Original subtitles

Good morning! Let's hear the news.

Our largest car manufacturer, AvtoVAZ,

is going to have a new director.

For the first time in a history

the director will be a foreigner.

His name is Bo Inge Andersson.

He is a Swedish manager who worked for companies like Saab and GM

and successfully managed the Russian car company GAZ.

Now his great challenge is

to bring back the fame of another Russian car-maker: The Lada.

(speaking Russian) It's great to be here with you today.

Thank you for being victorious!

Thank you for peace!

Thank you for your loyalty to AvtoVAZ.

Glory! Glory! Glory!

Today, we should assemble 350 Datsuns.

Granta, the same.

So, how many Datsuns are incomplete?

—424... —427.

Granta?

37 because of bumpers, 31 on Kalina.

What's the problem with bumpers?

In the beginning of the shift we failed to unload.

30 minutes of delay.

In delivery.

This is the 27th time this year we have problems with bumpers.

I want to do a very deep dive of what are the issues.

And I want you to help us here, Martin.

Something is wrong.

We have a world-class equipment.

We have a world-class paint shop.

We are delivering in sequence.

And 27 times we are incomplete.

I don't understand.

Please help us, Martin.

But it's totally unacceptable.

Director of Avtovaz announced today

that a new model will be launched next year.

Lada Vesta.

It will be the first car completely designed and constructed in Russia

after many years.

The production will start in September next year.

My name is Viktor Nezdanov.

I work as a electrical engineer.

This one is from China. It's very precious to me.

It's only a silver one

but it took a lot to get it.

And this one...

is made of glass. My only glass one.

2012, England, Nottingham...

There is a story...

behind each of them.

I sometimes go through them and reminisce.

Oh well...

I gave this plant 39 years of my life.

It's part of me.

I care for it with all my soul.

I would like our cars to be the best, not only in Russia

but in the whole world.

It is not impossible...

But we need good leadership and to go in the right direction.

Switching from one salary system to another is, unsurprisingly,

raising many questions.

(speaking Czech) My job position here is called...

Vice President of Corporate Development.

What does it mean?

It's very simple and very difficult at the same time.

I have to do all I can to make the Lada Vesta model come out.

No less than that.

It wasn't Andersson who came up with the Vesta project.

This project already existed

but there was no deadline.

Andersson set it and now he's working to reach that goal.

In order to reach it...

he's brought a trustworthy team

that will achieve it for him.

He is a typical crisis manager

with a capital "M".

His job

at GAZ and now at AvtoVAZ

is to pull the company from the mud.

Why did you come here with Andersson? Was it because of the money?

No.

It wasn't the money. You have to like this job.

The great thing about Russia is...

If it suits you, you'll really enjoy working here...

or...

you have to get the hell out of here.

And I guess the first option applies to me.

(speaking Russian) That's just an excuse again.

Always looking for excuses!

Then move it!

At three o'clock. I'll come to check it out.

Bye.

(in Czech) These people are not used to having any leadership.

Now, they were told to go out and do something.

They don't know the reason or the purpose.

And they aren't proactive folks.

We don't have to befriend them.

Our task is to...

show the path to the eager ones

and bid farewell to the ones who don't want to follow it.

There were about 1000 people working in these workshops a month ago.

Maintenance teams for who knows what,

people who had no idea what their job actually was...

When we checked on them one day at 8:30 am.

They were sleeping, playing chess or just having tea.

When we came again an hour later

the only thing that changed was that they had locked the door.

We kicked them all out.

We are located on the banks of the Volga river

where it creates the Zhiguli Reservoir.

Our organization is called

The Centre for Hardening and Winter Swimming.

The Walruses

AvtoVAZ used to have its own sports organizations.

They were financed by it.

But now it no longer supports us.

We are out of town

and in winter, there is lots of snow everywhere.

We can't get here not only by car, but even on foot.

If I were facing Mr. Andersson right now,

I'd ask him for a Christmas present for our club.

There is this machine... A snow blower.

It blows the snow to the side.

I've already discussed it with others. We would be really grateful

if Mr. Andersson gave it to us as a Christmas present.

(in Russian) Inga, hello!

(Speaking German) So it was a lonely winter.

I worked a lot...

They thought that after those 3 months

it would all go back to what it used to be.

(speaking Czech) Bo and I got to know each other

3 years ago.

We started to work together when he was working for GAZ

and I worked for Skoda as a delegation guide.

Or rather a delegation manager.

I think you've gotten to know Bo by now...

It doesn't seems like it, but he is very cautious.

And in terms of relationships with women...

He is faithful like a swan.

