Russian Military Still Relies on a 130-Year-Old Firearm: The Mosin-Nagant Rifle

Russian military uses Mosin-Nagant
A gun used for 130 years, Mosin-Nagant
A best-seller transcending eras and nations

War can drag even the most powerful nations into a quagmire. The United States, which burned $1 trillion in the Afghan war, and Russia, which is currently stuck in the quagmire of Ukraine and even asking North Korea for supplies, are prime examples.

Russia seems to be mainly in dire straits in terms of supplies, including weapons. The situation is starkly illustrated by the weapons issued to the Russian troops currently being drafted and sent to the Ukrainian front. The weapon issued to the Russian military was the Mosin-Nagant, a rifle that has been in use for 130 years.

Performance is not so excellent considering its history
But a highly versatile firearm

The Mosin-Nagant was adopted for a long time, not because of its performance. The Soviet Union, which used the Mosin-Nagant as a standard rifle, tried to develop a new rifle, but the plan was postponed as it overlapped with World War II. Many scholars point out the Mosin-Nagant as a factor in the defeat of the Russo-Japanese War, where the traditional powerhouse of Imperial Russia faced the emerging power of Japan because its accuracy was significantly lower than Japan’s Type 30 rifle. In addition, the 7.62mm ammunition it used was notorious for its high failure rate, resulting in a negative evaluation of the gun itself.

The reason why the Mosin-Nagant could be used for such a long time was, of course, due to the lack of an alternative, but also because it had a wide range of applications. It was produced as a standard infantry weapon and even as a cavalry weapon during World War I. The most famous model was for sniping, the preferred weapon of several legendary snipers.

A gun loved by snipers
Widely used regardless of faction

The sniper version of the Mosin-Nagant was used by legendary snipers, including Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev, who single-handedly sniped 225 people during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II, and Simo Häyhä of Finland, who single-handedly fought against 500 Soviet soldiers. It is also said to have been widely used by the North Korean army in the fierce hill battles during the Korean War.

In this way, the Mosin-Nagant has been deployed on various battlefields as much as its long history. It began with the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, through World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and even the Chechen Civil War that ended in 2009. It is literally a weapon that has been on active duty for 100 years. Furthermore, it is even said to have been used by the Korean Independence Army. Officially, 37 million were produced, and if you include licenses and replicas, it is impossible to calculate the number, so it is considered the most-made bolt-action rifle.

Even uses a weapon over 100 years old

Although it seemed that the Dragunov sniper rifle developed in the Soviet Union took over the position of the Mosin-Nagant as a sniper rifle, the Mosin-Nagant is still in use in various places. It is also possible to modify it to some extent and use it as a modern rifle, and it is said that the Russian special forces, Spetsnaz, still use the modified Mosin-Nagant.