Upgrading the presidential car before the inauguration is common a practice used in the West. In previous years, the Russian automobile industry did not have such an opportunity, but now it has appeared.
This was noted by the former head of the Kremlin protocol Vladimir Shevchenko in an interview with TASS.
„The machine was once taken from a version of the American protocol”, he explained some elements of the ceremony. Also, according to US tradition, the previous leader's car was not used - “the car was made for the new president.“
"A new version of the machine is being developed. The car industry is moving forward: sometimes bigger, sometimes wider, but they make a new car. Now we have the opportunity to change the car. A very interesting variant has been developed. Therefore, it is possible that today Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] will arrive with a new car”, Shevchenko pointed out.
The former head of the Kremlin protocol recalled that in Soviet times the first persons used the local ZiL car. "We drove them for a very long time. It was a car that made Americans gasp when they arrived,” he shared his memories.
Since the 1990s, Shevchenko continued, when the Russian automobile industry fell into decline, cars began to be ordered from abroad. A Mercedes was bought mainly for this purpose. "And now our automotive industry is on the rise again, its development is very interesting. This is how our home car appeared, he concluded.
Deputy Prime Minister - head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov said that an updated version of the Russian car Aurus Senat will be presented at the entry into office of the President of the Russian Federation. At a similar ceremony in 2018, Putin used this car for the first time: with it, the head of state moved from the first building of the Kremlin, where his office is located, to the Grand Kremlin Palace. The Aurus is now used to transport the head of state of Russia, as well as other high-ranking officials.