Snipers of the Soviet Union

Georgian sniper Vasilij Kvachantiradze.

Klavdiya Kalugina, one of the youngest Soviet female snipers

(age 17 at the start of her military service in 1943)[1]

other preceding and subsequent conicts. In World War

II, Soviet snipers used the 7.6254mmR rie cartridge
with light, heavy, armour-piercing (B-30), armour-
piercing-incendiary (B-32), zeroing-and-incendiary (P3),
and tracer bullets. Most Soviet World War II snipers car-
ried a combat load of 120 rie cartridges in the eld.[2]
Unlike the militaries of other nations, these snipers could
be men or women. In 1943, there were over 2,000 women
functioning in this role.[3]

1 History
In 1932, the sharpshooters movement started under the
Vasily Zaytsev in December 1942. supervision of the Kliment Voroshilov. In 1938, Red
Army snipers took part in the Battle of Lake Khasan
Snipers of the Soviet Union played an important role against troops of the Imperial Japanese Army[4] The most
mainly on the Eastern Front of World War II, apart from successful Soviet use of snipers during the second world

1
2 2 RIFLES

war was during their defensive stages (19411943), af- In 1940, the Red Army adopted the 7.62mm SVT-40
ter which the advantage of defense shifted to the German semi-automatic sniper rie with a PU optical sight (7,62-
side and German snipers became a real danger to the ad- 40 c
vancing Soviets. ) as their second model of standard sniper
rie. Due to several problems, including accuracy issues
and muzzle ash, as well as being complex and slow to
1.1 Doctrine manufacture, production ceased in October 1941, and
work began on developing the PU version of the Mosin
Soviet and Soviet-derived military doctrines include Nagant.[7]
squad-level snipers, which may be called sharpshoot- In 1941 several 7.62mm SVT-40 semi-automatic sniper
ers or "designated marksmen" in other doctrines (see ries with a PU optical sight were converted in full-auto
the "Sniper" article). They do so because the long- sniper ries.
range engagement ability was lost to ordinary troops when
submachine guns (which are optimized for close-range, In 1942 the Red Army adopted the 7.62mm Mosin
rapid-re combat) were adopted. sniper rie with a PU optical sight (7,62-
. 1891/30 . c
Soviet military doctrine used snipers for providing long- . . ) as the standard
distance suppressive re and for eliminating targets of op- sniper rie[10]
portunity, especially leaders, because during World War
II, Soviet military leaders and combat theorists (Vassili Later, the Red Army acquired a small number of AVS-36,
Zaitsev contributed greatly to Soviet sniper doctrine, al- which were converted into self-loading sniper ries with
though he was ocially neither of these) found that PE optical sights (36
[8][11]
military organisations have diculty replacing experi- . 1931 )
enced non-commissioned ocers and eld ocers dur- The three most common sniper ries employed by the So-
ing times of war. They found that the more expen- viet Union were the MosinNagant, the Tokarev SVT-40,
sive and less rugged sniper ries could match the cost- and later in 1963, the SVD; the rst purpose built desig-
eectiveness of a cheaper assault rie given good person- nated marksmens rie.
nel selection, training, and adherence to doctrine. The
Soviet Union used women for sniping duties, including The sniper version of the MosinNagant rie was used
Lyudmila Pavlichenko and Nina Lobkovskaya. before, during, and after World War II. It used the stan-
dard bolt action 1891/30 infantry rie as a platform,
After the war, the standard Soviet Army sniper team con- though ries destined for conversion were hand-selected
sisted of two soldiers.[5] for quality and accuracy. Four-power scopes were added,
After the introduction of the Dragunov sniper rie, the and came in two versions. The PE scope was a copy
Soviet army deployed snipers at platoon level. Those of a German Zeiss scope, manufactured by Emil Busch
snipers were often chosen from personnel who did AG. The PEM model was later introduced as a more re-
well in terms of rie marksmanship while members of liable, easier to produce scope. The second version of
DOSAAF. Such snipers were estimated to have a 50% the MosinNagant sniper rie with PU optical sight, be-
probability of hitting a standing, man-sized target at 800 gan production late in 1942. This rie included a sim-
m (875 yd), and an 80% probability of hitting a standing, pler scope design, which was incorporated from the short-
man-sized target at 500 m (547 yd). For distances not lived SVT-40, and was far easier to mass-produce. To
exceeding 200 m (219 yd) the probability was estimated this day, it remains the most widely produced and longest
to be well above 90%. To attain this level of accuracy the serving sniper rie in the world, and remained the Soviet
sniper could not engage more than two such targets per Unions main sniper rie until it was superseded in 1962
minute.[6] by the semi-automatic SVD Dragunov rie.
The SVD ( ) was of-
cially adopted by the Soviet Armed Forces in 1963,[9]
2 Ries though issued as early as 1958. The SVD was the Soviet
Unions answer to requests for an updated sniper weapon.
The rie retained the use of the same 7.6254mmR am-
The rst Soviet sniper rie was designed in 1927-1928. munition, but is a semi-automatic gas-operated rie with
It was the 7.62mm Mosin Dragoon rie with a D-III op- a detachable 10-round box-style magazine. The SVD
tical sight (7,62- . 1891 continues to be the standard sniper rie of several coun-
-III tries, including those of former Warsaw Pact countries
.. )[7] now NATO members.
In 1931, the Red Army adopted the 7.62mm Mosin Later, the VSS Vintorez was adopted by Soviet Spetsnaz
sniper rie with a PE optical sight (7,62- troops.
. 1891/31 . c
) as the standard sniper rie[8][9]
 3

