(1 Sep 2020) LEAD IN:
In a field in Russia, lies a collection of 300 vehicles from the Soviet-era.
The classic cars are a passion for owner Mikhail Krasinets who has been collecting them for over three decades.

STORY-LINE:
In a quiet corner of Russia, sits a rusting monument to the country's automotive past.
For thirty years, Mikhail Krasinets has been collecting Soviet-era cars in the courtyard of his house.
The collection now numbers about 300 vehicles, all made by different Soviet automobile brands.
A former employee of the Moscow Automobile Plant, where he worked as a mechanic, Krasinets says he's been passionate about cars since childhood.
"My father took me to Sokolniki park, I was three-and-a-half-years-old, and there was a parade of race cars with a showcase of these cars" recalls Krasintets.
"And when they were driving around Sokolniki Park at a high speed, roaring at one hundred forty decibels from each muffler, or from each pipe to be more exact, I was crazy with excitement."
Krainets started collecting cars in the 90s.
His first "exhibit" stood in a courtyard, under the windows of his Moscow apartment. They were often damaged and even removed from the yard.
So, the collector sold his apartment and moved south with his wife to a village in Russia's Tula region, where he continued to grow his collection.
"I have been buying all this, first of all. Second, I sold my flat in Moscow for this when I realised I had thirty cars under my windows. I took fifteen with me here."
Krasinets' original intention was to collect race cars by the brand Moskvitch.
But with time, the collection grew, and now represents all Soviet car manufacturers, many of whom no longer exist.
"First, we have taken all that was up to the end of the Soviet period, that is 1991 inclusively, then we realised that they kept producing (such models as) Volga, Moskvitch, as well as Zhiguli further, so I thought: 'Okay, let it be up to the end of the twentieth century.' But then I thought; 'Let's go on.' It's difficult only to start as we say," says Krasinets.
One of the stars of the collection is this Chaika, a famed Soviet executive car.
Models bearing the name were produced from 1959 to 1988 at Gorky Automobile Plant in Nizhny Novgorod.
"It goes without saying that it is the flagship car, very beautiful and very interesting, and most importantly, the most advanced one in terms of the technical equipment – it had a huge V8 engine, automatic gearbox, various electric windows, and all this, yet in 1958, when most people drove cars that were more like bicycles with a motor, important people drove such Chaikas," says Krasinets.
Another exhibit that Krasinets is proud of, is this Volga model.
It has been repainted to resemble a race car that took part in the 1964 Monte-Carlo rally.
"Five teams went (on the race), the start was in Minsk, they came to France, Champagne province, Reims city, which is to the north of Paris, and from there the race started on 19 January 1964, they were going from north to south for three days for about 3,000 kilometers," explains Krasinets.
Krasinets says he's received lots of offers to buy the cars, but he's not interested in selling any of them.
He hopes to one day find some motoring enthusiasts, so they can continue running the site as a museum.
The site is regularly visited by tourists and car fans, hoping to learn about Soviet automobile industry.
There's no formal entry fee, people leave as much as they want as a donation.
Donation or not, tours are delivered by Krasinets with big enthusiasm.
Some neighbours from nearby villages support the collector too.

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