Posted on 11/29/2017 7:42:35 AM PST by Simon Green
Packing heat in the country is no easy task. You need to pass a strict background check and only then can you own a hunting rifle or pneumatic gun. Things were different when the tsars ruled over the land though: Every man and his dog owned a weapon.
The famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin enjoyed a rather odd pastime: After waking up he would lie in bed and shoot a pistol at the wall.
In Tsarist Russia, people loved guns. Officers, merchants, students, respectable dames, and young ladies all had a favorite handgun, sometimes more than one. However, by the end of the 1917 Revolution the authorities had restricted the right to carry firearms.
Shooting indoors no more
Before the Revolution, guns were in abundant supply in major Russian cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg. Newspapers advertised Brownings, Nagants, Mausers, and other models of handgun which were as popular as they were affordable: A brand new Mauser would set you back 45 or so rubles, so there were also plenty of cheaper secondhand guns floating around; to put this into perspective, a janitor’s average monthly salary in Moscow was 40 rubles.
But even then Russians were not completely free of governmental intervention when it came to firing hot lead. The existing restrictions, however, did not regulate the ownership of guns; they regulated their use instead.
Random and frequent indoor shootings were a serious worry in 17th century Moscow, where almost all buildings were made of wood - a spark from a gunshot could start a fire very easily. In fact, such blazes were so common that a 1684 tsarist order prohibited pulling the trigger indoors.
Naturally, judging from Pushkin’s example everyone seemed to ignore the new rule until much later.
A new wave of restrictions came in 1845, when a comprehensive set of gun laws restricted owners even further. The legislation prohibited shooting outdoors in crowded places unless clearly necessary.
Although Russians were now stripped of their right to shoot for fun, nobody threatened to take their guns away - but this all changed with the Revolution.
Total disarmament
The Bolshevik Revolution put an end to the free circulation of guns among the general public. The leaders of the uprising knew only too well what the masses were capable of, especially if armed up to the teeth, and moved to monopolize gun ownership.
In 1918 the Bolsheviks initiated a large scale confiscation of civilian firearms, outlawing their possession and threatening up to 10 years in prison for concealing a gun.
The only exception was made for hunters who were allowed to possess smoothbore weapons. Gun licenses, however, were strictly regulated and only issued by the NKVD, the police organization known for its role in Joseph Stalin’s political purges.
It was only a matter of time before Russia became an almost totally gun-free nation. Some people believed Russians would regain their right to own guns after the collapse of the Soviet Union but despite firearms becoming available on the black market during the 90s, the new government did not risk liberalizing the gun market.
Today, Russians can only legally buy smoothbore guns for hunting and sports, as well as pneumatic firearms for self-defense. Applying for a gun license also involves a pretty rigorous background check.
In a nutshell, Russians can buy some guns even today but luckily most have abandoned their ancestor’s favorite pastime of shooting indoors.
Some PCP air rifle can throw a 100+ grain slug at almost 1000 fps, people successfully (and legally in some states) hunt deer with them.
“The supreme court just let stand a ruling that all military like weapons can ban banned by a state.”
Besides,
2. Let’s see them actually ban them. There are 400 million guns in this country, and tens of billions of rounds of ammo. Good luck with that.
>2. Let’s see them actually ban them. There are 400 million guns in this country, and tens of billions of rounds of ammo. Good luck with that.
The Commies in Russia pulled it off. Make no mistake, we’ve had 20-30 years of pure Marxist education of young kids in this country along with importing another 50 million outsiders. Things could get very nasty.
Millenials, for all their stupidity, poll consistently against gun control.
Thanks.
“The Commies in Russia pulled it off. Make no mistake, we’ve had 20-30 years of pure Marxist education of young kids in this country along with importing another 50 million outsiders.”
“Things could get very nasty.”
I suspect you are right.
‘’’’It was only a matter of time before Russia became an almost totally gun-free nation. Some people believed Russians would regain their right to own guns after the collapse of the Soviet Union but despite firearms becoming available on the black market during the 90s, the new government did not risk liberalizing the gun market.
Today, Russians can only legally buy smoothbore guns for hunting and sports, as well as pneumatic firearms for self-defense. Applying for a gun license also involves a pretty rigorous background check.’’’’
That’s basically not true. Since August 1953 you could buy any shotgun including semi-auto or a 22 caliber rifle without producing an ID in USSR. Guns were in abundance, you could by one in any hardware or sports shop. For a rifled gun you had to produce an ID and a hunting club membership.
At the same tume ‘respectable’ citizens could carry handguns under licence from local police chief.
More important, illegal weapon traffic was a federal crime in USSR butbthe maximal punishment was 2 years exile. That means the usual punishment was a fine or a month of probation.
Around 1959 there were changes and one was required to produce ID and a hunting club membership to buy any gun.
Actual gun registration started in 1974 and it required too much formalities specifically for a rifled gun owners prompting many to surrender it.
In fact the most dranonian anti-gun rules in modern Russia were implemented post-USSR in 1993 by Yeltsyn government. Handguns and rifles were nearly outlawed and for shotguns you were required to get a licence with months of background checks and other paperwork. To make things worse you had to renew the licence once in a few years.
Today the process is somehow easier and you can have rifle as well although many restriction remains.
In fact not. In 1906 they introduced licensing for firearms and since 1914 firearms circulation in most provinces was nearly total illegal.
Search youtube for “russian dash cam”. Hours of fun.
Here is one of the collections - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIgjGEo1-QA
In fact the most dranonian anti-gun rules in modern Russia were implemented post-USSR in 1993 by Yeltsyn government.
The Yeltsyn's era bill on guns made rifles available to non-professional hunters. Handguns have been effectively banned since long ago at the Soviet era and the law changed nothing in that.
What’s a definition of a ‘professional hunter’? You could get such a status from a related organizations rather easily. Also, before 1993 handgun permits were issued by a local police. Most holders were party apparatchiks, military vets who got personal handguns as an award or people working with cash and valuables, true but you still could get one being a friend with a police chief. In 1993 local police was stripped from the right to issue handgun permits which fell under a definition of a ‘service weapon’. Only government and security companies were allowed to hold handguns since then. The latter was actually a possibility to put hands on a handgun being licensed as a security guard. Another downside of a 1993 bill was that 22 lr was finally equated to the rest of rifled guns making it out of reach with a regular license.
Bottom line is USSR was rather pro-gun in between 1953 and 1974. Not entirely anti-gun in between 1974-1993. Currently there are certain improvements as well due to a loose legal definition of a ‘rifle’. There are certain types of rifling considered ‘smoothbore’ by law and producers are using it to build rather potent civilian weapons. ,366tkm or 9,6/53 lankaster calibers are good examples. The first is very accurate under 600ft and no less lethal than 7,62/39 and the latter is ever better than that. The main ussie is a cost because ,366tkm SKS cost like 30000 rubles or $500 while never-issued mind original SKS is around $100 and a used one is half that much. Also tkm ammo costs about $,5 per round and 7,62/39 is nearly free in Russia.
In the late Soviet years (two decadish) it meant a person worked on a contract with a relevant enterprise. They hunted mainly for furs. Such job required living in a remote forested area for a half a year, and a rifle was necessary for self-defense.
but you still could get one being a friend with a police chief
That's not actually handgun ownership for everyone.
There are certain types of rifling considered ‘smoothbore’ by law and producers are using it to build rather potent civilian weapons.
Those solutions aren't popular at all. Most people prefer to wait for five years before they can legally apply for a rifle permit.
As for the handguns ownership, there have been at least two attempts to legalise it, the most recent was by the LDPR party, but the Russian Duma (parliament) has declined them all.
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