Poljot

The First Moscow Watch Factory was founded in 1930 under orders from Joseph Stalin as part of the first Soviet five-year plan. The Soviet government purchased machinery, equipment, and technical designs from the bankrupt Dueber-Hampden Watch Company of Canton, Ohio, transporting 28 freight cars of equipment to Moscow. Twenty-one American technicians trained Russian workers in watchmaking. In 1935, the factory was renamed after assassinated Soviet official Sergei Kirov. During WWII in 1941, the factory was evacuated to Zlatoust as Germans advanced on Moscow, returning in 1943 as the First Moscow Watch Factory. The first Pobeda wristwatches and marine chronometers were produced in 1947. The 'Poljot' brand name was introduced in 1964. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin wore a Sturmanskie watch during humanity's first spaceflight. In 1965, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov wore a Strela chronograph during the first spacewalk. In 1975, Swiss machinery was imported for complex watch production. In the late 2000s, businessman Sergei Pugachev acquired the company. The physical factory remnants were later purchased by former employees who formed Volmax, which markets watches under Aviator, Buran, and Sturmanskie brands. MakTime, which manufactured mechanical movements using old Poljot equipment, subsequently went bankrupt.