Russian and Chinese border issues

[Rubicon]

and this:

News / From Our Bureaus
GM Car Assembly Begins In Kaliningrad
October 26, 2009
KALININGRAD, Russia -- U.S. carmaker General Motors (GM) has started assembling Opel Astra and Opel Zafira automobiles at the Avtotor plant in the Russian Baltic port city of Kaliningrad, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

In the first stage, cars will be assembled in Kaliningrad with bodies brought from Opel factories in Germany. But by 2011 the car bodies are expected to be made and painted in Kaliningrad.

GM and Avtotor are investing about 50 million euros ($75 million) in the project. Avtotor is currently assembling GM's Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Hummer models. In addition, BMW, KIA, and several types of motorcycles and trucks are being produced at the plant.

Avtotor announced last month that it would stop assembling cars for the
Chinese automaker Chery.

Russian carmakers, led by AvtoVAZ, have announced layoffs of more than 30,000 workers in recent months.

[Rubicon]

more info:

General Motors may establish a joint venture with Kaliningrad’s Avtotor
24 February 2011 09:44
E-mail Print

In the case of establishing such joint venture Avtotor may continue SKD assembly of premium models localisation of which is impractical in the conditions of industrial assembly.

Entitled to duty-free importation of spare parts under the law on the special economic zone in Kaliningrad region, Avtotor is working under contract with GM and produces premium models, including Cadillac, as well as mass production models (Chevrolet Lacetti, Aveo and the previous version of the Opel Astra). While the capacity of GM plant in St. Petersburg is 60 thousand cars per year (with Chevrolet Cruze and Captiva, Opel Antara and Astra assembled there), the joint venture of GM and Avtotor will right away have the capacity of 260 thousand cars per year without additional investment.

For information: Foreign companies operating in Russia and willing to enjoy benefits on imports of spare parts for another eight years, must sign a memorandum of understanding with the Russian government before February 28, 2011 committing themselves to produce at least 300 thousand cars with deep localisation annually. Alliance Renault-Nissan-AvtoVAZ, the joint venture of Ford and Sollers, as well as Volkswagen and "GAS" group are planning to sign such memoranda.

Note: This news has been prepared in English by Kaliningrad RDA based on materials of Kaliningrad mass-media
 

[Rubicon]

latest info:

GM To Build Opel Meriva in Russia

Published Mar 23, 2011

    * Poor
    * So-So
    * Pretty Good
    * Good
    * Excellent

6 Ratings
6 Ratings
Just the Facts:

    * General Motors Russia said it plans to start production here in May of the Opel Meriva compact van with its longtime local partner Avtotor.
    * The Russian version of the Meriva will be offered with a choice of four-cylinder gas and diesel engines.
    * GM also plans to expand capacity at its joint venture with AvtoVAZ.


KALININGRAD, Russia — General Motors Russia said it plans to start production here in May of the Opel Meriva compact van with its longtime local partner Avtotor. Estimated production volumes were not disclosed.

The redesigned Meriva was introduced a year ago at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show.

The new Meriva is expected to be available in Russia in three trim levels, including Essentia, Enjoy and Cosmo, priced at $19,600, $21,200 and $24,300, respectively.

The new model will be offered with a 100-horsepower 1.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine, as well a new 140-hp turbocharged 1.4 and a 110-hp 1.7-liter turbodiesel.

In addition to Meriva, GM and its other Russian partner AvtoVAZ plan to significantly increase production capacity at their GM-AvtoVAZ joint venture in the near future.

According to Russian media reports, the partners are considering an increase from the current 94,000 units a year to 120,000, with 50 percent of this volume Lada cars and the other half GM brands.

Inside Line says: Particular attention in the GM-AvtoVAZ expansion is expected to be given to increasing production of Lada 4×4 and Chevrolet Niva models, both of which are extremely popular in Russia. — Evgeniy Vorotnikov, Correspondent

[Rubicon]

still more:

GE Preaches American Manufacturing, Opens Plant in Russia
by Dustin Ensinger on December 29, 2010 - 2:40pm

Despite GE's CEO repeatedly calling for the revitalization of American manufacturing, the company Jeffrey Immelt controls announced Wednesday that it would soon begin a joint venture with two Russian companies that will include the construction of a manufacturing facility there.

The Connecticut-based company will take a 50 percent stake in a joint venture to update Russia’s aging energy infrastructure. GE will also take a 50 percent stake in another joint venture to update the nation’s health care infrastructure.

