Postcard from Lada land

Ever since our arrival in Saint Petersburg, the mecca of all things cultural, historical, and architectural, in Russia, we have seen churches that have left us speechless, come across mosques that are truly a work of art, and visited museums encompassing the rich history of the country, however, there is one other thing that stands out – the Russian car – Lada, that has reigned supreme in Russia, thanks to a healthy demand and almost no local competition.   Ladas with their quintessential Russian essence are everywhere. On every road that we have driven on, we’ve seen both, shiny, new Ladas and some pretty beaten up, rusty Ladas. In fact, Lada spotting and ogling at their robust build quality has become a daily routine of sorts, and often we’ve caught ourselves craning our necks to catch a glimpse of even older models whizzing past. It isn’t difficult to see why the Russians have a strangely convoluted love-hate relationship with the Lada, that can best be described as “It’s Complicated!” Neither can Russians live without their beloved Ladas nor can they stop talking about them, especially the older models, built at the Togliattigrad Works, (Near Moscow) that manufactured Lada cars with the Soviet-designed