Città e Storia -
2017/
1
ISBN 978-888-368-165-3
Natalia Terekhova

Togliattigrad. Città-laboratorio del lavoro cominista e del fordismo all’italiana

Pag. 89-
106
, DOI 10.17426/86925
COD: A1443A Categoria:

6,00 

Keywords: Togliatti; Khrushchev; Fordism; Soviet Urbanization

The author considers perspective the thesis according to which the main issue of the Russian
history of XX s. consists not in revolutions and wars but in the massive urbanization of the country. The
construction of towns around gigantic plants in remote zones stimulated rapid industrial development.
During this process, the Soviets used the new approaches in the organization of the working process,
developed by Henry Ford, and combined it with the abolition of private property. Togliatti, a singleindustry
town, was named after the leader of the Italian communists but became the capital of the
Soviet automotive industry with the help of the antagonists of the comrade Palmiro – the owners and
the managers of FIAT. Why did Nikita Khrushchev preferred the Italian Way Fordism’s solution? What
were the goals, conditions and the consequences of the “affair of the century”? 

The author considers perspective the thesis according to which the main issue of the Russian
history of XX s. consists not in revolutions and wars but in the massive urbanization of the country. The
construction of towns around gigantic plants in remote zones stimulated rapid industrial development.
During this process, the Soviets used the new approaches in the organization of the working process,
developed by Henry Ford, and combined it with the abolition of private property. Togliatti, a singleindustry
town, was named after the leader of the Italian communists but became the capital of the
Soviet automotive industry with the help of the antagonists of the comrade Palmiro – the owners and
the managers of FIAT. Why did Nikita Khrushchev preferred the Italian Way Fordism’s solution? What
were the goals, conditions and the consequences of the “affair of the century”?