“These strategic partnerships are the latest examples of GE’s long-term commitment to Russia and our ‘company to country’ strategy, in which we work directly with governments to satisfy their needs in rapidly developing markets,” said GE International President and CEO Ferdinando Beccalli-Falco in a press release.

“We are working with our Russian partners to bring technology to Russia and develop it locally.”

That is in sharp contrast to the American-first ethic that CEO Jeffrey Immelt was advocating just over a year ago.

"We would do much better to observe the example of China. They've been growing fast because they invest in technology and they make things. They have no intention of letting up in manufacturing in order to evolve into a service economy,” Immelt said in June 2009.

"They know where the money is and they aim to get there first. America has to get back in that game."

[Rubicon]

from US Russia Business Council:

April 04, 2011
Ford St. Petersburg Plant Moves To Three Shift Operation to Meet Demand
   
Moscow, April 4, 2011 – Ford Motor Company today announced it will move to a three shift production pattern, effective today. Five hundred new employees were recruited and trained at Ford's plant in Vsevolozhsk to fully staff all three shifts.

"The shift to a three shift production pattern is further evidence of the recovery in the Russian economy and increasing demand for both Focus and Mondeo," said Gray Greenway, Ford Motor Company ZAO General Director.

With sales of over 67,000 units in 2010, the Ford Focus was once again the best selling foreign made car in Russia and continues to attract customers through its unbeatable combination of safety, technology and value. The Ford Mondeo with its outstanding EcoBoost engine and PowerShift transmission created new standards in it class and as a result became segment leader.

The Ford Focus currently being produced in Russia is the previous version to the all-new model which is just now going on sale in Europe and North America. The all-new Ford Focus goes into production in Russia later this year.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 164,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.fordmotorcompany.com.
<< back

  Contact the USRBC:
 
  Washington DC:
  1110 Vermont Avenue, NW
  Suite 350
  Washington, DC 20005
  Tel:   +1 202-739-9180
  Fax:  +1 202-659-5920

  Moscow:
  Lotte Plaza Business Center
  Novinskiy boulevard 8, office 907
  121099 Moscow
  Tel:  +7 495 228 58 96
  Fax: +7 495 228 58 93
   
Advertisements

[mendeleyev]

I did miss it! And unfortunately it's not unusual as most western media representatives cover quite a large area of Eastern Europe.

The 2008 and 2009 years saw most western automakers pull back in significant levels from Russian production because of the worldwide economic crisis and in particular the government restructuring of GM. However the Feb 2011 story is of great interest and I'm very interested to check it out further.

Like the joint deal for the Hummer announced in mid/late 2000s, Russia has seen a lot of production pull backs during the initial years of the worldwide economic crisis. The announcement of Opel Meriva in Kaliningrad is interesting for several reasons, one of that being an isolated area from the rest of Russia and it has been a hotbed of political unrest for the administration. The creation of additional jobs in that region would be good news for Medvedev and Putin.

[Rubicon]

and don't forget to read the post about Ford going to 3 shifts!!  apparently the Ford Focus is the best selling foreign made car in Russia!!

[mendeleyev]

With sales of over 67,000 units in 2010, the Ford Focus was once again the best selling foreign made car in Russia

That I knew and have ridden in a Russian Ford Focus. Its a very nice car. Starting this year, Ford will faze out production of the North American Focus and introduce NA buyers to its international version, the Mk3.

The sales of 67,000 points to an issue in Russia however as same year sales in the USA were 172,000 and Ford Focus was not the top selling car in America. That spot went to the Toyota Camry despite bad press for Toyota. Camry sales by mid-year in the USA were averaging around 30,000 units per month compared to Russia's Focus sales of 67,000 in 12 months.

[mendeleyev]

One should also remember that not all cars sold in Russia are made in Russia. Just like anywhere else, but especially Russia, a large number of cars driven in Russia were manufactured somewhere else in Europe or Asia.

[Rubicon]

Yes but Toyota in Japan just admitted that they had an awful year, and GM might overtake Toyota and once again become the world's largest automaker.

[mendeleyev]

I would love for GM to retake that spot--it would be a significant milestone for the American economy. Current sales for 2011 seem that Honda is on top of the USA having overtaken Toyota. GM one would imagine is going to use new models other than the Impala and Malibu to move back to the top.

[mendeleyev]

Our car in Moscow is a KIA and there is a Hyundai (love those cars!) and a very old & tired Taurus parked in our American garage. My wife loves the KIA and the Hyundai and in Moscow KIA is a popular car.

[Rubicon]

I would love for GM to retake that spot--it would be a significant milestone for the American economy. Current sales for 2011 seem that Honda is on top of the USA having overtaken Toyota. GM one would imagine is going to use new models other than the Impala and Malibu to move back to the top.

