roughly the same as China.
One of the prominent demographers of his time, chemistry professor Dmitri Mendeleev, predicted that by the 21st century, Russia’s population should exceed 500 million. But now China has over a billion people, while we’ve only been losing population. This doesn’t foster significant demand growth, economic growth rates, or the self-sufficiency of the domestic market, no matter how much we talk about it. Moreover, we lack a clear strategy. The president talks about the need for high technology and increased labor productivity, but we’re constantly chasing our own tails. We rush around trying to grab the tail while events happen around us that we don’t even notice. We need to focus on the main things. Labor productivity and demographics are the most important. But changes in this situation are only possible when the country defines the key principle of its development. Do you know what it is? It’s simple, very simple. You need to live where you were born and improve the quality of life for the citizens of your country. Because there will be no other homeland, even if you move somewhere else.
What unique cars have you had the opportunity to restore?
I would never say that I created these cars. I provided the means for people who can do it to realize their potential. Right now, a team of enthusiasts is working on the ZIS-102 model. It’s a phaeton from 1938. There were very few of them, unlike the ZIS-101 sedans. We’re recreating it in its original crimson shade with a red interior, and we hope that this year it might even be displayed in a museum.
Our special story is about unique vehicles used for rescuing cosmonauts, which have no analogs in the world. For example, the 'ПЭУ-1'. It’s currently in a museum in Verkhnyaya Pyshma. Vladimir Vasilyevich Churkin’s team restored it and brought it to perfect condition. It’s a 9-meter fiberglass boat on wheels, similar to the Sinjaya Ptitsa (Blue Bird), but from the first generation. When we first saw it, it was in terrible condition—flat tires, broken, and inside there was an inscription: "Spent the night in a swamp. 1967." That is, during testing, it was somewhere in a swamp. Imagine, this vehicle could let you spend the night in a swamp and then get out of it. Then there were the ZIL-4102 'Raisa', ZIL-111, ZIL-127, the ZIL-41051 armored car, which the factory used in the 1990s to transport salaries.
What’s your favorite car?
I never thought it would end up in my collection—it happened almost by fate. It’s the first-generation ZIL-118 Yunost. There are only six of these cars in the world, possibly three of them still operational, and only one is available for public viewing in Russia—from our collection. The car was restored over four years after the challenges of finding and acquiring its damaged body. About 20 specialists worked on its restoration, led by a petite woman, Yulia Kuklina. Now it’s a fully functional vehicle, with all mechanisms working, and it brings out a childlike sense of wonder—not just when you look at it but also when you ride in it.
There’s so much to say about this car because it was ahead of its time. It has a monocoque body, a one-volume layout with the engine to the right of the driver. Most of its components and assemblies came from the ZIL-111 government limousine: suspension designs, brakes, steering, and automatic transmission. In 1969, at a bus exhibition in Nice, this model won 12 awards. And when Henry Ford Jr. visited the USSR, he chose the Yunost as his mode of transport. Unfortunately, the minibus never became a full-fledged production vehicle—it was too expensive to manufacture, so it was produced in very limited numbers. But in essence, the Yunost laid the foundation for the LiAZ passenger bus. Yes, the LiAZ-677 with the three-speed ZIL automatic transmission. So, the Yunost didn’t really die. It just evolved into the LiAZ public transport bus. This year, the ZIL-118 Yunost was recognized as a national technological treasure of Russia. Unfortunately, this doesn’t provide any grants or means to transport it across the country for exhibitions, but the status has been granted. Once again, our cars are diverse. Unique.
Behind the scenes at the St. Petersburg museum, we saw another unusual vehicle—a KAMAZ expedition truck with the Baltic Varyag logo on its body. Is this also one of your projects?
I had long wanted to build an expedition vehicle. There were vehicles similar to the 'Blue Bird', not amphibious but frame-based, built on the ZIL-497200 chassis. They were used by various companies like Rosseti, Transneft, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations. However, their living quarters were small. Desires, you know, tend to materialize. I managed to find a similar vehicle based on a KAMAZ chassis. These vehicles were built by the Mytishchi Instrument-Building Plant. They had one experimental vehicle left. A 'kung' (camper) was built on this vehicle with extendable side modules. The camper is 9 meters long, with modules extending 1 to 1.5 meters. It has a sleeping area, a kitchen, and a space similar to the crew cabin in fire trucks, where you can stay during movement. Essentially, it’s a land yacht.
In 2024, this truck participated in the Silk Road Rally as a support vehicle for the G-Force team of Boris Gadasin and Andrey Novikov, well-known racers who won the Paris-Dakar Rally with their custom-built buggies. The vehicle covered 11,000 kilometers from Omsk to Ulaanbaatar via Gorno-Altaysk and returned to St. Petersburg, performing admirably. The only major issues were two flat tires and a slightly sagging rear platform.
About the "Baltic Varyag" (www.balticvaryag.ru):
I’m originally from the hero city of Leningrad. I studied at School No. 504 on Podvodnika Kuzmina Street. Our school had a museum dedicated to the Shch-408 'Shchuka' submarine, commanded by Pavel Semyonovich Kuzmin. The submarine perished on May 21, 1943, after engaging in a surface battle with German and Finnish warships.
One day, during a reunion with classmates for my 45th birthday, I said, "Guys, we got to do something good. Let’s restore the museum." By that time, the school museum had been completely destroyed. And we restored it in an entirely new, interactive concept. It includes artifacts from the Great Patriotic War, some of which were purchased at foreign auctions. Today, this museum is active and functioning at the school.
At the same time, we created the Baltic Varyag foundation, where we conduct patriotic education programs with schoolchildren. Around this time, my friend and colleague, Anton Inyutsyn, who was then the Deputy Minister of Energy, told me about a group of people searching for submarines in the Baltic Sea. This was part of the Tribute to the Ships of the Great Victory project. And in May 2016, we organized an expedition with them in Estonian territorial waters of the Gulf of Finland. On the very first day, we managed to locate the submarine just two miles from the point where, according to German records, it had sunk. Divers found shells directly on the submarine’s hull, uncovered gun barrels in combat position, the hatch door torn off, and a PPSch submachine gun on the captain’s bridge, the personal weapon of the commander. This meant the submarine had engaged in battle. This completely disproved the Estonian authorities' version that the submarine was surrendering in 1943. We proved the heroic feat of the submarine crew. On the third day of our expedition, Estonian authorities, under the pretext of military exercises, banned us from going out to sea. So the search wasn’t easy. But we found the submarine. The story of the submarine and the expedition is captured in the film My Place is Vayndlo (named after the island in Estonian waters near where the submarine was discovered).
In general, the submarine fleet is close to our hearts. More broadly, history itself is close to our hearts. As they say, those who don’t remember their history have no future. We will remember.