And he is was faithful to his wife.

Even here, in Russia... He doesn't care for women much.

So we were circling around each other for 3 years.

Until I came here. But really, I came to take a new job.

It's 11 meters long.

(in German) 11 meters.

This is an old guest house owned by AvtoVAZ.

It has about 1000 square meters.

This part serves for leisure and sports.

There is a Finnish sauna here that accommodates 60 people,

a Russian ban ya for about 25 people...

We use it once a month

because most of the time we just work, work, work.

The whole thing was built by the Russian state

as a guest-house for the President of AvtoVAZ.

In 1975 I was 24 years old.

I moved here later, in 1988. I was also 24 years old.

Back then people weren't driven by fear,

they were motivated by being given responsibility.

- They didn't work just for money. - They were proud to work here.

- Come on in... - Please, come in!

If a worker sees he is looked after... there were trade unions...

People used to be grateful to have a job in the plant.

They would receive a flat, the kindergartens were for free...

The factory owned many recreation resorts and sanatoriums.

Going on vacation used to cost almost nothing.

Everyone could afford it.

We all used to go pretty often.

- We could go to the seaside... - With the whole family...

There were vacation resorts here... We could take 21 days off.

Imagine going on a 3-week vacation for the whole family nowadays

and paying like 1000 roubles...

And the food was great, it could be by the Volga river...

These were the most beautiful times I've ever had.

We quite miss it.

Life was merrier, more interesting, people were nicer...

Where did you two meet?

On the internet.

It doesn't often happen here, but it worked for us.

One day we found out that there are several vacation resorts here.

It was by accident.

I was planning a weekend trip because Bo needed a rest.

So I asked people where we could go.

And they said they were uncertain about the exact locations

but they knew that there were plenty of summer resorts.

I searched for a person who would know where they were

and I found Vladimir Viktorievic.

He was a bit reluctant to tell us all about them, but eventually...

It was the same with our boat.

Our driver told me one day that there is a boat.

Later that day I asked Bo if he knew about it.

By the way, I really use the polite way of addressing him.

Well, he said he didn't know.

So we went to check it out

and we found a boat with a crew of five people.

They lived on it year round.

No questions asked...

They wouldn't offer their services...

I would say 3 years from now AvtoVAZ will be a very profitable company.

These places would be worth much more.

What I would do as a Swedish guy,

I would just take out these linoleum floors...

and just plaster with the wooden floor,

but keep the furniture and keep everything as it is.

Make it a cultural monument.

Because 20 years from now, this will be very unique.

Good morning, everybody.

Let's start. Kalina, please.

Yesterday we executed the plan.

We have no incomplete cars.

Priora?

30 cars retrofitted with maniverters.

We have all components.

Vesta?

We executed builds and delivery plans.

No incomplete cars.

- We have all parts? - Yes.

The first September days in Tolyatti mean not only that summer is over

they also mean that the Lada Vesta knocks on the door.

VESTA THE FUTURE BEGINS NOW

Ladies and gentleman,

it is September 25th, 2015, exactly 12:36 pm.

The first of its kind! it just left the assembly line!

The new Lada Vesta!

The future begins now!

Mum...

(speaking Czech) Mummy, I'm not going to bed yet.

(speaking Czech) But Bo is.

- I'm not going. - What?

(speaking German) Are you going to bed or did you want Daniel to go?

Me... I need to go.

Oh, Bo's going.

That's fine with him then.

Out with the bourgeois!

Let us go on strike!

ANDERSSON, WE NEED JOBS, NOT FAIRY TALES!

It's like "you're the most honest, the most wonderful worker"

if you come in according to the schedule.

It doesn't matter if you're drunk incapable or lazy.

What matters is you came.

But now you have to work like me. Don't sleep!

Go to the plant and work.

And what do we get for that? Just nickels. Peanuts!

We don't need any kids who might fall ill,

relatives or parents that can die.

Someone will take them to the cemetery without your help.

That is all disgusting!

What's left to us? We are not allowed to get sick,

we can just croak at the workplace and off to cemetery with us.

STRIKE! NATIONALISATION! MODERNISATION!

Hands off AvtoVAZ! Hands off AvtoVAZ!

There is a very bad mood in the factory now.

To tell the truth, the workers are afraid.

Daily, we have to sign papers that we won't attend any gatherings.

Any meetings.

That we won't tell anyone anything.

- You are not afraid? - Why should I be? Afraid of whom?

If they fire me, I'll work somewhere else.

Here we go.

A light bulb in a blinker. Loose contact.

- Do you need to fix it? - No. I'll just tap on it a bit.