MPNnow.com —

General Motors is almost certain to claim the title of world's biggest automaker this year, retaking the top spot from Toyota, which has been hurt by production problems since the Japanese earthquake and still can't escape the shadow of major safety recalls.

The No. 1 title, a morale booster for the winner's employees and managers, would cap GM's remarkable comeback from bankruptcy.

GM's sales are up, mainly in China and the U.S, the world's top two markets. Its cars are better than in the past, especially small ones.

But even though GM came within 30,000 sales of Toyota last year and began strong in 2011, any sales victory this year has more to do with Toyota's problems.

First, a series of big recalls has ballooned to 14 million vehicles worldwide and damaged Toyota's reputation for reliability. That has spurred loyal buyers to look at other brands.

Second, a March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan curbed Toyota's car production. On Friday, Toyota Motor Corp. said its factories worldwide won't return to full production until November or December. That means buyers across the globe may not be able to get the models they want. Already the crisis has cost the company production of 260,000 vehicles.

Last year, Toyota sold 8.42 million cars and trucks, barely ahead of a resurgent GM, which sold 8.39 million. GM held the No. 1 spot from 1932 until 2008.
Copyright 2011 MPNnow. Some rights reserved

[mendeleyev]

Second, a March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan curbed Toyota's car production. On Friday, Toyota Motor Corp. said its factories worldwide won't return to full production until November or December. That means buyers across the globe may not be able to get the models they want. Already the crisis has cost the company production of 260,000 vehicles.

Good info, Rubicon. I was wondering how that was going to impact production and sales. Bet they are glad to have plants elsewhere in the world, otherwise it could have been a fatal blow for a very good car company.

[mendeleyev]

Sometimes we in the West can be very critical of the current regime in Russia, myself included, and a fellow journalist/Russian photographer who often helps keep me grounded, shared some photos from the 1930s of a plant for the production of asbestos products. True that Yaroslavl is not in Russia's Far East, but in the early 30s Stalin was hell-bent on pulling the Soviet Union into the industrial age, not entirely dissimilar to Peter's earlier efforts to transform Russia into a modern European nation.

If you ever visit Yaroslavl you'll find these photos and thousands more like them on display at the ФРИТЕКС Museum (Industrial museum).

[mendeleyev]

Not all, but some of the workers pictured are labourers from the Gulags.

[mendeleyev]

Given the physical features of some, it's possible that they were prisoners from the Far East. Stalin, like the Tsars before him, moved prisoners far away from home so that they would readily be out of place with locals in case of escape. It was also a punishment to the entire family for a family member to be shipped far from home.

[mendeleyev]

Notice the men standing above the workers. Depending on the crew they could be worker guards (made up of "model" prisoners) or could be supervisors and an ideological comrade. Most workplaces had party appointed representatives alongside supervisors and management to assure complete conformity to party disciplines.

[SANDRO43]

A contemporary Russian street-work gang .

[OlgaH]

a fellow journalist/Russian photographer who often helps keep me grounded, shared some photos from the 1930s of a plant for the production of asbestos products.

Full name of the plant is the Rubber-Asbestos Complex.

"In the Soviet period the Government assigned the role of the “scientific city” to Yaroslavl. In 20-ies and 30-ies of the last century the foundations were being laid for formation of the new industrial resources of the State orientated towards defense of the country (SC-1, the first synthetic rubber plant in the country, the rubber-asbestos complex, the Yaroslavl automobile plant, etc.)."
http://www.city-yar.ru/home/en/index.html

Yaroslavl Rubber-Asbestos Complex was the most largest project of the First Five-Year Plan (1929—1933) in Yaroslavl Region. During the Second Five-Year Plan (1934—1938) the Complex's construction continued. In the end of the 1930s the Complex was in the difficult state: lack of specialists and poorly prepared workers. In 1941 the Complex was abrogated and all the plants of the Complex became independent plants. 

[mendeleyev]

Sandro, that could be anywhere in the USA too!


Olga, a warm hello to you and L! The Golden Ring is one of our favourite spots in Russia and one can never spend enough time there. Yaroslavl is on the Golden Ring for readers not familiar with the area. Yaroslavl has convenient daily train service so there is no excuse for you not to visit this area whether in Moscow or St P.

While I drink beer only once in a while, my friends at www.listen2russia.com swear by the beer as (or so I'm told) Yaroslavl's most important feature is the Yarpivo (Ярпиво) Brewery! Personally I'm happy visiting the churches and monasteries, and Yaroslavl is home to many, including the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery which dates originally back to the 1200s.

