Snipers of The Soviet Union - Rifles

Rifles

The three most common sniper rifles employed by the Soviet Union were the Mosin-Nagant, the Tokarev SVT-40, and later, the SVD; the first purpose built sniper rifle.

The sniper version of the Mosin-Nagant rifle was used before, during, and after World War II. It used the standard bolt action 1891/30 infantry rifle as a platform, though rifles destined for conversion were hand-selected for quality and accuracy. Four-power scopes were added, and came in two versions. The PE scope was a copy of a German Zeiss scope, manufactured by Emil Busch AG. The PEM model was later introduced as a more reliable, easier to produce scope. The second version of the Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle, known as the PU, began production late in 1942. This rifle included a simpler scope design, which was incorporated from the short-lived SVT-40, and was far easier to mass produce. To this day, it remains the most widely produced and longest serving sniper rifle in the world, and remained the Soviet Union's main sniper rifle until it was superseded in 1962 by the semi-automatic SVD Dragunov rifle.

The Tokarev SVT-40 was another Soviet sniper rifle used in WWII. Designed as a replacement to the Mosin-Nagant PE/PEM sniper rifles, the SVT-40 was a semi-automatic rifle chambered for the same 7.62x54R ammunition as the Mosin-Nagant. However, due to several problems, including accuracy issues and muzzle flash, as well as being complex and slow to manufacture, production ceased, and work began on developing the aforementioned PU version of the Mosin-Nagant.

The SVD, or Snaiperskaya Vintovka Dragunova (Dragunov sniper rifle), was the Soviet Union's answer to requests for an updated sniper platform. Though issued as early as 1958, the SVD was officially adopted by the Soviet Military in 1963. The rifle retained the use of the same 7.62x54R ammunition, but is a semi-automatic gas-operated rifle with a detachable 10-round box-style magazine. The SVD continues to be the standard sniper rifle of several countries, including those of the former Warsaw Pact.