Police Give Up Kalashnikovs

The Russian Interior Ministry has decided to give up the use of Kalashnikov machineguns and Makarov pistols, RIA Novosti reports, citing a statement by Deputy Interior Minister Police Lieut. Gen. Mikhail Sukhodolsky. The police official explained that the firearms will be replaced by PP-2000 submachine guns and Yarygina pistols.
“It is proposed to replace the type of weapon issued to employees with a transition from the Makarov pistol to the Yarygina pistol and from the Kalashniko machinegun to the PP-2000, or Vityaz, submachine gun,” Sukhodolsky said.

Sukhodolsky said that the new weapons will use a type of bullet that is less likely to ricochet and that has “powerful stopping ability.” Those features make the new weapons more appropriate to urban conditions. In addition, police will soon be equipped with weapons that deliver an electric shock, including weapons that work at a distance.