128-552: On road: 70 km/h (43 mph) MT-12 or 2A29 is a Soviet smoothbore 100 mm anti-tank gun , which served as the primary towed anti-tank artillery in the Soviet army from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. It is in significant use in the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present). The 100 mm anti-tank gun T-12 , which had entered service in 1961, proved very successful. Its shortcomings had to do with its use of
256-669: A renewed federation , an attempted coup against Gorbachev by hardline communists prompted the largest republics—Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus—to secede. On December 26, Gorbachev officially recognized the dissolution of the Soviet Union . Boris Yeltsin , the leader of the RSFSR, oversaw its reconstitution into the Russian Federation , which became the Soviet Union's successor state; all other republics emerged as fully independent post-Soviet states . During its existence,
384-399: A better method of indirect laying (instead of aiming points in line with the target). In essence, this was the geometry of using angles to aiming points that could be in any direction relative to the target. The problem was the lack of an azimuth instrument to enable it; clinometers for elevation already existed. The Germans solved this problem by inventing the lining-plane in about 1890. This
512-556: A chance against Russian armor. However, it seems that while the first line units of the Ukrainian army use rocket artillery in direct fire, and the 2S1 Gvozdika in indirect fire, the MT-12 does both for the territorial defense units. The indirect fire capability was already significant in 2017. A video of the national guard firing the gun in actual combat indeed shows it being used at near maximum elevation. All this shows that in practice,
640-592: A closer relationship with France and Britain. In 1939, half a year after the Munich Agreement , the USSR attempted to form an anti-Nazi alliance with France and Britain. Adolf Hitler proposed a better deal, which would give the USSR control over much of Eastern Europe through the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . In September, Germany invaded Poland, and the USSR also invaded later that month, resulting in
768-459: A direct fire weapon, hence the bullet-shields fitted to the carriages of guns such as the famous M1897 75 mm). It is also used with missiles , howitzers , rocket artillery , multiple rocket launchers , cruise missiles , ballistic missiles , naval guns against shore targets, sometimes with machine guns , and has been used with tank and anti-tank guns and by anti-aircraft guns against surface targets. There are two dimensions in aiming
896-420: A fleet of strategic bombers and during war situation was to eradicate enemy infrastructure and nuclear capacity. The air force also had a number of fighters and tactical bombers to support the army in the war. Strategic missile forces had more than 1,400 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed between 28 bases and 300 command centers. Indirect fire Indirect fire is aiming and firing
1024-438: A headquarters from various sources of information (spotters): observers on the ground, in aircraft, or in observation balloons . The development of electrical communication immensely simplified reporting, and enabled many widely dispersed firers to concentrate their fire on one target. The trajectory of the projectile could not be altered once fired, until the introduction of smart munitions . Indirect arrow fire by archers
1152-448: A known azimuth , or at least towards a target area. Initially, the angle between the aiming point and target area is deduced, or estimated, and set on the azimuth sight . Each gun is then laid on the aiming point, with this angle in order to keep them aimed roughly parallel to each other. However, for artillery another instrument, called either a director (United Kingdom) or aiming circle (United States), became widespread and eventually
1280-460: A laser guided missile often designated as 9M117 Bastion . It has a reduced powder charge that makes the missile leave the barrel at about 450 m/s. 1.5 seconds later, the rocket motor ignites. As it reaches its target at maximum range, the speed is only about 300 m/s. The target is found by riding a laser beam. The laser guidance unit for the Kastet system is mounted on a separate tripod. By
1408-597: A new profitable market. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Stalin ordered Marxist-Leninist parties across the world to strongly oppose non-Marxist political parties, labour unions or other organizations on the left, which they labelled social fascists . In the usage of the Soviet Union, and of the Comintern and its affiliated parties in this period, the epithet fascist was used to describe capitalist society in general and virtually any anti-Soviet or anti-Stalinist activity or opinion. Stalin reversed himself in 1934 with
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#17327930957071536-418: A projectile without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target, as in the case of direct fire . Aiming is performed by calculating azimuth and inclination , and may include correcting aim by observing the fall of shot and calculating new angles. Indirect fire is most commonly used by field artillery and mortars (although field artillery was originally and until after World War I
