It featured a strong, short-handled, bolt-operated action with two front locking lugs an integral, five-round magazine a 29-inch barrel a tangent rear and hooded-post front sight regulated to 2,000 meters a long, full-length wood stock with an upper handguard and sling slots cut through the wood an under-barrel cleaning rod an awkward (but very positive) “knob” safety and a long, cruciform, spike bayonet with a flattened “screwdriver” tip. The basic 8.8-pound rifle, first developed by Captain Sergei Ivanovich Mosin and Belgian designer Leon Nagant in 1891, was redesigned in 1930 as the Model 91/30. The exact origin of the Russian sniper program is a bit sketchy, but sources place it between 19, which roughly coincides with the consolidation of the time’s three main battle rifles (Infantry, Dragoon and Cossack) into the modified Model 91/30. These included not only handguns and submachine guns, but also rugged and capable sniper rifles. In addition to basic infantry rifles, the Soviets realized that more specialized weapon systems were also needed. However, to effectively combat the invaders, Russia worked diligently to produce enough arms for its military. Making things worse, Soviet troops in the early part of the war were chronically short of both weapons and supplies. Invaded by Germany, the Soviets were faced with a highly capable and determined foe. World War II was at its core an existential threat for the Soviet Union.

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