These tractors are very well known throughout the former Soviet Union, and have been exported to the Eastern Bloc, as well as other countries (even to the United States).
Belarus supplies 8% of the world's tractors
History
After World War II, Minsk, Belarus was pretty much in ruins. The Soviet Union, as part of the rebuilding process, founded MTZ and built a large tractor factory in Minsk. This factory is still considered to be one of the largest tractor factories in the world.
When the Soviet Union started exporting tractors to other countries, the exporting company named itself after the territory with the main factory, so the tractors were branded with the name Belarus.
The tractors ranged from crawlers (with undercarriages based on tanks) to four-wheel drive tractors. A large range of attachments were available for the tractors, so bulldozers, backhoes and front-end loaders were based all on the same machine.
When Belarus gained independence the tractor brand was renamed from "Беларусь" to "Беларус".
Mechanical description
Belarus tractors until the late 1980s were mechanically very simple, intentionally designed for farming areas with limited access to tools. Oil filters used a centrifuge to separate the particles, and tractors were available only with a manual transmission.
The diesel engines are of Belarus' own design, being either air or liquid cooled. They use a variety of methods to start them, from an electric starter with a kerosene heater to heat the intake air, to using a two-stroke starting engine. Various measures on the tractor have also been implemented to aid starting in cold weather, including a lever to disconnect the hydraulic pump, and a shutter for the radiator.
The three-point hitch is operated by a hydraulic cylinder, and is one of the few tractor designs that can apply "Down Pressure" with the three-point hitch.
In North America, Belarus tractors were attractive in the form of supplying larger tractors for lower prices.
