Category Archives: Russia and also USSR

Military, Poland, Russia and also USSR

Very cool Military Motivational Video – The Devil Inside You

I like military tribute videos.  This video has a catchy song and the real neat thing is that it is in high-definition (HD) video.  It has footage of men and women from a lot of different militaries and branches including:  Austria, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden – probably more that I didn’t catch.

You’ll also get a chance to see quite a collection of ships, helicopters, uniforms, small arms, bases and what not – all in high def.  Very cool.  Here are some examples of the many cool videos they assembled:

Seriously, this is a cool video and a chance for a lot of folks to see other men and women serving their countries.  At 1:41, I got a kick out of the Russian operator wearing an “Infidel Strong” morale patch.

Here’s the 2017 video:

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Russia and also USSR

Prototype AK-47 Underfolder Circa 1948

Kalashnikov Concern released an interesting short video of this prototype 7.62x39mm AK-47 that they say dates to around 1948.  There are some interesting design features to point out:

  • A sheet metal receiver with no reinforcing center rivet/spacer visible.
  • The muzzle brake is integral with the barrel
  • The fire control group is permanently mounted
  • The cocking handle is a hollow tube
Source:  Photo from the video

Source:  Photo from the video

Here’s the Video:

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Russia and also USSR

Kalashnikov Concern’s Own Video About Early AK Variants

As you well know, I am very interested in AK rifles, their history and how they are evolving.  In September 2018, Kalashnikov Concern released a very interesting video that shows you some of their early AK variants.

In the video, Vladimir Onokay, a technical consultant with the Kalashnikov Concern, will show some unique AKs manufactured in 1948 at the Izhevsk motorcycle factory as well as models produced until the 1950s.

Please note that the following video is hosted in Russia and you may need to let it buffer a bit for smooth viewing.  It’s just over 4 minutes long and any student of the AK design will find it very interesting.

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Russia and also USSR

Kalashnikov AK-308 Promotional Video

This is a promotional video hosted by the Kalashnikov Concern of the 7.62×51/.308 AK-308 rifle.  It looks pretty slick and borrows quite a bit from the AK-12 but some noticeable differences are the 20 round magazine and different muzzle device.

Here’s the Video

Please note that all images were extracted from the video and remain the property of their respective owner(s).

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Russia and also USSR

Really Interesting Overview Video of AK-12K, AK-15K and RPK-16K at the Army-2017 Defense Exhibition Outside Moscow

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In 2017, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation held their annual international military-technical forum known as ARMY-2017 outside of Moscow.  There were over 1,000 exhibitors and over 500,000 visitors.  It was an ideal spot for the Kalashnikov Concern to show off their short AK-12K, AK-15K and RPK-16K weapons.

In the video, Vladimir Onokay, a technical consultant with the Kalashnikov Concern, does a great job showing the three weapons and giving an overview of each’s design points.

AK-12K in 5.45×39

Some things he pointed out were:

  • Free floating handguard
  • It has Picatinny Rails for mounting accessores
  • Front sight on the gas block and with the rear sight at the end of rail, the sight radius is longer than traditional AKs
  • The muzzle device is more for controlling flash during night operations
  • He showed the windowed magazine for quick round counts
  • The rear stock is adjustable

AK-15K in 7.62×39

The AK-15 is simply the AK-12 but chambered in 7.62×39.  He does make the interesting comment that they found a sweet spot in weapons weight of 3.2-3.3 kilograms for controllable fire in 7.62×39.  They try to make the weapons as similar as possible and this is really a family of weapons that can be made in different calibers.

The RPK-16K in 5.45×39

This light machine gun sports a 95 round drum and has swappable barrels.  A short one for close quarters battle (CQB) that requires a shorter weapon and a longer barrel for other use.

The Video

It’s an 8:00 video and has some great footage.

I hope you enjoyed this!

Please note that all images were extracted from the video and are the property of their respective owner.

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Russia and also USSR

Russian Submachine Guns from 1927 to 2017 – Including Video Footage and Overviews

While many Westerners focus on the Mosin Nagant and Kalashnikov rifles, Russia has a very long history of submachine guns (SMGs).  SMGs are typically fire weapons that use a pistol cartridge as opposed to an intermediate- or rifle-sized round.

In this cool 25 minute video, Jmantime takes you on a journey with a lot of historical video footage starting with the experimental Tokarev Model 1927.  It was a blowback operated  7.3 pound SMG that fired the 7.62x38R round that the Nagant M1895 revolver.

On to more modern weapons that we see currently such as the PP-19 Bizon.

And my current favorite, he also has footage of the PP-29-01 Vityaz-SN:

He also covers many, many others such as the PP-40, PPSH-41, PPS-43, OTs-39, and PP-2000.  Here’s the 25 minute video – I think you’l find it very interesting — I just wish the clips were higher resolution :-):

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Russia and also USSR

Promotional Video From the Kalashnikov Concern Showcasing Military Modernization

This 3:40 promotional video from Kalashnikov Concern was released in 2017 but I am unclear as to exactly when it was made.  You’ll note that they spend a lot of time showing their assault boats and they were unveiled in 2015.

You’ll see small arms, AGVs, optics and assault boats.  Pretty cool!  You can definitely see they are expanding their product line.

Here’s the video:

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Russia and also USSR

A Fascinating Video Showcasing The Adoption of Quality at the Kalashnikov Concern in Izhevsk, Russia

I always find turnaround stories interesting.  While we often focus on the older AK rifles, there is a fascinating story about how Kalashnikov Concern modernized and developed world class capabilities.  They produced the video that spurred me to write this post to share with you.

In the 1990s, Izhmash and Izhvesk were in tough shape.  They were only using 10% of their capacity and government orders were reduced.  By 2010, they were in a deep crisis.  In 2012, the two groups were consolidated into the Kalashnikov Concern as part of RosTec — I’ll just say “Kalashnikov” going forward.

Kalashnikov leadership embarked on a large scale improvement journey leverage lean quality management concepts, CNC automation,  and significant IT investments (ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning, MES – Manufacturing Execution System and WMS – warehouse management system are mentioned or briefly shown).

Kalashnikov wisely focused on their people — and I think this last part is key.  They addressed a poor work environment with medical facilities, a cafeteria and training in modern methods.  They even have a university that produces 300 graduates each year.  Getting people to learn and change are always the hardest things to  do yet also the most critical.

As a result, they improved productivity by 2.5 times, shrunk their time to market and removed a considerable amount of waste.

This video is a few years old but is a fascinating 8 minute journey starting with their origins through their turn around story.  There are a lot of photos of CNC systems, brightly lit and clean factory areas, the warehouse, class rooms and more.   It’s very impressive.

If you are interested in more information on the Kalashnikov Concern, click here.

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