State-controlled firms used what little funding they had to put millions of people behind the wheel, whether they needed a small city car, an off-roader or a spacious van for work.

Some firms put an emphasis on design in a bid to conquer overseas markets, while others took a strong interest in motorsport – occasionally beating more experienced rivals.

From family saloons with Italian genes to experimental mid-engined sports cars, here are some of the hits, the misses and the plain oddities that hatched from the eastern European and Russian car industries.