UAZ All-Terrain Vehicles: History, Photographs, and Links

UAZ History

UAZ Logo

UAZ stands for Ulyanovsky Automobilny Zavod (Ulyanovsk Automobile Works), an automobile factory situated in Ulyanovsk, Russia. Founded in 1942, during World War II, UAZ initially used the evacuated equipment and personnel from the Moscow's automobile factory ZIL (Zavod Imeni Likhacheva). In different periods of time UAZ has manufactured trucks, military and paramilitary cars. Today, UAZ belongs to JSC "SeverStal Auto" and continues with production of passenger cars, trucks, and minibuses for special services.

Notable UAZ Models

UAZ 469 (3151) and UAZ 469B (31512)

Passenger vehicle UAZ 469 was an all-terrain four-wheel drive car and came in two modifications: with soft roofs and with tail boards. It also had two versions: the military UAZ 469 and the civil UAZ 469B. The military version featured shielded electrics and increased ground clearance (300mm instead of the standard 220mm.) Since 1972 when this vehicle first saw light, it has enjoyed wide use by the Soviet Army and the countries of the Warsaw Treaty.

UAZ 31512

In 1985, the 469 models were replaced by UAZ 3151 (the military version) and UAZ 31512 (the civil version.) As of today, these models are only available to the Russian Army. Civilians, on the other hand, have access to modern models that satisfy all the current technical requirements imposed on such cars in Russia.

Photographs

Our “in-house” UAZ 31512

Photographs of UAZ 31512 are among the most popular on kitoy.ru. This car belongs to one of our authors, Anton Malykh. It was this car that took him through wild places nearby the Kitoy river and brought him back with great photographs.

Click a photo to enlarge:

Other models

A few photographs on flickr.com. Click to enlarge:

Soviet build lightweight all-terrain vehicle UAZ 469b on a parachute equipped platform, ready to be dropped from transport aircraft (An-26 or bigger).
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