Cold War Handguns. Vol. 1, The Warsaw Pact

The Cold War began as early as 1945 and ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. Two blocs faced each other throughout this period: NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The USSR then developed new handguns in line with its strategy. These weapons were issued to fraternal nations and supplied Marxist-aligned rebellions… The Cold War began as early as 1945 and ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. Two blocs faced each other throughout this period: NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The USSR then developed new handguns in line with its strategy.

These weapons were issued to fraternal nations and supplied Marxist-aligned insurgencies across the world. For this so-called cold war was tending to turn hot and spread across the entire globe through coups and guerrilla conflicts. The communist satellite states developed their own copies of Soviet weapons, but also original designs drawing on their own armaments industries.

Today, these weapons are accessible on the surplus market as well as in the collecting world. The author, Daniel Casanova, a specialist in handguns, presents these pistols, which have largely remained unknown in the West. The firearms covered include Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Yugoslav, East German, Czechoslovak, Chinese, and North Korean handguns, as well as those used in Albania, Cuba, and Vietnam.