1664-461: A short distance. This use was intended to free up tanks and self-propelled guns for more important duties. At the time that the MT-12 and its predecessor the T-12 entered service the capability to fire HE-shells was common to most anti-tank guns. These HE shells could be used in direct fire and in indirect fire . In the latter, the MT-12 serves as an artillery weapon. However, the limited elevation of
1792-422: A surface parallel to the axis of the bore or physically integrated into some form of sight mount. Some guns had clinometers graduated in distances instead of angles. Clinometers had several other names including "gunner's level", "range scale", "elevation drum" and "gunner’s quadrant" and several different configurations. Those graduated in ranges were specific to a type of gun. These arrangements lasted for most of
1920-437: A target which cannot be seen by the aimer." The implication is that azimuth and/or elevation 'aiming' is done using instrumental methods. Hence indirect fire means applying 'firing data' to azimuth and elevation sights and laying these sights. Longer range uses a higher trajectory, and in theory maximum range is achieved with an elevation angle of 45 degrees. It is reasonable to assume that original purpose of indirect fire
2048-422: A transfer system. The breech block has a safety system that prevents the gun from firing if the breech is not completely closed. Together with cartridge ammunition the semi-automatic loading system results in a high rate of fire of up to 14 rounds per minute. The MT-12 has multiple sights , which can all be installed at the same time. The gun shield has three panels which can be folded away to allow usage of one of
2176-475: A union of equals, in practice the Soviet Union was dominated by Russians . The domination was so absolute that for most of its existence, the country was commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as 'Russia'. While the Russian SFSR was technically only one republic within the larger union, it was by far the largest (both in terms of population and area), most powerful, and most highly developed. The Russian SFSR
2304-515: A weapon: The projectile trajectory is affected by atmospheric conditions, the velocity of the projectile, the difference in altitude between the firer and the target, and other factors. Direct fire sights may include mechanisms to compensate for some of these. Handguns and rifles , machine guns, anti-tank guns, tank main guns, many types of unguided rockets , and guns mounted in aircraft are examples of weapons primarily designed for direct fire. NATO defines indirect fire as "Fire delivered at
2432-655: Is his background, his education , his profession . These are the questions that will determine the fate of the accused. That is the meaning and essence of the Red Terror ." During his rule, Stalin always made the final policy decisions. Otherwise, Soviet foreign policy was set by the commission on the Foreign Policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , or by
2560-490: Is mined, all forests have been destroyed by contamination, while the northern and other parts of Russia have been affected by emissions. During the 1990s, people in the West were also interested in the radioactive hazards of nuclear facilities, decommissioned nuclear submarines , and the processing of nuclear waste or spent nuclear fuel . It was also known in the early 1990s that the USSR had transported radioactive material to
2688-403: Is the equilibrator. It is a heavy and bulky thing compared to the much smaller pneumatic equilibrator of the T-12, but is also more reliable and user-friendly. On the rear view, the equilibrator has a lid with six bolts at its end. It presence allows easy discrimination between the T-12 and the MT-12. In order to accommodate the larger weight of the MT-12, its carriage has bigger wheels. These are
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#17327930957072816-489: Is used to correct the fall of shot onto the target; this may be required for several possible reasons: Predicted fire , originally called "map shooting", was introduced in World War I. It means that firing data is calculated to include corrections for the current prevailing conditions. It requires the target location to be precisely known relative to the gun location. Adjusted and predicted fire are not mutually exclusive,
2944-708: The Barents Sea and Kara Sea , which was later confirmed by the Russian parliament. The crash of the K-141 Kursk submarine in 2000 in the west further raised concerns. In the past, there were accidents involving submarines K-19 , K-8 , a K-129 , K-27 , K-219 and K-278 Komsomolets . There were three power hierarchies in the Soviet Union: the legislature represented by the Supreme Soviet of
3072-523: The Battle of Waterloo where a battery of the Royal Horse Artillery fired an indirect Shrapnel barrage against advancing French troops using corrections given by the commander of an adjacent battery with a direct line of sight. Modern indirect fire dates from the late 19th century. In 1882 a Russian, Lt Col K. G. Guk, published Field Artillery Fire from Covered Positions that described
