The Kremlin is said to be nostalgic for the luxury sedans and limousines of old, with officials seeking a new line of cars for official motorcades and the like. One of the names that has emerged is the former carmaker to the Soviet elite, ZiL. From Stalin through Gorbachev, the Zavod imeni Likhachova motorworks turned out luxury cars for the Communist elite. Here are some cars from ZiL's golden years.
The ZiL: Limousine To The Soviet Elite
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President Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first post-Soviet leader, arriving for a state visit to Italy in February 1998.
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President Dmitry Medvedev (right) and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger arrive in a vintage Soviet-era Chaika at the Skolkovo technology center on the outskirts of Moscow in October 2010.
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Acting Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov rides in an open-top ZIL limousine at a military parade in Red Square in May for the 63rd anniversary of the Patriotic War, as World War II is referred to by Russians.
