Moscow Museum hosts “For Sale: Garage” exhibition
In Russia, the garage has consistently represented more than a mere repository for motor vehicles. A glimpse into the interiors and contents of these structures offers a chronicle of the nation’s history.
This concept lies at the heart of the “For Sale: Garage” exhibition, now open to visitors at the Moscow Museum. The display, created in collaboration with the Moscow Transport Museum, also narrates how “garage culture” became a vehicle for self-expression among Russian citizens.
Allegra to Co-operatives! Upon entering the exhibition, visitors are greeted by large posters succinctly recounting the genesis of garages in the Soviet Union.
These posters also pay homage to renowned automobile owners of yore, from pre-revolutionary times onward. Notable figures such as members of the imperial family, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Sergei Eisenstein, Leonid Utyosov, Valery Chkalov, and Alexey Stakhanov are mentioned.
In the first half of the previous century, even Moscow had scant numbers of personal transport. Consequently, systematic solutions for vehicle storage were virtually nonexistent. Vehicles would be parked in courtyards or on vacant lots, from which they could be easily stolen, as car alarms were then unheard of.
The construction of individual garages was prohibited. Some car owners resorted to using detachable metal constructions for storage, though these were not robust. Fortunate ones had the option of using a departmental garage.
Many city dwellers received land plots from their workplaces, where they would erect summer houses, travel to on weekends, and engage in gardening. Reaching these dachas was often inconvenient: alighting from the train or bus, a further hour’s walk was typically required, often with luggage and small children in tow. Hence, owning a car was immensely helpful. But where to store it within city limits?
The situation began to change following the decree by the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, passed on the 24th of September, 1960 amidst a rise in housing construction and the active formation of gardening cooperatives, for the building of garage cooperatives. Essentially, by paying a contribution, an individual secured a garage box where they could store their personal vehicle—be it a car, motorcycle, moped, or even several vehicles.
The Garage: An Integral Part of Russian Culture / Photo: Anna Yufereva
Masterpieces of Soviet Autoprom
Descending via a steep, uneven concrete floor—mimicking entry into a real underground garage or parking lot—one encounters the space that once housed the vehicles of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defence.
The path leads into a miniature labyrinth, replicating a typical garage cooperative. Enhancing the illusion are Soviet automobiles from the collection of the Moscow Transport Museum. Exhibits include the GAZ M-1, produced until 1946, the VAZ-2103, the Moscow-407 (in production from 1958), the Volga GAZ-24 (produced from 1969 to 1992), and the legendary sports model GTŠ (“Gran Turismo Shcherbinins”), built in 1970 by Muscovite Shcherbinin brothers with a GAZ-51 engine and units from GAZ-69 and GAZ-12 ZIM.
Moskvich: One of the Most Popular Soviet Cars
A red carpet runs through the centre of the exhibition, leading to the showpiece—a GAZ-21 Volga from the “Volga M-21” car club (Dmitry Kilpio’s collection). This vehicle was the dream of nearly every Soviet citizen. It was driven by officials, diplomats, directors of large enterprises, and those with sufficient funds.
Exhibition Halls Resemble a Typical Garage Cooperative / Photo: Anna Yufereva
Automobiles were a stark reflection of their owner’s or user’s rank. For instance, government members and the Politburo cruised in “Chaikas” or “government” cars. Interestingly, unlike the Volga, a Chaika was not available for purchase, even with substantial clout. High-ranking officials were allotted official cars with drivers; private motoring among them was rare.
Volga M-21: The Dream of the Soviet Individual / Photo: Anna Yufereva
Ordinary mortals settled for Ladas or Moskvich cars. The cheapest vehicle in Soviet times was the Zaporozhets, yet this too required long-term savings: during the 70s and 80s, it cost 5,000 rubles, compared to average salaries of 100-200 rubles, and obtaining one involved a long waitlist at the factory, as cars were scarce in the USSR. An alternative was to purchase a used vehicle, but that, as they say, is another story…
A Rusty Soviet Zaporozhets Evokes Nostalgia for the USSR / Photo: Anna Yufereva
While many models of domestic car production remain alive in the memories of those who grew up during the Soviet era, the sight of a horse-drawn cab with black paint and red spokes is likely a first-time encounter for many. Indeed, horse-drawn transport was commonplace at the turn of the 20th century. Yet with the invention of the wheel, humanity also birthed motors…
In the Beginning, There Were Horse-Drawn Cabs Like These / Photo: Anna Yufereva
A Workshop, a Club, a Home… But the intrigue of a garage extends beyond the presence of a car—it is intriguing in its own right. During Soviet times, these spaces were repositories for assorted junk, tools, and jars of homemade preserves. Garages served as more than just storerooms; they often contained fully functional televisions, radios, guitars, and even porcelain sets, judging by museum artefacts. This might explain why other Soviet-era appliances such as the Seagull vacuum cleaner, Riga washing machine, and ZiS-Moscow refrigerator are among the exhibited items, as all could be commonly found in garages.
Singer Sewing Machine / Photo: Anna Yufereva
Garages were frequently transformed into workshops. Resourceful individuals would repair faulty equipment and other items, assemble furniture, or put together electronic devices.
Technology from the Soviet Era / Photo: Anna Yufereva
Male car owners typically serviced their mechanically driven Soviet cars themselves. The phrase “lying under the car” came into being. The older the car, the more frequent the breakdowns. Purchasing a new one was problematic, so the old “clunker” had to be maintained, yet it could serve for decades.
Are you familiar with the term “garage mechanics”? In the USSR, the first private auto-service masters emerged, operating in garages at their own risk, as garage boxes were strictly forbidden for use other than their intended purpose. But in the 90s, garage owners who had paid their shares to the cooperatives gained the liberty to use their properties as they wished.
Today, garages often accommodate perfectly legal car repair shops and tyre services, though repairing modern cars with a mere spanner is no longer feasible for the average owner, requiring professional services instead.
If the garage was spacious enough, it doubled as a kind of club for meetings, feasts, informal concerts. And with the addition of a bed or cot, it was entirely possible to live there—as remembered by Sergey Syroezhkin from the series “The Adventures of Elektronik.”
Many of these tendencies have persisted to the present day. Nowadays, garages are frequently used for various exhibitions.
Such a Space Could Easily Serve as Home / Photo: Anna Yufereva
Garages Galore! “This exhibition pertains not only to transport but to personal narratives and to the anthropological phenomenon known as ‘courtyard garage’,” summarizes Oksana Bondarenko, director of the Moscow Transport Museum.
It is hard to imagine any urban or populated space today without garages, whether they are outdated “shells” in courtyards, hefty barns beside private houses, or contemporary underground car parks laden with electronics. These structures are an integral part of our existence, our landscape, our culture. Where there are people, there are homes. Where there are homes, there are cars. And where there are cars, there are garages…
“From the simple realization that garages literally surround us everywhere and are interwoven into the historic fabric of the city, we came to this project,” says Anna Trapkova, general director of the Moscow Museum association.
Irina Shlionskaya
Headline Photo: mosmuseum.ru