In the end we had to buy the snow blower ourselves.

I asked Mr. Andersson if he could give us one.

A few days passed

and regarding the snowblower...

no one called or came by.

I grew rest-less

so I called Mr. Anderson's office

to find out what I should do next.

And I was told that it has all been cancelled,

but they didn't tell me any details or reasons for that.

I...

You know what my concern is?

I think I wouldn't like him to take us

for some kind of trouble-makers or disorganised cheaters.

We are good folks.

And I have no doubts that Mr. Andersson is a decent man.

I believe that people who were told to deliver it

simply didn't bother. So that's how it is.

The case with the snow plough... No, the snow blower...

The President ordered it

to be delivered to The Walruses.

Some 5 people from the technical department

came to bid it farewell...

It arrived at the Centre

and The Walruses refused it because it is 4 years old.

And this is not all.

They wrote a letter to the President

explaining that they had expected a brand new one.

But he doesn't have time for this kind of thing.

So he took it back from them.

And 5 people gave it a warm welcome back.

(in Czech) Can you open it?

Come on...

(in Russian) It is flooded down there.

There is lot of water on the floor.

Can you tell us something about it?

Please, come closer.

We've been trying to get rid of the water.

But the tunnel on the eastern side has a flat floor

and the water has nowhere to go.

We would need to tilt the flooring there.

How long has it been flooded down there?

In the tunnel on the south side...

Without a general reconstruction, of the floor the water will be there.

- It will stay there? - Always.

The Czech manager Katerina Matusková had to leave her position in AvtoVAZ

due to her intimate relationship with Bo Inge Andersson

which created a conflict of interests.

(speaking Czech) Where should I start?

I've spent almost a year and a half here

and only now do I understand how everything is connected together.

That's why we are on the river bank

50 meters from any building.

I hope that's sufficient to prevent any eavesdropping.

If I'd been aware of it or if someone'd warned me at the beginning

neither I, Bo nor our Czech team would be in the current situation.

That is...

We wouldn't be leaving AvtoVAZ.

We came here to accomplish something,

to make changes, to write history...

To change people's attitudes...

Bo...

Hard to tell. He has rather closed up.

He doesn't want to show his emotions

and I think he is working on a plan.

What you see here

is without doubt Andersson's team's achievement.

The car is becoming a bestseller.

And...

All the effort he's put into AvtoVAZ

will be appreciated only after he is no longer here.

Dear colleagues,

Greetings, dear delegates.

You heard from the President of AvtoVAZ

that the workers must be cherished,

that he would dismiss a minimum of people,

and that Russian specialists deserve respect

and they deserve good wages.

It all ended up quite different.

You may say that there were only 1000 people laid-off.

But we all know that thousands of workers left

because they'd been afraid they'd be made redundant.

Yes, we've heard many times that compared to other factories

we have too many employees and too low productivity.

But no one takes into account that AvtoVAZ

is the last remaining Russian manufacturer

capable of completing the entire car production cycle.

All of this brings us to an unsettling conclusion;

we will become just an assembly line for licensed foreign cars.

Please, think about that

and save AvtoVAZ as a Russian manufacturer.

Thank you.

According to the latest news Bo Inge Andersson will step down

from his position as the President of AvtoVAZ.

His resignation was requested by the shareholders of the company.

Are you happy now, Viktor?

Now? When working?

No, I mean now.

In March 2017.

Well...

How shall I put it... What does it mean ”happy”?

I wish it was better.

It is going down hill at the factory.

They started fooling us by offering us sums of money...

Like five salaries...

Or seven monthly salaries...

They pay you at once and you "leave of your own accord”.

Life used to be merrier.

There were plenty of kids around.

At the rowing club in summer,

there were 400 - 500 people training every day!

There is no one there now.

A human dies when his heart stops beating.

Then he dies.

And when this factory dies our town dies with it.

A city on the banks of the river Volga,

our love for you is in every verse,

through happiness and sorrow we will be with you

bound together by a cruel destiny...

Bound together by a cruel destiny.

It has taken many of us

to faraway lands and towns,

but we always return horne to the mirror by the Zhiguli mountain.

Home to the mirror by the Zhiguli mountain.

Tolyatti city — so bright, full of light,

Tolyatti city — it lives for its people,

A city born from our love, be even kinder and more beautiful.

Streets as straight as arrows

disappear among old pine trees,

and through them the city clings to the river.

A city floating on the Volga river.

A city floating on the Volga river.

There it is, look out of the open window,

run and search for new people to live here,

so we won't lose this precious chance.

We need to love the city with all our hearts,

we need to love the city with all our hearts!