08/08/2026
This Day in History: August 8, 1945
Soviet Russia Declares War on Japan.
In April 1941, the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Japan, allowing them to concentrate on the war in Europe. However, with the defeat of Germany, on August 8th, they declared war on Japan. Over 1 million Russian soldiers invaded Manchuria, China, attacking the Japanese force of 700,000 troops. The invasion was swift and overwhelming, causing the rapid collapse of Japan’s forces in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, and Northern Korea. This significantly shortened the Pacific war and eliminated the need for the Allies to invade Japan.
The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, bolt-action, internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891 in Russia and the former Soviet Union. It is primarily chambered for the 7.62×54mmR cartridge. Developed from 1882-1891, it is one of the most mass-produced military bolt-action rifles in history, with some 37 million manufactured since 1891. It saw its first use in a major conflict during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) and was used extensively in WWI.
In 1924, a committee was formed to modernize the design, resulting in the M91/30. This was the rifle the Soviets used in WWII, and since then, it has been involved in numerous other conflicts.
In 2000, a sniper version was made and has been used by Russian law enforcement. Thousands of surplus M91/30 rifles have been imported into the USA.
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