Sunday 9 November 2008

RAF factory in 1978




In Soviet Latvia the factory RAF (Rīgas Autobusu fabrika) was producing a van under the brand name Latvija. The RAF vans were spread all over the Soviet Union and mainly used as ambulances, police and state organizations transport. After the collapse of the USSR the factory went bankrupt but for quite a while the vans were seen as routed taxicabs or so-called marshrutkas. Since private persons were not allowed to own one during the Soviet years, nowadays it's not that easy to spot the van in the streets of Latvia.
Photos from - Latinform , 1978

1 comment:

Gabriela said...

Here in Peru (especially in Lima), we have something like those vans for public transportation. They have become a part of Lima landscape... not always so nice.