Hello pedal horse!

In Moscow, in the Izmailovsky Kremlin, a museum has recently been opened, which presents the largest collection of Soviet children’s pedal transport.

In a rich exposition, we see various models of cars – not gasoline or electric, but pedal, children’s. Now, of course, this will not surprise anyone – small cars of various designs, colors and models. Cheap, with a minimum set of functions and expensive, at the price of a full-fledged domestic car, stuffed with electronics and other bells and whistles. The parks are crammed with rental plastic velomobiles. But before, as expected, everything was different …

Most children only dreamed of such a technique: it was in short supply, and it was expensive. For example, the pedal “Moskvich” could cost from 25 to 35 rubles, which is quite a lot for those years. They sold a four-wheeled dream with pedals through the Detsky Mir chain of children’s stores, many cars, according to a special program, went straight from the factory to kindergartens, sanatoriums and pioneer camps. On average, a pedal car weighed from 10 to 16 kilograms, depending on the materials and equipment. Despite the high cost of a children’s car, they sold out almost immediately when they went on sale. The production of the last children’s pedal cars took place until 1995-1996. Well, in our time they were replaced by toys from China of different price tags and quality.

The history of pedal cars began in the 1930s. The industrialization, development and economic recovery of the young country went on at an accelerated pace. The people literally fell ill with motor races. This hobby did not pass by the production of toys, namely pedal cars. The editors of the Murzilka magazine even organized the first children’s rally along the Moscow-Noginsk-Moscow route. It is impossible not to note the history of the appearance of the ZIM model, which was produced long before the mass “Moskvich”. In the 1930s, the Molotov plant produced children’s pedal cars under the abbreviation ZIM. The body, steering wheel and pedals of such a machine were entirely made of wood, rubber rims on the wheels. True, it was difficult to buy such a car. They were allocated, as a trial specimen, several pieces in each region, and, of course, they were given only to the offspring of officials and chiefs.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the theme of the pedal car industry (and all toys) was forgotten, switching to much more important tasks.
In the active and turbulent fifties, when the industry was recovering and developing, pedal cars returned to children. Toy pedal “Moskvichs” have been produced on a large-scale assembly line of the Moscow plant of small cars since 1959. In 1960, a tradition even appeared: to place the year of manufacture and the name of the manufacturer on the license plate: MZMA (Moscow Small Car Plant, or since 1969 – AZLK (Lenin Komsomol Automobile Plant).

The pedal “Moskvich” was equipped with the latest technology, for the late fifties it was considered innovative. As serial production, some changes were made to the design of the machines, but they were already purely decorative. Pedal “Moskvichs” of the first series were produced until 1973, when they were replaced by cars of the second series, already fully developed at AZLK. A separate overhead conveyor was even built at the plant to assemble the pedals, and the annual circulation of children’s cars reached 200,000 pieces. Cars were not only sold throughout the USSR, but also massively exported, they were especially popular in Bulgaria and Hungary, where to this day there are clubs for fans of these cars, as well as museums. For Moskvichi, the plant gave a one-year warranty, calculated from the date of purchase.

Simultaneously with the advent of new car models – ZiS, Pobeda, and Moskvich, they also produced pedal toys. In the sixties, the Chelyabinsk Forge and Press Plant produced the Ural. In the seventies, such car brands as Neva, Zironka and Ant came out. In the eighties – “Rainbow” and “Or”. Sometimes on playgrounds there were samples of pedal cars from local “Kulibins” – in single copies, of various bizarre shapes and colors.

An interesting model is the “Rocket”, released in 1957 and which became a reflection of the beginning of the era of space exploration. Its name and appearance make it related to the spaceship. Quite a few “Rockets” were produced, initially the machine was called “Arrow”, but after Yuri Gagarin’s flight into space, it was renamed.

For dessert – here it is, a pedal horse! This is one of the very first toys of this type, the name of which, alas, has become a household name, firmly entrenched in the language and folklore. And it is also one of the most beloved and desired toys of Soviet children, and now adult collectors. Interestingly, these products were produced in a fairly large circulation until 1990.

