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Who are we, and
what are we?
The MIG Register is a Norwegian organization with appr. 150 members, all
of us with a passion for (Soviet)Russian or other Eastern European cars. Most of us owns at least
one, and some are so badly infected by "the russian virus", that they are
diagnosed as "incurable russophilians". But you certainly don't need to
own a Russian or any other Eastern European car to become a member. Interest and/or curiosity will do
just fine.
The letters MIG are the initials of Moskvich, IZh and GAZ,
the three largest makes among "our" cars. The fact that MIG is also the
name of a Soviet-Russian fighter plane is not purely coincidental, but our
interest is primarily with earthbound transportation. Our logo, made by
late member Tor
H. Ruud, does have the hammer and sickle-symbol used by the former
Soviet-Union, but we can assure you that The MIG Register is 100%
politically neutral. The hammer and sickle is there to symbolize that most
of our cars were made during the Soviet period.
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1965 Moskvich 403 Pilot |
Who would want to care
about an old Russian car?
We would! When it comes to vintage and veteran cars, most makes and models
in Norway have their own club. But the cars of the former Soviet-Union
didn't. Until 1996, when a government campaign against older cars paid NOK
6000 for any car with number plates on, and the number of Russian cars in
Norway started getting dangerously low. Then, a group of men came together.
The task of their meeting was to do something about a thing that they had
thought about for years. To start a club for the "russophilians". And as a
result of this meeting, The MIG Register was started. The Register has
grown from about 40 members in 1996, up to what we are today. (January
2007). Enthusiasts with interest in other cars from the former East Block
Countries are very welcome to join us as well. We live scattered all over the country, and thereby we have no
fixed meeting point. But when "russophilians" meet, the hospitality is
genuine, no matter the place. With our membership book and a telephone in
hand, we can guarantee you an answer to most questions concerning Russian
or other Eastern European
cars.
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1973 Moskvich 412 |
The question of
formalizing the register into a club, with an elected board, by-laws, and
all the other things that follows a club, have been discussed. But so far,
the members have preferred to keep it as an informal register. Our club
magazine,
 ©,
(The Russian), have 4 annual issues.
Many of our members are interested in other Eastern European cars as well,
like Trabants. IFAs, Warszawas, Skodas, Wartburgs, Zaporozhets and others. And there are
of course some Ladas (VAZ Shiguli) among our members as well.
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Moskvich - IZh - GAZ
The M in our name is the initial of Moskvich, the car that fulfilled a
dream for many Norwegians in the 1950's. The dream of owning a car. After
World War II, cars were rationed in Norway, and while western cars
couldn't be bought without a permit until 1960, Eastern European cars
could be bought already in 1954. The Moskvich has a bit of a bad
reputation these days, but we can assure you, it is quite undeservered.
The Moskvich cars are exiting and expressive, they can be bought for a few
thousand NOK, and we can guarantee that you will draw a lot of attention
when arriving in a Moskvich.
The I represents IZh, a "cousin" of the Moskvich. These cars are
made at the IZhMASH factory, and most of their car production have been
variations of the Moskvich. IZhMASH also make motorcycles, and the not
unknown Kalashnikov machine gun. Our IZh cars are, however, no warriors.
The only IZh cars ever imported to Norway was the IZh pick up. A
small number of these cars came to Norway during the years from 1981 to
1983, and sold at a very low price, they were intended mainly for
craftsmen and farmers.
The G is the initial of GAZ, the largest of the three factories.
Situated in Nishny Novgorod, formerly Gorkij, GAZ made the famous Pobieda
cars during the 1950's, and the even more known GAZ 21 and GAZ 24 Volga
cars during the 1960's and 1970's. These Volgas were very popular as taxi
cabs in Norway, as they had interior and luggage space like a full size
american car, and yet they were much cheaper. The ZIM and Chaika
limousines were also produced by GAZ.
More pictures of cars
from these factories are found here:
Moskvich
IZh
GAZ
In August 2004,
we arranged a gathering at the Bygdöy Folkemuseum in Oslo, connected with
an exhibition about trade between Norway and Russia. You can read more
about this gathering in the magazine Norsk Motorveteran, no. 2/2005. A
copy of the magazine can be ordered at
norskmo@online.no
Or click
here
to read more about the exhibition. You can even read about it in the
newspaper
Aftenposten . New gatherings in Norway are considered, but in the
meantime, we will recommend a visit to the now annual Nordic Baltic Car
Meet in Sweden, som 180 kilometers north of Stockholm. During the last
weekend of September. Read more about it
here .
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1955 GAZ Pobieda
M20 |
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How to become a
member?
Does this sound interesting? Membership, including 4 issues of
©,
is only NOK 200 a year if you live in Norway, Sweden or Denmark. (There might be a small
increase for 2008). For other countries, we will have to add a few NOK for
extra postage, and we are happy to have members from Finland, Germany and
the U.K., so far. Jan Paulsen in Lillehammer is the right person when it
comes to membership applications.
Phone no. (+47)
61 25 57 19. E-mail:
jap2@online.no |