3 In popular culture [3] Snaypery VOV (in Russian). Retrieved 2007-09-29.

[4] .. . ... ., ,
A Hollywood lm called Enemy at the Gates was 1978. .29-58
made about Vasily Zaitsev, a Soviet sniper who
fought in the Battle of Stalingrad. The plot of the [5] // . /
., . . . . . 2- . 39.
movie is based on a section in the eponymous book
.,
by William Craig, which ctionalizes an alleged duel
, 1956. .435-436
between Zaitsev and a (possibly) ctional German
sniper called Major Knig. [6] Isby, David C. (1981). Weapons and Tactics of the Soviet
Army. Janes Information Group. ISBN 0-531-03732-0.
The role of a Soviet sniper is portrayed in the video
[7] . . //
game Call of Duty: World at War. On one of the
-, 24/25, 1998. .74-83
maps, an injured sniper, Viktor Reznov (who gives
the player Dimitri Petrenko the job of sniping) [8] .
runs around to tempt German snipers into opening // -, 11
re, revealing their position and allowing the player (140), 2008. .40-46
to snipe them. [9] //
( 8 .) / . . . .
In Tom Clancy's novel The Bear and the Dragon,
7. .: , 1979. .403
veteran World War II Soviet sniper Pavel Petrovich
Gogol, late of the Iron & Steel Division, uses his [10] . ?
scoped MosinNagant rie to kill a Chinese gen- // ". ,
eral during a Chinese invasion of Siberia at a range , ", 8, 2011. .82-87
of 900 meterswell within the capabilities of the [11] " 36
MosinNagant.
1939-1941 ,
In David L. Robbins novel War of the Rats, the lead 40"
character, Vasily Zaitsev, is a Soviet sniper in World . :
War II. // , 2000

James Riordan's novel The Sniper tells the story of [12] Riordan, James. The Sniper. Frances Lincoln, 2008.
Tania Chernova and is based on Riordans interviews ISBN 978-1-84507-885-0
with the subject.[12]

Four Steps to Death, a book written by John Wilson, 5 Sources

portrays a Soviet sniper, Yelena Pavlova, as a main
character in the Battle of Stalingrad // " ",
The Forty-First ( ) by Boris Lavrenyov 201 (4051) 1 1938. .4
is a Soviet novel about a woman sniper in the Red . . // "
Army during the Russian Civil War that was adopted ", 257 (4107) 7 1938. .2
into a silent lm (The Forty-First (1927 lm)) and
then into a sound lm (The Forty-First (1956 lm)). . .
// "
The 2015 lm Battle for Sevastopol is a joint ", 8, 1969. .107-112
Ukrainian-Russian lm biography of Soviet sniper
Lyudmila Pavlichenko, set during the 1941-42 siege // . /
of the Crimea. True to life, after being wounded, . . . . 3- . 23. .,
Lyudmila is evacuated to the United States, where , 1976. .629
she meets with Eleanor Roosevelt in a public rela- // (
tions campaign. 8 .) / . . . . 7. .:
, 1979. .403

