Snipers of the Soviet Union Snipers of the Soviet Union played an important role mainly on the Eastern Front of World War II , apart from other preceding and subsequent conflicts . In World War II , Soviet snipers used the 7 . 62x54R rifle cartridge with light , heavy , armour - piercing ( B - 30 ) , armour - piercing - and - incendiary ( B - 32 ) , zeroing - and - incendiary ( P3 ) , and tracer bullets . Most Soviet World War II snipers carried a combat load of 120 rifle cartridges in the field . Unlike the militaries of other nations , these snipers could be men or women . In 1943 , there were over 2 , 000 women functioning in this role . Doctrine . Soviet and Soviet - derived military doctrines include squad - level snipers , which may be called " sharpshooters " or " designated marksmen " in other doctrines ( see the " Sniper " article ) . They do so because the long - range engagement ability was lost to ordinary troops when submachine gun s ( which are optimized for close - range , rapid - fire combat ) were adopted . Soviet military doctrine used snipers for providing long - distance suppressive fire and for eliminating targets of opportunity , especially leaders , because during World War II , Soviet military leaders and combat theorists ( Vassili Zaitsev contributed greatly to Soviet sniper doctrine , although he was officially neither of these ) found that military organisations have difficulty replacing experienced non - commissioned officer s and field officers during times of war . They also found that the more expensive and less rugged sniper rifle s could match the cost - effectiveness of a cheaper assault rifle given good personnel selection , training , and adherence to doctrine . The Soviet Union also used women for sniping duties extensively , including Lyudmila Pavlichenko and Nina Lobkovskaya . The most successful Soviet use of snipers during the second world war were during their defensive stages of the war ( 1941 – 1943 ) , after which the advantage of defense shifted to the German side and German snipers became a real danger to the advancing Soviets . After the introduction of the SVD , the Soviet army deployed snipers at platoon level . Those snipers were often chosen from personnel who did well in terms of rifle marksmanship while members of DOSAAF . Such snipers were estimated to have a 50 % probability of hitting a standing , man - sized target at 800 m ( 1 / 2 mile ) , and an 80 % probability of hitting a standing , man - sized target at 500 m . For distances not exceeding 200 m the probability was estimated to be well above 90 % . To attain this level of accuracy the sniper could not engage more than two such targets per minute . Rifles . The three most common sniper rifles employed by the Soviet Union were the Mosin - Nagant , the Tokarev SVT - 40 , and later , the SVD ; the first purpose built designated marksmen ' s rifle . The sniper version of the Mosin - Nagant rifle was used before , during , and after World War II . It used the standard bolt action 1891 / 30 infantry rifle as a platform , though rifles destined for conversion were hand - selected for quality and accuracy . Four - power scopes were added , and came in two versions . The PE scope was a copy of a German Zeiss scope , manufactured by Emil Busch AG . The PEM model was later introduced as a more reliable , easier to produce scope . The second version of the Mosin - Nagant sniper rifle , known as the PU , began production late in 1942 . This rifle included a simpler scope design , which was incorporated from the short - lived SVT - 40 , and was far easier to mass - produce . To this day , it remains the most widely produced and longest serving sniper rifle in the world , and remained the Soviet Union ' s main sniper rifle until it was superseded in 1962 by the semi - automatic SVD Dragunov rifle . The Tokarev SVT - 40 was another Soviet sniper rifle used in World War II . Designed as a replacement to the Mosin - Nagant PE / PEM sniper rifles , the SVT - 40 was a semi - automatic rifle chambered for the same 7 . 62x54R ammunition as the Mosin - Nagant . However , due to several problems , including accuracy issues and muzzle flash , as well as being complex and slow to manufacture , production ceased , and work began on developing the aforementioned PU version of the Mosin - Nagant . The SVD , or Snaiperskaya Vintovka Dragunova ( Dragunov sniper rifle ) , was the Soviet Union ' s answer to requests for an updated sniper weapon . Though issued as early as 1958 , the SVD was officially adopted by the Soviet Military in 1963 . The rifle retained the use of the same 7 . 62x54R ammunition , but is a semi - automatic gas - operated rifle with a detachable 10 - round box - style magazine . The SVD continues to be the standard sniper rifle of several countries , including those of the former Warsaw Pact .