MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Viktor Litovkin) - News that Russia's Interior Ministry has decided to use some foreign small arms, including Glock, Walther, and Heckler & Koch pistols, has been unpleasant for Russian designers.
"Why?" they say, "Our police generals are acting like boys. They have seen too many Hollywood thrillers and spend public money on foreign toys. Our pistols are in no way worse. Some of the foreign makes don't hold a candle to them."
That is, of course, a bit much. But Russian-made pistols, aside from the outdated Makarov (which is more than 50 years old now), are in no way inferior to the Glock, Walther, or Heckler & Koch, and there is strong evidence to support this conclusion. The first example is the 9mm GSh-18 pistol, designed by Vasily Gryazev and Arkady Shipunov from Tula. The pistol's name comes from their initials, and 18 is the number of magazine cartridges. The Glock, for one, holds 17 units in its magazine. One extra cartridge may not seem to matter a lot, but in fighting it can make all the difference.
There are several versions of the Austrian pistol. Its magazine can hold 10, 19 and even 31 rounds, but in the last case the magazine will protrude beyond the grip, which is not very convenient in battle conditions. Besides, the lightest Glock is still heavier than the GSh-18. The difference is not much, a mere 15 grams, yet the fact remains. In fact, the Tula pistol is the lightest weapon in its class, weighing just 580 grams. But its cartridge, also called the Parabellum, is powerful: 9x19mm (compared with the Makarov's 9x18). Its bullet weighs 4.2 grams, has a high muzzle velocity of 600 meters a second, and is fitted with a heat-treated steel core able to penetrate most flak jackets and 8mm armor. The Tula pistol can also use 9mm NATO rounds and super-heavy 7N21 and 9x19mm PBP Russian rounds.
Features such as its light weight, high magazine capacity, and low-positioned barrel, which makes for greater firing accuracy, make the GSh-18 superb in its class. But this opinion is not shared at the Klimovsk Research Institute of Precision Engineering, another of the three Russian centers for designing small arms. The third is Izhevsk, with its famous Mikhail Kalashnikov school, although the renowned master is not the center's only skilled pair of hands. But now about the Gyurza pistol developed in Klimovsk outside Moscow, a weapon that can compete with the GSh-18 in accuracy and power.
In firepower the Gyurza (designed by Klimovsk arms engineer Pyotr Serdyukov, the man who developed the PSS Vul silent pistol) is tops. It leads the field, leaving behind not only the GSh-18 (not to mention the Makarov), but also the Glock, Walther and Heckler & Koch. Its cartridge measures 9x26mm, and its bullet weighs 11 grams, which, combined with a high muzzle velocity and original design, gives it great penetrating and stopping power (it can go through any bulletproof vest). It also makes it possible to deliver targeted fire at a range of 100 meters, although sidearms are seldom, if ever, used over such distances.
The Gyurza (which refers to the blunt-nosed viper engraved on the pistol's barrel) has one more advantage in Russia: it can be fired with thick-gloved hands, a feature whose importance in freezing winters is hard to overestimate. Besides, the grip has a front-facing curve, making it easier to hold the pistol with two hands, and adding to stability and firing accuracy.
The Gyurza, with its heavy and powerful bullet, weighs a good deal more than the GSh-18. With a loaded magazine, it tips the scales at 1.2 kilos. Magazine capacity is the same: 18 rounds. Its accuracy is better than the Makarov's but slightly worse than the automatic Stechkin's. Here one faces a choice between going into action with a light but not very powerful weapon and wielding a heavy yet hitting armament.
Chechen militants liked the Stechkin, perhaps because they did not have the Gyurza. Presidential bodyguards in Russia and Belarus have opted for the Gyurza. The choice is made by the person concerned. But I hear that the MR-443 Grach pistol is now being adopted in military units to replace the Makarov. It was designed by Pyotr Yarygin from Izhevsk, and is therefore called the PYa (the pistol of Yarygin). The PYa, like the Parabellum and the GSh-18, has a 9x19mm cartridge. The magazine holds 17 rounds, and the range of fire varies from 25 to 100 meters. To accommodate such needs an adjustable sight can be mounted on the barrel.
For city fighting, self-defense and shooting in confined premises, where it is important not to wound a comrade-in-arms with a bullet ricocheting from the walls or ceiling - something that happens with the Makarov - this is an important plus. Also, the Grach's slide has a special indicator to show there is a round left in the chamber and a two-way safety-catch thumb-piece. It can be set on or off both by the left and the right hand. This appears a trifle, but it is a worthwhile trifle.
According to foreign publications, American policemen, for example, who are equipped with Glock pistols, regularly shoot themselves in the foot when reholstering their guns. Their pistols lack a mechanical safety catch, and in the heat of battle it is not always easy to remember if the chamber contains a live round after recent shooting.
A couple of words about yet another unique pistol developed by Russian designers. This is the PSS Vul, mentioned in connection with Pyotr Serdyukov, an arms designer from Klimovsk. The Vul is unique in being noiseless and flameless. This effect is achieved by the design of the SP-4 cartridge, rather than by screwing on a flash hider. The trick is that the gunpowder charge pushes not the bullet, but a piston, which ejects the bullet from the case and the bore. The PSS has a 7.62x41mm round. It weighs 700 grams, is only 17 centimeters long and can be held in the palm of the hand. But this pistol deserves its own article.
The point I want to make now is this: The worldwide small arms market is a highly competitive one. The same goes for the Russian market. It is for each individual to decide what to choose when going into action and how to protect one's comrades' and one's own lives while carrying out a mission. But the "buy Russian" slogan still holds, especially when Russian products are just as good as foreign ones.
