Although there were about 10,000 motor vehicles in existence in Russia by 1915 only about 1000 of these were actually made in Russia. Russian cars were more expensive than imports but had the advantage of being built for Russian driving conditions.

The principal manufacturer during this period was Russo-Balt who made about 100-140 cars per year. They also produced aircraft. Many of their car designs were copied from the German company Rex-Simplex and manufactured in Riga, Latvia. Nevertheless Russo-Balt cars were quite famous worldwide due to the different competitions and races they took part in. In 1912-1913 the race St. Petersburg – Monte Carlo was won by a Russo-Balt. The car travelled 4200 km without a single malfunction. Russo-Balt was also the first car to climb to the top of Mount Vesuvius.

This is the C24-30, this the C24-40. Here is a picture of one of the very few vehicles still in existence, it is the K12/20 and you can see it at the Polytechnical Museum in Moscow

There is a rather strange video featuring early Russo-Balt cars here and this link will take you to the Russo-Balt Company website where you will find more historical information.