How writer Mikhail Prishvin built the first Soviet motorhome (PHOTOS)
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary pick-up truck, but, upon closer inspection, an entire… “house” was hidden in the back! Moreover, the truck was driven by famous Soviet writer Mikhail Prishvin.
The author of numerous nature stories learned to drive in the early 1930s, when he was already 60. For him, a car wasn't a luxury, but a necessity – Prishvin would travel extensively across the country in search of themes and plots for his books.
He claimed once that he was the oldest driver in the capital: "I've never seen anyone older and, until I see one, I'll consider myself the oldest driver in Moscow!"
The writer said he felt confident behind the wheel. At first, he drove an ‘Opel’, then he approached Vyacheslav Molotov for permission to buy a GAZ ‘A’, which he affectionately nicknamed ‘Mashka’. But, his greatest passion was his mobile home, which he built himself.
A chance encounter helped him customize the truck: In 1939, a magazine agreed to lend him a decommissioned ‘Polutorka’ (‘one-and-a-half’ ton) GAZ ‘AA’ truck from 1932-1938. Prishvin was supposed to write a story for it based on one of his travels.
"I began to consider how I could use this truck as a hunting lodge and travel in it from early spring until late fall. After several meetings with carpenters and joiners, I decided to build myself a simple body out of double-layered plywood," Prishvin recalled.
The ordinary truck was transformed into a "four-room apartment", housing a study, a sleeping area for three with special bunks, a photo lab and even a place for dogs.
The mobile home was nicknamed ‘Mazai’ and the writer often even drove it through thick forests and on rough, off-road terrain routes.
