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- Soviet-American contacts on automotive industry issues in the USSR (in terms of negotiations with General Motors in 1928–1929)
- Oreshkin O.Yu. Soviet-American contacts on automotive industry issues in the USSR (in terms of negotiations with General Motors in 1928–1929). Vestnik of Kostroma State University, 2026, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 13–19. (In Russ.) https://doi. org/10.34216/1998-0817-2026-32-2-13-19
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.34216/1998-0817-2026-32-2-13-19
- УДК: 629.13:94
- EDN: VUSDCN
- Publish date: 2026-04-15
- Annotation: The subject of study is the experience of negotiations between the USSR and the leadership of the American company General Motors in 1928–1929. The main stages of negotiations are presented. The volumes of car production planned by the Soviet side were investigated, as well as the possible ratio of the number of trucks and cars, their expected cost. The credit conditions offered by the Americans for the supply of imported kits for assembling cars in the USSR have been studied. The volume of possible lending, conditions and terms of repayment of loans, as well as the amount of share deductions were analysed. Attention is paid to the considered options for providing technical assistance to the automobile trust. The expected terms of construction of plant buildings for the main production, conditions for attracting foreign specialists, options for training and teaching of Soviet engineers, provision and installation of equipment were studied. The terms of payment for technical assistance offered for the USSR, as well as possible investment options, were analysed. We revealed the position of General Motors on the issue of assistance in organising subsidiary industries. Comparisons were made of the negotiating positions of Ford and General Motors on key issues of cooperation with the USSR in the period under study. The conditions for the sale of cars assembled in the USSR, the requirements for the use of General Motors trademarks were studied. Possible consequences for the parties in case of termination of cooperation are named. The conclusion is made about the reasons for stopping negotiations with General Motors.
- Keywords: Soviet automotive industry, automobile trust, Mark Sorokin, General Motors, Ford, assembly production, Chevrolet car, Detroit, Konstantin Ukhanov, Moisey Gurevich, Moscow Soviet.
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