3200-621: The Era of Stagnation , was marked by economic decline, political corruption, and a rigid gerontocracy . Despite efforts to maintain the Soviet Union's superpower status, the economy struggled due to its centralized nature, technological backwardness, and inefficiencies. The vast military expenditures and burdens of maintaining the Eastern Bloc, further strained the Soviet economy. In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev 's policies of Glasnost (openness) and Perestroika (restructuring) aimed to revitalize
3328-559: The Georgian Affair of 1922, Lenin called for the Russian SFSR and other national Soviet republics to form a greater union which he initially named as the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia (Russian: Союз Советских Республик Европы и Азии , romanized : Soyuz Sovyetskikh Respublik Evropy i Azii ). Joseph Stalin initially resisted Lenin's proposal but ultimately accepted it, and with Lenin's agreement he changed
3456-755: The Land Forces , the Air Force , the Navy , Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) and the Internal Troops . The OGPU later became independent and in 1934 joined the NKVD secret police, and so its internal troops were under the joint leadership of the defense and internal commissariats. After World War II, Strategic Missile Forces (1959), Air Defense Forces (1948) and National Civil Defense Forces (1970) were formed, which ranked first, third, and sixth in
3584-528: The Moscow State Institute of International Relations . The Marxist-Leninist leadership of the Soviet Union intensely debated foreign policy issues and changed directions several times. Even after Stalin assumed dictatorial control in the late 1920s, there were debates, and he frequently changed positions. During the country's early period, it was assumed that Communist revolutions would break out soon in every major industrial country, and it
3712-790: The Popular Front program that called on all Marxist parties to join with all anti-Fascist political, labour, and organizational forces that were opposed to fascism , especially of the Nazi variety. The rapid growth of power in Nazi Germany encouraged both Paris and Moscow to form a military alliance, and the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in May 1935. A firm believer in collective security, Stalin's foreign minister Maxim Litvinov worked very hard to form
3840-582: The Procurator General and the Council of Ministers (known before 1946 as the Council of People's Commissars ), headed by the Chairman (Premier) and managing an enormous bureaucracy responsible for the administration of the economy and society. State and party structures of the constituent republics largely emulated the structure of the central institutions, although the Russian SFSR, unlike
3968-554: The Russian Civil War , the Soviet Union quickly became a one-party state under the Communist Party . Its early years under Lenin were marked by the implementation of socialist policies and the New Economic Policy (NEP), which allowed for market-oriented reforms. The rise of Joseph Stalin in the late 1920s ushered in an era of intense centralization and totalitarianism. Stalin's rule was characterized by
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4096-650: The Russian Empire , the State Council , which functioned from 1810 to 1917, was referred to as a Council of Ministers. The Soviets as workers' councils first appeared during the 1905 Russian Revolution . Although they were quickly suppressed by the Imperial army, after the February Revolution of 1917 , workers' and soldiers' Soviets emerged throughout the country and shared power with
4224-859: The Russian Provisional Government . The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin , demanded that all power be transferred to the Soviets, and gained support from the workers and soldiers. After the October Revolution , in which the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government in the name of the Soviets, Lenin proclaimed the formation of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic (RSFSR). During
4352-635: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), saying that it was "overly juridical" and potentially infringed on national sovereignty. The Soviet Union later signed legally-binding human rights documents, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1973 (and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ), but they were neither widely known or accessible to people living under Communist rule, nor were they taken seriously by
4480-648: The Western Bloc during the Cold War . This period saw the USSR engage in an arms race, the Space Race , and proxy wars around the globe. The post-Stalin leadership, particularly under Nikita Khrushchev , initiated a de-Stalinization process, leading to a period of liberalization and relative openness known as the Khrushchev Thaw . However, the subsequent era under Leonid Brezhnev , referred to as
4608-461: The first probe to land on another planet . In 1985, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev , sought to reform the country through his policies of glasnost and perestroika . In 1989, various countries of the Warsaw Pact overthrew their Soviet-backed regimes , and nationalist and separatist movements erupted across the Soviet Union. In 1991, amid efforts to preserve the country as