4 References
6 External links
[1] Kalugina Klavdiya Yefremovna (in Russian). Iremem-
ber.ru. Retrieved 2011-01-10. World War II sniper list
[2] Snayperskaya vintovka obraztsa 1891/1930 (in Rus- Outstanding female Soviet snipers of World War II
sian). Retrieved 2007-09-29.
4 7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

7 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1 Text
Snipers of the Soviet Union Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipers_of_the_Soviet_Union?oldid=755692363 Contributors: The
Anome, Kwertii, Dietary Fiber, Ghewgill, Tempshill, Fibonacci, Jose Ramos, Roy Jaruk, Altenmann, Mervyn, Geni, Neutrality, Avihu,
Klemen Kocjancic, AlexPU, Sum0, Zscout370, Kross, SS451, LtNOWIS, Sherurcij, Cmapm, Alai, Redvers, LukeSurl, Firsfron, Zealan-
der, GregorB, Rz350, Q11, Brandmeister (old), Manxruler, Bibliomaniac15, SmackBot, Deon Steyn, Hmains, Chameleons84, Frap, Bi-
cycle repairman, Hu12, BranStark, Dlohcierekim, Halbersma, Ennerk, Soetermans, Nonagonal Spider, Nezzadar, Bethpage89, Lklundin,
Ingolfson, Smith Jones, Animum, Wiki Raja, Nbauman, Grosscha, Ipigott, Beenhj, Wiki1609, Kraftlos, WinterSpw, Gab.popp, MV-
Mosin, Riggsby101, Francis Flinch, Viktorhauk, UnneededAplomb, Onopearls, ImageRemovalBot, TheRasIsBack, Mezigue, Excirial,
Chicabona7, Alcherin, Little Mountain 5, Addbot, Morning277, Lightbot, IoannesM~enwiki, AnomieBOT, Tavrian, Ssrread, Citation bot,
Vintovka762, Shadowjams, Robby.myers, Aristeiakorps, RedBot, TheMightyGeneral, Bazsola, Buggie111, Ghostofchurch, Orphan Wiki,
Dewritech, Faceless Enemy, ZroBot, Brandmeister, ClueBot NG, Albert of Words, GuyHimGuy, Helpful Pixie Bot, BG19bot, Citation-
CleanerBot, Glevum, Jaqeli, Tn4196, Epicgenius, G PViB, Monkbot, Filedelinkerbot, Owais Khursheed, Shadowcaster, Dchris1990 and
Anonymous: 143

7.2 Images
File:Klavdiya_Kalugina.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Klavdiya_Kalugina.jpg Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors: Peoples.ru Original artist: Unknown<a href='https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718'
title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/
Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/
Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-le-width='1050' data-le-height='590' /></a>
File:KvachantiradzeVasilShavl.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/KvachantiradzeVasilShavl.jpg
License: CC0 Contributors: .., .. - " ". , 1981 (
. 181 ). Original artist: Unknown<a href='https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:
Q4233718' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png'
width='20' height='11' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.
svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x'
data-le-width='1050' data-le-height='590' /></a>
File:Vasili_Zitsev.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Vasili_Z%C3%A1itsev.jpg Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors: http://aloban75.livejournal.com/564228.html Original artist: Unknown<a href='https:
//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https://upload.wikimedia.
org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11' srcset='https:
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.
org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-le-width='1050' data-le-height='590'
/></a>
File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg License:
CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: This le was derived from Wiki letter w.svg: <a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
Wiki_letter_w.svg' class='image'><img alt='Wiki letter w.svg' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_
letter_w.svg/50px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png' width='50' height='50' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/
Wiki_letter_w.svg/75px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg/
100px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png 2x' data-le-width='44' data-le-height='44' /></a>
Original artist: Derivative work by Thumperward

7.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0