Egor possesses almost every model in the Moskvich range, which were produced before its maker went bankrupt in 2006. He just loves the brand, but admits it is not quite genuinely Russian.

Before the great patriotic war, Joseph Stalin set his sights on the German-made Opel Cadet. This cheap and convenient car impressed the soviet leader and he said Russia needed something similar.

In 1946, production of the Moskvich-400 started in the Soviet Union. It is very difficult to find any difference between the Russian-made vehicle and its German counterpart. RT’s team couldn’t.

Cheap, powerful and durable, the first Moskvich took the best from Opel and became an immediate hit in the post-war USSR. Evgeny Chudakov, another car collector, revealed the secret of its popularity:

“It was accessible to anyone. It cost only 9,000 roubles back then, so an average soviet family had to save money for less than a year to buy it, while similar class cars were twice as expensive. If it broke, one could open a textbook and repair it,” he explained.

Moskvich’s success came after Opel spent almost five decades trying to penetrate the Russian market, without too much luck. Opel's founder even presented the Russian empress with gifts to buy his way into the country’s industry.

Ironically, more than a century on, Opel might after all achieve its mission – but, this time, as an acquisition.