4736-567: The general secretary (First Secretary from 1953 to 1966), the de facto highest office in the Soviet Union. Depending on the degree of power consolidation, it was either the Politburo as a collective body or the General Secretary, who always was one of the Politburo members, that effectively led the party and the country (except for the period of the highly personalized authority of Stalin, exercised directly through his position in
4864-563: The gunner's quadrant (see clinometer ) in the 16th century introduced indirect fire guns because it enabled gunlaying by instrument instead of line of sight. This instrument was basically a carpenter's set square with a graduated arc and plumb-bob placed in the muzzle to measure an elevation. There are suggestions, based on an account in Livre de Canonerie published in 1561 and reproduced in Revue d'Artillerie of March 1908, that indirect fire
4992-485: The right to food , the right to work , and the right to education . The Soviet conception of human rights was very different from international law . According to Soviet legal theory , "it is the government who is the beneficiary of human rights which are to be asserted against the individual". The Soviet state was considered as the source of human rights. Therefore, the Soviet legal system considered law an arm of politics and it also considered courts agencies of
5120-528: The system of appointments . All senior government officials and most deputies of the Supreme Soviet were members of the CPSU. Of the party heads themselves, Stalin (1941–1953) and Khrushchev (1958–1964) were Premiers. Upon the forced retirement of Khrushchev, the party leader was prohibited from this kind of double membership, but the later General Secretaries for at least some part of their tenure occupied
5248-493: The third-most populous country . An overall successor to the Russian Empire , it was nominally organized as a federal union of national republics , the largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR . In practice, its government and economy were highly centralized . As a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , it was a flagship communist state . Its capital and largest city
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5376-408: The trunnion differs. This allows easy elevation of the gun barrel. The MT-12 uses a very prominent coil spring equilibrator. Standing behind the gun, the barrel has a single tube above it in the same position on each side, running almost from the shield to the breech block. These two tubes are part of the recoil system. Above the right tube is another tube at a slightly different horizontal angle, this
5504-703: The 1920s, it refused to rubber stamp proposals from the party and Council of Ministers. In 1990, Gorbachev introduced and assumed the position of the President of the Soviet Union , concentrated power in his executive office, independent of the party, and subordinated the government, now renamed the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR , to himself. Tensions grew between the Union-wide authorities under Gorbachev, reformists led in Russia by Boris Yeltsin and controlling
5632-405: The 20th century until robust, reliable and cost-effectively accurate gyroscopes provided a means of pointing gun or launcher in any required azimuth and elevation, thereby enabling indirect fire without using external aiming points. These devices use gyros in all three axes to determine current elevation, azimuth and trunnion tilt. Before a gun or launcher can be aimed, it must be oriented towards
5760-529: The Communist authorities. Under Joseph Stalin , the death penalty was extended to adolescents as young as 12 years old in 1935. Sergei Kovalev recalled "the famous article 125 of the Constitution which enumerated all basic civil and political rights" in the Soviet Union. But when he and other prisoners attempted to use this as a legal basis for their abuse complaints, their prosecutor's argument
5888-475: The Council of Ministers rather than the Politburo after 1941). They were not controlled by the general party membership, as the key principle of the party organization was democratic centralism , demanding strict subordination to higher bodies, and elections went uncontested, endorsing the candidates proposed from above. The Communist Party maintained its dominance over the state mainly through its control over
6016-495: The First World War an important task for aircraft — both heavier-than-air or balloons — was artillery spotting . In naval use several ships may be shooting at the same target, making identifying the fall of shot from a particular ship difficult; different-coloured dyes for each ship were often used to help with spotting. Fire may be "adjusted" or "predicted". Adjusting (originally "ranging") means some form of observation
6144-530: The K-1 collimator sight. Against tanks, the MT-12 can fire armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) and high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds. The HEAT shot has more penetration, but can easily be defeated by measures like reactive armour and composite armour . The APFSDS round relies on a (high) terminal velocity at impact and after that on its length. This makes the APFSDS directly dependent on
