On the opening of the virtual exhibition «Belarus in Motion: on the 80th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Minsk Automobile Plant»

On August 7, 2024, the virtual exhibition «Belarus in Motion: on the 80th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Minsk Automobile Plant» was opened on the website of the Belarusian State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation. This is a joint exhibition project of the Belarusian State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation, the National Archive of the Republic of Belarus, and the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents.

The Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) is one of the largest and most significant industrial enterprises in the Republic of Belarus. Founded in 1944, the plant played a key role in the restoration and development of the national economy after the Great Patriotic War. The beginning of the plant’s activity was associated with the production of trucks that met the needs of various spheres of society.

In 1947, MAZ released its first product — MAZ-205 trucks, which quickly established themselves as reliable and durable vehicles. Since then, the plant has been steadily developing, introducing new technologies and expanding the range of products. Over the next decades, the Minsk Automobile Plant produced the famous MAZ-500 trucks, MAZ-543 dump trucks, MAZ-6430 tractors, MAZ-103 buses and many other iconic products.

Today, MAZ continues to be the leading manufacturer of trucks in Belarus and the post-Soviet space. The plant produces a wide range of products, including tractors, dump trucks, buses and special vehicles. Modern MAZ models meet high quality and reliability requirements, which allows them to successfully compete in the global market.

The virtual exhibition is broadcast at the Minsk Automobile Plant, as part of the festive events for the 80th anniversary of the plant. This anniversary project demonstrates the rich history of the enterprise, its achievements and contribution to the development of the automotive industry. During the broadcast, workers and management of the enterprise can get acquainted with rare archival documents from three republican archives.

The Belarusian State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation presented design documentation for the construction of the western residential village of MAZ and models of the first cars of the plant. Also, a separate layer of documents was taken from the personal funds of the Belarusian designers of the automobile plant G.M. Kokin and B.L. Shaposhnik.

The National Archives of the Republic of Belarus provided a protocol on the construction of the Minsk Automobile Plant, a report on the work of the Minsk Automobile Assembly Plant for the assembly of imported trucks as of 1946, documents on the awarding of workers and the management apparatus of MAZ.

The Belarusian State Archive of Film and Photographic Documents provided electronic copies of unique photo documents reflecting the creation and activities of the plant in the second half of the 20th century.

The exhibition materials are available at the link.

1. Exhibition cover

2. Demonstration of the virtual exhibition in the MAZ museum