Russia's weapons are rightfully considered one of the best in the world. The technical developments of Soviet and Russian designers are constantly being improved and are in no way inferior to their foreign counterparts.
Weapon
The backbone of any army in the world is the infantry. Russian infantrymen are armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. For a long time, the AK-74 was in service, an assault rifle developed back in the Soviet Union. Operation of this model began in 1974, and four years later it was put into service. Easy to operate and maintain, the machine has become truly iconic: it began to appear regularly in feature films and Hollywood action films. They even sang songs about the Soviet machine gun. When the gaming industry was able to afford to make high-quality 3D shooters, Kalashnikov migrated to computer games. It's hard to name a game in which, among other weapons, there is no Soviet machine gun.
The Soviet assault rifle with a 5.45 caliber and a magazine for 30 rounds was quite convenient, but not universal; there were three different modifications of the AK-74, sharpened for different conditions and purposes. To reduce the burden on production and to give the main infantry weapon versatility, in 1991 a new version of the AK-74M assault rifle was invented and put into service. The modified Kalashnikov combined in itself all the variants of the previous models: a folding stock, a bar for mounting a sight and night vision devices, the ability to install an under-barrel grenade launcher were now present in one version.
Also, in addition to the universal machine gun, machine guns are in service with any army. They have more destructive power, but at the same time they deprive the shooter of mobility. In the Russian army, the most common machine gun from the same Kalashnikov concern is the PC.
The Kalashnikov machine gun is defined as a "single machine gun", a versatile weapon model that can be used as a hand-held or an easel. Thanks to this multitasking, the PC can be used manually or installed on tanks or other combat vehicles. The modern army uses a modernized version of the machine gun, which entered service in 1969 (PKM). The new version of the machine gun differs from the original in lighter weight and ease of transportation. The caliber of the PKM is 7.62, traditional for the Soviet army, the belts with cartridges differ from each other in volume: from 100 to 250 cartridges.
Almost every unit has a sniper, there are also entire groups and special schools for their training. The most common weapon for these specialists is the Dragunov sniper rifle (SVD). It was developed in the late 50s and put into service in 1963. Rifle caliber 7.62, magazine for 10 rounds. The rate of fire of the SVD is 30 rounds per minute.
In the modern Russian army, in addition to the original model, there are several modifications. SVDS is a rifle developed for the Airborne Forces, the main difference from the SVD is a folding stock and a slightly shortened barrel. Another option adopted by the modern army is the SVDK: it has a folding stock and is distinguished by a 9.3mm caliber.
Officers and warrant officers of the Russian army are armed with pistols. The main type is the Makarov pistol (PM), developed back in 1948. Launched three years later and remains in service to this day.
The Makarov self-loading pistol has a caliber of 9 mm, a clip capacity of 8 rounds, plus one can be in the barrel. The rate of fire of this type of weapon is 30 rounds per minute.
Battle tanks
One of the best representatives of the MBT class in the Russian army is the T-90 tank. It was developed by the famous Russian designer Vladimir Ivanovich Potkin and put into operation in 1992. After his death, the Russian government approved a new name for the vehicle: T-90 "Vladimir". The tank has impressive characteristics: the caliber of the main gun is 125mm, two single machine guns and a rocket launcher to combat air targets. The T-90 is equipped with combined and anti-cannon armor. At its core, the T-90 (or Object-188) is an improved version of the Soviet T-72B tank.
From 2001 to 2010, various modifications of the T-90 became the best-selling weapons on the world arms market. Despite the high efficiency of these vehicles, the armament of the Russian army with Vladimir tanks has been discontinued since 2011.
The largest number of tanks in service is the Soviet T-72B, the prototype of the T-90. The development of this tank was carried out in the early 1980s, and the production was carried out until 1992. The tank has combined armor and the "Contact-5" dynamic protection system. The caliber of the main gun is 125 mm.
The loudest development in the Russian army in recent years has become the T-14 tank based on the Armata universal platform created by Uralvagonzavod. The main and almost unique feature of this tank is the uninhabited tower - the entire crew is in a well-protected base of the tank, which reduces the risk of incapacitation of the combat vehicle's soldiers.
Another feature of the T-14 is its cost, one copy of the "Armata" is 3-5 times more expensive than its predecessors. Operation of the tank began in 2014, and in 2015 it was presented at the May 9 Victory Parade. But by 2019, they still cannot arrange the supply of tanks for the army's armament, the priorities of orders and the cost of tanks are constantly changing. Some experts quite reasonably argue that such equipment is not required by the Russian army at all, the T-90 and T-72 are quite capable of coping with the tasks.
Armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles
BTR-80 and BTR-82 make up the bulk of all armored personnel carriers in the Russian army. These vehicles came to replace the outdated BTR-70, which performed extremely poorly during the Afghan war. Production of the "eighties" began in 1984, and since 1990 they have become the main armored personnel carriers in Russia. BTR-82 is a more modern version, which was developed already in the 2000s and put into production in 2013. The vehicles are armed with 30 mm automatic cannons.
The most common infantry vehicle in the Russian army is the BMP-2. Developed and released back in Soviet times, this technique still forms the basis of landing machines in the army. The BMP-1 differs from its prototype by a more capacious turret and a complete set of weapons. The caliber of the main automatic cannon is 30 mm.
Iskander-M
The most famous tactical missile system in Russia is the Iskander-M. The installation capable of launching medium and short-range missiles (up to 500 kilometers) has practically become a cult following the official deployment of several complexes in the Kaliningrad region. The foreign press called the appearance of the Iskander "an alarming and frightening event." Today, there are about 10 Iskander brigades in the Russian army.
All this equipment is only a small part of the armament of the Russian army. To get a deeper understanding of all the copies of combat vehicles, tanks, rocket launchers or small arms, you should use Wikipedia or the official website of the Ministry of Defense, where the characteristics of all copies of lethal vehicles in service with the Russian Federation are described in detail.
Finally
The defense capability of a state is sometimes the only argument so that its integrity is not violated, and therefore the Russian armed forces, like all armies of the world, maintain their combat capability at a modern level.
But here it is worth adding that any weapon, and military equipment in the first place, brings death and grief. Each military novelty is field tested, and then, if there is a reason and a reason, it is used in combat conditions. Not a single local conflict on the planet takes place without the latest military developments, including Russian ones.