6272-632: The Latin alphabet: SSSR ) is the abbreviation of the Russian-language cognate of USSR, as written in Cyrillic letters . The Soviets used this abbreviation so frequently that audiences worldwide became familiar with its meaning. After this, the most common Russian initialization is Союз ССР (transliteration: Soyuz SSR ) which essentially translates to Union of SSRs in English. In addition,
6400-420: The MT-12 and the T-12. Its track width is 1.91 m instead of only 1.465 m, and it has a more robust suspension. This allows the MT-12 to be also towed by the tracked MT-LB , instead of only by a truck. The conditions in Russia itself, with few roads and a terrain that turns to mud at least once a year, explain how important tracked movement is. The new carriage also allowed the MT-12 to be towed through
6528-515: The MT-12 is now widely used as a support gun. This was also reported about the self propelled variant, which has been given an increased elevation. On the Russian side, a train load of MT-12s was pulled from storage and sent to the front in March 2023. Russia was expected to use these to increase artillery availability on the front. However, in mid-April two MT-12s were observed and destroyed while in an anti tank position, feeding speculations that Russia
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#17327930957076656-606: The MT-12 of only 20 degrees limits its range as an artillery weapon. This is only about 8.2 km. The use of the MT-12 and other towed anti-tank guns has been studied in some detail for the War in Donbas (2014–2022) up to 2017. In the Donbass, the T-64 was the most common tank. The MT-12 can penetrate its frontal armor at shorter distances. However, before the front lines stabilized after
6784-506: The MT-12 when towed by the MT-LB was twenty rounds. These were ten solid armor-piercing rounds (BPS), six HEAT shaped-charge rounds (KS) and four high-explosive grenades (OFS) for use against “soft” targets. The MT-12K, or 2A29K has a laser device for guiding the 9M117 missile shot fired by the 9K116 Kastet system, see above. It is not clear whether simply adding the separate tripod mounted guiding device turns an MT-12 into an MT-12K. The MT-12K
6912-486: The MT-12. In 2017, the Algerian military displayed a locally developed variant mounting an MT-12 on a Mercedes-Benz Zetros truck. It includes four stabilization legs to absorb firing impacts. In the Soviet Union the MT-12 entered production in 1970. Just like the T-12, the MT-12 was used in anti-tank battalions of 18 guns, divided in 3 batteries of 6 guns each. This was the organizational structure for these guns during
7040-546: The Politburo after the deaths of Lenin and Stalin, as well as after Khrushchev's dismissal, itself due to a decision by both the Politburo and the Central Committee. All leaders of the Communist Party before Gorbachev died in office, except Georgy Malenkov and Khrushchev, both dismissed from the party leadership amid internal struggle within the party. Between 1988 and 1990, facing considerable opposition, Mikhail Gorbachev enacted reforms shifting power away from
7168-469: The Russian short form name Советский Союз (transliteration: Sovyetsky Soyuz , which literally means Soviet Union ) is also commonly used, but only in its unabbreviated form. Since the start of the Great Patriotic War at the latest, abbreviating the Russian name of the Soviet Union as СС has been taboo, the reason being that СС as a Russian Cyrillic abbreviation is associated with
7296-632: The Soviet Union and turned into SSRs, which was not recognized by most of the international community and was considered an illegal occupation . After the Soviet invasion of Finland , the Karelo-Finnish SSR was formed on annexed territory as a Union Republic in March 1940 and then incorporated into Russia as the Karelian ASSR in 1956. Between July 1956 and September 1991, there were 15 union republics (see map below). While nominally
7424-610: The Soviet Union in 1922. Following Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin came to power, inaugurating rapid industrialization and forced collectivization that led to significant economic growth but contributed to a famine between 1930 and 1933 that killed millions. The Soviet forced labour camp system of the Gulag was expanded. During the late 1930s, Stalin's government conducted the Great Purge to remove opponents, resulting in mass death, imprisonment, and deportation. In 1939,
7552-549: The Soviet Union , the government represented by the Council of Ministers , and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only legal party and the final policymaker in the country. At the top of the Communist Party was the Central Committee , elected at Party Congresses and Conferences. In turn, the Central Committee voted for a Politburo (called the Presidium between 1952 and 1966), Secretariat and
7680-452: The Soviet Union produced many significant social and technological achievements and innovations . It had the world's second-largest economy and largest standing military. An NPT-designated state , it wielded the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world . As an Allied nation, it was a founding member of the United Nations as well as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council . Before its dissolution,
7808-414: The Soviet Union undertook a campaign of de-Stalinization under Nikita Khrushchev , which saw reversals and rejections of Stalinist policies. This campaign caused tensions with Communist China . During the 1950s, the Soviet Union expanded its efforts in space exploration and took a lead in the Space Race with the first artificial satellite , the first human spaceflight , the first space station , and