The entire Golden Ring is awesome, and Olga, some readers may enjoy knowing that you've produced some outstanding videos of that area!

Mrs M and I adore Суздаль (Suzdal) and I just found out last year that it is possible to stay in overnight accomodations at the Rizopolozhenskaya Monastery which is a decent place to spend the night if you need accommodations. Obviously, it's a monastery so services and comforts aren't the primary reasons most stay, but Ludmilla the monastery innkeeper is a super lady and very helpful. Cost: around 400-600 rubles per night.

In past years we've stayed back down a ways before Suzdal at the women's monastery at Боголю́бово (Bogolubovo), north of Vladimir, but you have to be really hearty to stay there--accomodations are indoor (plumbing is outdoor however) but as the place was founded in the 1100s--you get what you pay for. Which by the way is free. Again, you must have reasons other than comfort when staying at a monastery. Accomodations are free but they'll put you to work for a couple hours to pay for your supper.

Movie lovers may be interested to know that the Golden Ring town of Suzdal, an ancient town still almost unspoiled by modern times, has been the setting for a least 45 major films. One of the most emotionally moving films from the Great Patriotic War Ballad of a Soldier (Баллада о солдате) was filmed during 1958 and released in 1961. It's about a young Red Army soldier named Alyosha (Vladimir Ivashov) who was granted a short leave to return home to visit his mother and repair her leaking roof. On the way home (the road towards Suzdal) he met a young lady played by Ukrainian actress Zhanna Prokhorenko (Жанна Трофимівна Прохоренко/Жанна Трофимовна Прохоренко) and Alyosha falls in love, but realizes it too late as on his return back to his unit the train is attacked by German warplanes.

A more recent movie was filmed in 2008 at Suzdal, "Пелагия и белый бульдог" (Pelagia and the White Bulldog), the story of a monastery nun who has the uncharacteristic ability to solve crimes.

Suzdal is also host to Russia's annual "Cucumber festival" each year. Don't laugh, it's a 3 day long event!

Internationally, Suzdal became the focus of international outcry soon after the Communist takeover of the Russian government and the churches and monasteries of Suzdal began, one by one, to be seized. The Orthodox Church was viewed as aligned with the monarchy and so many priests and monks were imprisoned. Because Suzdal and nearby Vladimir had been early capitals during Russia's feudal period, they were hit hard and viciously by the Soviets.

One priest, a Fr. Leonty, served in Suzdal as pastor of the only two parishes allowed to remain open – the Smolensky and the parish of St. John Chrysostom. (He had been appointed by His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, the Russian/American Archbishop who had transferred from San Francisco to Moscow to be the new Russian Patriarch, only to be murdered by the Communists just a couple years later.)

Fr. Leonty was arrested by Suzdal’s local division of OGPU and was sentenced to the Gulag camps by article of law 58 - 10 of the Criminal Code of RSFSR, which was the standard charge of anti-Soviet and counterrevolutionary activities. During his trials he admitted that: “… And I so wanted to praise the Lord with the bells. I climbed the bell-tower and started ringing. I did it for quite a long time. I went down, and was greeted by police with cuffs at the ready.’ His crime and sentence to the Gulags was for ringing church bells, a criminal activity.

Olga, have you read the book Russia Becomes You yet? I think that you and also acctBill would enjoy it. Authored by Jeffrey Wilgus, it is his personal story of moving to Russia just after the fall of Communism to begin a stock brokerage. Of course he found love while in Russia, too! Jeffrey calls Arizona home as do I, and he and his bride did a lot of weekend travel to Suzdal in those early day. The book dwells not so much on history, but on the challenges of helping Russia convert to a market economy as well as telling his love story.

That blue domed church on the cover of Jeffrey's book is one of the most beautiful churches of Suzdal and commonly called the "Christmas" church, although properly titled the Рождественский собор (Church of the Nativity.) It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and dates to the 13th Century.

[mendeleyev]

The city of Yaroslavl celebrated its 1,000th birthday this past September and the Mendeleyev Journal provided coverage: http://russianreport.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/yaroslavl-1000-year-birthday-of-a-russian-city/

[Shadow]

Wouldn't an X accomplish that as in, say, Xaмлет? I've often wondered about the origin of this Russian quirk about initial Hs . Any Russian linguists around ?

Having a native language with a number of sounds that are irreproducable for foreigners, the X is much closer to a Dutch "G" as to "Kh" which is a much softer sound.
In Russian most sound problems are solved by using the closest phonetics of writing. While not 100% correct to the foreign ear, at least the name comes across.