“Tag: soviet”

The World War II-era PPSh-41 was a symbol of Russian resistance to the Nazi invasion. It's an iconic firearm, well steeped in history—and also a select-fire submachine-gun capable of full-automatic fire. That makes it a Class III firearm, so examples are subject to legal restrictions on sale, ownership and transport—not to mention quite expensive.

Read more for explanations as to why we are seeing more and more contemporary AR-style rifles chambered for the Soviet M43 cartridge.

After the Great War, Soviet Russia sought to upgrade its military capability—especially when it came to sniping rifles. The result was the scope-sighted, bolt-action Mosin-Nagant, used with deadly effect against the Nazis on the Eastern Front.

The SKS-45 rifle will never win any beauty contests, nor will it be the basis for a fine sporting rifle. But it represents a seminal moment in firearms design whereby function leads form.

One of the hardest working rifles in history, the Mosin-Nagant is like a lot of Russian firearms: somewhat crude in design, but very well made—and very dependable.

In the chaos following the Armistice ending World War I, Soviet Communist armies moved west, threatening all of Europe.

Throughout the Korean War, Communist North Korean and Chinese forces used a variety of small arms from different sources to arm their soldiers. Here we explore some of these Communist-used firearms.

With every meter the Wehrmacht advanced into the Soviet Union, their supply lines seemed to grow exponentially longer. This provided ample opportunities for Soviet partisans to inflict casualties and destroy vital aspects of the German war machine, and they used an assortment of arms to accomplish their mission.

Of the two prime combatants of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and United States, each armed their infantry troops with two unique but similar cartridges. Here's how they compared to each other.