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#17327930957077936-411: The Soviet Union was the world's largest country, a status that is retained by the Russian Federation . Covering a sixth of Earth's land surface, its size was comparable to that of North America . Two other successor states, Kazakhstan and Ukraine , rank among the top 10 countries by land area, and the largest country entirely in Europe, respectively. The European portion accounted for a quarter of
8064-417: The Soviet Union's priorities changed. Despite previous conflict with the United Kingdom , Vyacheslav Molotov dropped his post war border demands. The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc , which began following World War II in 1945. The term cold war is used because there
8192-454: The Soviet Union. In Ukraine, a self-propelled variant of the MT-12 mounted on an MT-LB has been reported. Inspection of the footage shows that the first such conversion made by locals, used a T-12, not an MT-12. The gun mask (shield part below the gun) is that of a T-12. Furthermore, the videos do not show the big MT-12 equilibrator on the gun. A later version made by Ukrtransgazu also shows no such equilibrator, but two more specimens might use
8320-464: The Soviet system but instead accelerated its unraveling. Nationalist movements gained momentum across the Soviet republics , and the control of the Communist Party weakened. The failed coup attempt in August 1991 against Gorbachev by hardline communists hastened the end of the Soviet Union , which formally dissolved on December 26, 1991, ending nearly seven decades of Soviet rule. With an area of 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi),
8448-408: The USSR and Nazi Germany signed a nonaggression pact , but in 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest land invasion in history, opening the Eastern Front of World War II . The Soviets played a decisive role in defeating the Axis powers , suffering an estimated 27 million casualties , which accounted for most Allied losses. In the aftermath of the war , the Soviet Union consolidated
8576-430: The USSR from the United States . The country's highest mountain was Communism Peak (now Ismoil Somoni Peak ) in Tajikistan , at 7,495 metres (24,590 ft). The USSR also included most of the world's largest lakes; the Caspian Sea (shared with Iran ), and Lake Baikal , the world's largest (by volume) and deepest freshwater lake that is also an internal body of water in Russia. Neighbouring countries were aware of
8704-638: The USSR was one of the world's two superpowers through its hegemony in Eastern Europe, global diplomatic and ideological influence (particularly in the Global South ), military and economic strengths, and scientific accomplishments. The word soviet is derived from the Russian word sovet (Russian: совет ), meaning 'council', 'assembly', 'advice', ultimately deriving from the proto-Slavic verbal stem of * vět-iti ('to inform'), related to Slavic věst ('news'), English wise . The word sovietnik means 'councillor'. Some organizations in Russian history were called council (Russian: совет ). In
8832-430: The USSR. Moscow eventually stopped threatening other states, and instead worked to open peaceful relationships in terms of trade, and diplomatic recognition. The United Kingdom dismissed the warnings of Winston Churchill and a few others about a continuing Marxist-Leninist threat, and opened trade relations and de facto diplomatic recognition in 1922. There was hope for a settlement of the pre-war Tsarist debts, but it
8960-436: The Ukrainian defeat in the August-September 2014 Battle of Ilovaisk , the MT-12 was rarely seen, because maneuverable warfare prevented its wide employment. From September 2014 to February 2015 it then played a significant role. It was seen on both sides during the January-February 2015 Battle of Debaltseve . The final 2017 conclusion about the towed anti-tank gun was that: 'Moreover, its ability to be used in indirect fire makes
9088-442: The accident were unknown, 4,000 new cases of thyroid cancer which resulted from the accident's contamination were reported at the time of the accident, but this led to a relatively low number of deaths (WHO data, 2005). Another major radioactive accident was the Kyshtym disaster . The Kola Peninsula was one of the places with major problems. Around the industrial cities of Monchegorsk and Norilsk , where nickel , for example,
9216-465: The carriage of the 85 mm anti-tank gun D-48 . This was so narrow that the T-12 was prone to topple over its side and could only be towed through the terrain at 15 km/h. Also, the equilibrator had to be redesigned, as described below . Together with some lesser considerations, this led to the development of the T-12A, later known as MT-12, GRAU-index 2A29. The carriage is the main difference between
9344-429: The country was limited. The state restricted rights of citizens to private property . According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , human rights are the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." including the right to life and liberty , freedom of expression , and equality before the law ; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture ,
