[The National Interest] One of the most widely used weapons of the twentieth century was the predecessor to the legendary AK-47 rifle. Developed at the end of the nineteenth century for the Czar’s armies, the Mosin Nagant infantry rifle ended up becoming the standard issue weapon of the new Soviet Union. An unassuming but accurate and reliable weapon, the "Mosin" served well into the twenty-first century, making it one of the few weapons to see continuous service over the span of three centuries.In the late nineteenth century, Russia’s large land army grew increasingly dissatisfied with its arsenal of obsolete rifles. The standard issue rifle was the Berdan II , a single-shot rifle that fired the 10.7x58mmR bottle-neck black powder cartridge. This arrangement greatly limited the firepower of Russian infantrymen, who needed to load a fresh cartridge after every shot. The Berdan II was also large and heavy, weighing 9.3 pounds with an overall length of 51 inches.
New technologies promised a huge technological shift in small arms already underway in the West. A move away from black powder to more modern propellants would produce higher chamber pressures. This in turn would allow higher projectile velocities while at the same time allowing for a reduction in the size of the bullet. A fixed steel magazine could hold up to five metallic cartridges, eliminating the need for reloading after every shot. The result would be a smaller, lighter, faster-firing rifle.
