The PSM (''Pistolet Samozaryadny Malogabaritny'',

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

for "compact self-loading pistol") was designed by the Tula Design Bureau in 1969 as a self-defense firearm for law enforcement and military officers of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. The pistol entered production at the

Izhevsk Mechanical Plant Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (russian: Ижевский Механический Завод, ''Izhevsky Mekhanicheskiy Zavod'') or IZHMEKH (ИЖМЕХ) was a major firearms manufacturer founded in Izhevsk in 1942 for manufacturing small arms. Histo ...

in 1973. The PSM is a blowback-operated handgun with a double-action trigger and slide-mounted manual safety without a slide stop. The grip panels are made from thin

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

and new model with hard plastic. The weapon is made from

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

. The PSM was designed around the newly developed 5.45×18mm cartridge, which was developed for the weapon by Precision Mechanical Engineering Central Research Institute. The cartridge is capable of penetrating 55 layers of

kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

at realistic engagement distances. This cartridge has a bottlenecked case and a spitzer-pointed jacketed bullet. The pistol was primarily intended for army high command staff. However, owing to its insignificant dimensions, especially small thickness (21 mm across the safety catch), it soon became popular with security (''KGB'') and law enforcement (''militsiya'') personnel. The PSM was also appreciated by higher echelon

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

functionaries.

Other designations

* MPTs (''Malokalibernyj Pistolet Tsentralnogo-boya''; "Small-caliber Pistol, Center-fire")

Variants

* IZh-75 (''ИЖ-75'') - an export model in

.25 ACP The .25 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) (6.35×16mmSR) is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled centerfire pistol cartridge introduced by John Browning John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926) was an American firearm designe ...

. * IZh-78 (''ИЖ-78'') - 7.6mm

gas pistol A gas pistol is a non-lethal weapon used for self-defense and other purposes. It is typically a close-to-exact replica or conversion of a traditional handgun made to be able to fire blanks or tear gas cartridges. Effective range is up to 4.5 metr ...

* IZh-78-9T (''ИЖ-78-9Т'') - 9mm non-lethal pistol ( 9mm P.A.K.)

Users

* * * - custom service * * * - policeПостановление Правительства Республики Казахстан № 163 от 17 февраля 2003 г. "Об утверждении норм и перечня оружия и специальных средств, которые имеют право применять сотрудники органов финансовой полиции"
[Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 163 of February 17, 2003 "On the approval of the norms and the list of weapons and special means that employees of the financial police have the right to use"] * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

* * *{{cite web , url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/soviet-psm-pistol-history-really-a-kgb-assassination-gun/ , title=Soviet PSM Pistol History: Really a KGB Assassination Gun? , first=Ian , last=McCollum , date=30 June 2017 , website=Forgotten Weapons 5.45×18mm firearms Cold War firearms of the Soviet Union Semi-automatic pistols of the Soviet Union KBP Instrument Design Bureau products Izhevsk Mechanical Plant products

Other designations

Variants

Users

See also

References

External links