It is not known exactly when the production of this toy began, but researchers and collectors found out that Soviet designers were inspired by exactly the same pedal toy, very popular in England in the 40s and 50s of the last century. The Soviet version of the pedal horse differed little from the Western model, the design was quite simple, but very reliable, only the domestic horse was painted in bright colors. The largest manufacturers of pedal horses were such factories as the Moscow Salyut and the Omsk Aviation Plant Polet. It is worth noting that although at first the pedal horse was the cherished desire of many children, its rather high cost did not allow the child to be pleased. Then there were cars that cost about the same, so the popularity of the product, starting from the 70s, began to gradually decline.

You can tell a lot, but it’s better to visit the Museum of Pedal Machines, which is located in the Izmailovsky Kremlin. Pedal cars, electric cars, tractors, horses – toys that every child in the USSR dreamed of, can not only be seen. The museum has a mini-track. On it, any young visitor aged 4-7 years old will be able to try out the most popular models of the children’s car industry. Traveling through the museum, you can learn many interesting facts about the history of not only pedal transport, but also the Soviet automotive industry. For example, in the museum’s diverse and numerous collection, which has a total of over 300 exhibits, there is the rarest GAZ-A pedal car of 1934, made in the likeness of the first passenger model of the Gorky Automobile Plant. At the moment, only one surviving copy of this pedal car is known.

A three-meter copy of the legendary Volga is the decoration of a separate exposition dedicated to the no less iconic Soviet comedy Beware of the Car. The appearance of this exhibition in the museum is not accidental. It is located in front of the entrance to a small cinema hall, where short films telling about the history of pedal transport will be shown.

The theme of the Soviet automotive industry is continued by the section “Soviet metal machine”, which includes specialized equipment: toy bread trucks, milk trucks, refrigerators, excavators, fire trucks, trucks and dump trucks, exactly repeating the appearance of their original models, and the section “Legends of the Soviet Automotive Industry”, presenting large-scale models of cars and introducing viewers to almost all domestic brands: GAZ, ZIS, UAZ, Moskvich, IZH, RAF, ZAZ and others.

According to the founder of the museum, Oleg Bagrov, preparations for the opening of the museum space took two years. All this time, he has been looking for and continues to look for and restore exhibits that can illustrate the history of the formation and development of the production of Soviet toys, studied the experience of museums of technology in Europe and Russia, talked with collectors who, like him, bit by bit collected “fragments of our common heritage “. “It was important for me not just to show my collection, but to create a full-fledged museum that will not only serve as a repository of social memory, but also perform research and educational functions, and educate patriotism in children. These cars are part of the Soviet era. They remember us when we were little and can tell the younger generation a lot about our childhood and the history of the pre-war, war and post-war periods of the USSR,” says Oleg Bagrov.

A children’s car with pedals – something unattainable and absolutely incredible – was a real miracle, an object of luxury and desire, a crystal dream of a Soviet child. In addition to the high cost of toys, the living conditions of many Soviet citizens simply did not allow to have such a thing – there was simply nowhere to store it in apartments! Remember, in the legendary film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession”, the tsar hides behind such a car, standing along with strollers on the stairwell, but this was in an exemplary house with a concierge, where such luxury will definitely not be stolen.

The appearance of a bright, shiny car in the yard caused unprecedented excitement and envy, and absolutely everyone immediately wanted to be friends with the happy car owner.

By the way, today the cost of a pedal car in good condition can be up to two hundred thousand rubles, and hardly anyone would have thought that the cost of a children’s car will be equal to the price of a full-fledged car! Now in Russian stores you can freely buy any pedal or electric children’s cars, including the most modern foreign cars. However, collectors are willing to shell out a considerable amount for a simple Soviet pedal car (prices on classifieds websites range from 4,000 to 50,000 rubles). And lovingly restored and restored, it will again please the eye and serve for more than a dozen years.

Mikhail Kovalyov.

Author’s photo