EVERYDAY CARRY GUNS IN RUSSIA

It is a well-known fact that Russian firearms law effectively prohibits ownership of handguns for ordinary citizens. However, there are some alternatives available for everyday defensive carry, and below is a brief review. During Soviet times, the use of firearms for self-defense was generally frowned upon by the authorities. However, the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 created a general political and economic turmoil, which resulted in the sharp rise of crime, separatism, and terrorism. Ordinary people suddenly felt a desperate need to protect themselves from petty criminals, who usually carried knives, knuckledusters, and other similarly unpleasant implements of street violence. Major-league criminals of the time often used various pistols, smuggled from abroad, Kalashnikovs, and other military stuff, including high explosives and rocket-propelled grenades. However, organized crime used their arsenals…