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4514 - Minsk, Belarus

Today's postcard features the Minsk Automobile Plant, better known as MAZ, one of the largest vehicle manufacturers in Eastern Europe.

MAZ was founded in 1944 in Minsk, Belarus, during the final years of the Second World War as part of the Soviet Union's post-war industrial development. Just a few years later, in 1949, the company produced its first vehicle, the MAZ-200, a heavy-duty diesel truck. Powered by a two-stroke diesel engine based on a General Motors design, the MAZ-200 became a familiar sight throughout the Soviet Union and played an important role in rebuilding the country's infrastructure after the war.

Over the decades, MAZ expanded its range of vehicles and became known for producing reliable heavy-duty trucks designed to operate in demanding conditions. Today, the company manufactures a wide variety of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses, trolleybuses, road tractors, semi-trailers, and mobile cranes. Many of its vehicles continue to be used for construction, public transportation, freight transport, and other industrial applications.

In addition to its civilian products, MAZ has also manufactured specialised military transport vehicles, including transporter-erector-launchers (TELs), heavy vehicles designed to carry and position mobile ballistic missile systems. These specialised vehicles are among the company's more technically complex products.

The postcard is a reminder that vehicles are more than just machines—they often reflect the industrial history and engineering achievements of the places where they are built. For more than eighty years, MAZ has been closely associated with Minsk's manufacturing heritage and remains one of the city's best-known industrial enterprises.

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