Lada land

The Russian invasion of Hull

HULL’S LONG and honourable history as one of this country’s great fishing ports has tended to obscure the fact that cargoes other than cod and haddock helped to shape its fortunes.

And so it has become apparent that the most benign of invasions from Russia played a vital role for the city during the often dark and uncertain days of the 1970s when the fishing industry was in decline.

Economic salvation arrived in the unlikely – and infamously boxy – shape of Lada cars, which for a period became a familiar sight on Britain’s roads, much favoured by thrifty motorists with an eye for a bargain.

This is a chapter often overlooked in Hull’s past, but now – thanks to a new history of the port which sheds light on this fascinating chapter – as a city very much on the up with new industries arriving and a glorious year as UK City of Culture behind it, one on which Hull can look back and acknowledge with immense affection and thanks.