Company overview
Russo-Balt, originally the Russo-Baltic Wagon Factory, was founded in Riga in 1874. It began as an affiliate of Van der Zypen & Charlier, a German company. Between 1909 and 1915, the factory produced approximately 625 railway cars under the direction of Swiss engineer Julian Potterat. In 1912, Igor Sikorsky joined the company in St. Petersburg to develop aircraft designs, producing a series of planes including the Russky Vityaz and Il'ya Muromets. Production shifted to St Petersburg in 1914, where armored cars were built for the Russian military. Following the 1917 revolution, production moved to Moscow and then Kazan. In 2006, the brand was revived by German and Russian investors to create a luxury concept car, the Russo-Baltique Impression. Currently, Russo-Balt, LLC manufactures trailers and is associated with the armored SUV producer Dartz.
