- Title: Belarussian vintage car fan assembles collection of over 80 rare vehicles
- Date: 5th January 2017
- Summary: ZABRODDZIE, BELARUS (RECENT) (REUTERS) CARS / COLLECTOR DANILA TSITOVICH WALKING DIGITS '03' (NUMBER FOR AMBULANCE IN USSR) ON CAR FRONT RETRO CARS PARKED IN YARD SOVIET EMBLEM AND SIGN (Russian) 'POLICE' VARIOUS OF TSITOVICH BRUSHING SNOW OFF VEHICLE SOVIET FUEL PUMP (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) CAR COLLECTOR, DANILA TSITOVICH, SAYING: "First of all - it's a living history. Secondly, in a couple of years we won't be able to find anything of the kind, there will be nothing left, there will be nothing to show our children. Thirdly, all of these cars were made by people, manually and they used their brains to make it, they were not made by a computer. People who designed them are not alive anymore. And even people who bought and drove these cars are also dead. But these vehicles survived as monuments to technical creativity." PAN FROM OLD MOTORCYCLE, VEHICLE AND PORTRAIT OF SOVIET LEADER JOSEPH STALIN TO OLD AUDI DETAILS OF AUDI DESIGN (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) CAR COLLECTOR, DANILA TSITOVICH, SAYING: "Each car has its own history and its own vibe. If you get into a 'Black raven' (GAZ-M-1) from 1930s which was used by NKVD (Soviet secret police) - it has its own aura and vibe. If you get into an ambulance or an ErAZ (minibus produced by Yerevan Automobile Factory) from 1970s - the vibes will be different. Zhiguli (VAZ-2101) (known by nickname) 'Kopeyka' has its own vibe and so on." TSITOVICH WALKING INTO SHED PAN FROM OLD MILITARY HELMET TO INTERIORS OF GAZ-67-B WITH OLD MILITARY COAT INSIDE CABIN (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) CAR COLLECTOR, DANILA TSITOVICH, SAYING (SHOWING GAZ-67B): "My collection started with this vehicle. It infected me with collecting cars. My grandfather who died in 1963 had the exact same car. (OVER PICTURE OF CAR) Since my childhood I wanted to find and own such a car in memory of my grandfather, as a memorial object." SOVIET-ERA TRAFFIC POLICE HELMET LAYING ON MOTORCYCLE USED BY SOVIET-ERA TRAFFIC POLICE / PAN ACROSS SHED WITH VARIOUS OLD MOTORCYCLES PARKED
- Embargoed: 20th January 2017 10:05
- Keywords: Classic cars collection Belarus
- Location: ZABRODDZIE, BELARUS
- City: ZABRODDZIE, BELARUS
- Country: Belarus
- Topics: Living/Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0015XT0H89
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A remote Belarussian village of Zabroddzie houses a rare collection of classic cars assembled by a local enthusiast Danila Tsitovich over the past twenty years.
The collection consists of over 80 vintage vehicles, among them cars, motorbikes, buses, police autos and ambulances, some dating back to 1920's.
"First of all - it's a living history. Secondly, in a couple of years we won't be able to find anything of the kind, there will be nothing left, there will be nothing to show our children. Thirdly, all of these cars were made by people, manually and they used their brains to make it, they were not made by a computer. People who designed them are not alive anymore. And even people who bought and drove these cars are also dead. But these vehicles survived as monuments to technical creativity," said Tsitovich standing in a courtyard packed with old vehicles. Some of them have been renovated and can be driven, others were waiting for repair.
He believes that each car - like a person - has its own character which depends on when it has been produced and how it had been used.
"Each car has its own history and its own vibe. If you get into a 'Black raven' (GAZ-M-1) from 1930s which was used by NKVD (Soviet secret police) - it has its own aura and vibe. If you get into an ambulance or an ErAZ (minibus produced by Yerevan Automobile Factory) from 1970s - the vibes will be different. Zhiguli (VAZ-2101) (known by nickname) 'Kopeyka' has its own vibe and so on," Tsitovich said.
The first car he bought was GAZ-67B - a four-wheel drive used by Soviet military during the World War Two.
"My collection started with this vehicle. It infected me with collecting cars. My grandfather who died in 1963 had the exact same car. Since my childhood I wanted to find and own such a car in memory of my grandfather, as a memorial object," Tsitovich said.
He said it's becoming harder every year to find vintage vehicles and more expensive to repair them. But despite financial hurdles, Tsitovich hasn't sold a single car from his collection. Instead he found a way to generate money for repair works - his retro vehicles are often used in a range of productive activities by TV and advertising companies. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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