The Chelyabinsk Tractor plant was a project of the
first five-year plan. The plant was founded in 1933; the first product was a 60 hp tracked tractor
C-60 (
Сталинец-60,
Stalinets-60) fueled by
petroleum ether (Benzine). In 1937 the factory produced its first diesel-powered vehicle
C-65 (
Сталинец-65,
Stalinets-65). By 1940 the plant had produced 100,000 tractors.) were either wholly or partially relocated to Chelyabinsk, the resulting enterprise commonly known as "Танкоград" ('Tankograd', or 'Tank City'). The work force increased to 60,000 workers by 1944, from 25,000 during non-military production; during the conflict the works produced 18,000 tanks, and 48,500 tank diesel engines as well as over 17 million units of ammunition. Production included the
KV tank from 1941,
T-34 tank from 1942,
KV-85 tank and
IS tanks from 1943, and
T-34/85 tank and
SU-85 self-propelled field gun from 1944 By 1945 the plant had been awarded the
Order of Kutuzov, 1st Class, the
Order of Lenin, the
Order of the Red Star, and other honours for its efforts in helping to defeat Nazi Germany. By 8 May 2022, due to sanctions imposed after the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,
United States officials claimed that Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant's tank production had halted, had been made “idle,” due to a lack of imported parts. However the factory claims to have fulfilled an order for an unspecified number of diesel engines in December 2022. In 2023, the factory itself was sanctioned by the United States and Ukraine due to its supply of engines to Russian troops for military equipment. On 26 November 2023, an explosion occurred at the plant, causing a "severe fire". ==Operations and products==