9472-660: The country's area and was the cultural and economic center. The eastern part in Asia extended to the Pacific Ocean to the east and Afghanistan to the south, and, except some areas in Central Asia , was much less populous. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) east to west across 11 time zones , and over 7,200 kilometres (4,500 mi) north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra , taiga , steppes , desert and mountains . The USSR, like Russia , had
9600-553: The duty of the Russian Bolsheviks to protect what they had in Russia, and avoid military confrontations that might destroy their bridgehead. Russia was now a pariah state, along with Germany. The two came to terms in 1922 with the Treaty of Rapallo that settled long-standing grievances. At the same time, the two countries secretly set up training programs for the illegal German army and air force operations at hidden camps in
9728-515: The entirety of the Cold War. However, if enough missile tank destroyers were available, one of the batteries would be replaced by one of 9 anti-tank guided missile platforms (ATGM). During the Cold War the Soviet Union thought of the MT-12 as a defensive and expendable weapon. It was cost-effective, meaning that a lot of them could be produced and deployed. It could be entrenched, and due to its low height, it could easily be concealed to strike from
9856-600: The forced collectivization of agriculture , rapid industrialization , and the Great Purge , which eliminated perceived enemies of the state. The Soviet Union played a crucial role in the Allied victory in World War II , but at a tremendous human cost, with millions of Soviet citizens perishing in the conflict. The Soviet Union emerged as one of the world's two superpowers, leading the Eastern Bloc in opposition to
9984-406: The former may use predicted data and the latter may need adjusting in some circumstances. There are two approaches to the azimuth that orients the guns of a battery for indirect fire. Originally "zero", meaning 6400 mils, 360 degrees or their equivalent, was set at whatever the direction the oriented gun was pointed. Firing data was a deflection or switch from this zero. The other method was to set
10112-779: The founding republics who signed the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR in December 1922. In 1924, during the national delimitation in Central Asia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were formed from parts of Russia's Turkestan ASSR and two Soviet dependencies, the Khorezm and Bukharan PSPs . In 1929, Tajikistan was split off from the Uzbekistan SSR. With the constitution of 1936, the Transcaucasian SFSR
10240-497: The government. Extensive extrajudicial powers were given to the Soviet secret police agencies . In practice, the Soviet government significantly curbed the rule of law , civil liberties , protection of law and guarantees of property , which were considered as examples of "bourgeois morality" by Soviet law theorists such as Andrey Vyshinsky . The USSR and other countries in the Soviet Bloc had abstained from affirming
10368-523: The high levels of pollution in the Soviet Union but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was discovered that its environmental problems were greater than what the Soviet authorities admitted. The Soviet Union was the world's second largest producer of harmful emissions. In 1988, total emissions in the Soviet Union were about 79% of those in the United States. But since the Soviet GNP
10496-402: The highest bodies of the party and making the Supreme Soviet less dependent on them. The Congress of People's Deputies was established, the majority of whose members were directly elected in competitive elections held in March 1989, the first in Soviet history. The Congress now elected the Supreme Soviet, which became a full-time parliament, and much stronger than before. For the first time since
10624-603: The infamous Schutzstaffel of Nazi Germany , as SS is in English. In English-language media, the state was referred to as the Soviet Union or the USSR. The Russian SFSR dominated the Soviet Union to such an extent that, for most of the Soviet Union's existence, it was colloquially, but incorrectly, referred to as Russia . The history of the Soviet Union began with the ideals of the Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following
10752-611: The late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including the creation of new state commissions and committees. It gained additional powers relating to the approval of the Five-Year Plans and the government budget . The Supreme Soviet elected a Presidium (successor of the Central Executive Committee ) to wield its power between plenary sessions, ordinarily held twice a year, and appointed the Supreme Court ,
10880-546: The late 1970s and early 1980s. The constitution , which was promulgated in 1924 , 1936 and 1977 , did not limit state power. No formal separation of powers existed between the Party, Supreme Soviet and Council of Ministers that represented executive and legislative branches of the government. The system was governed less by statute than by informal conventions, and no settled mechanism of leadership succession existed. Bitter and at times deadly power struggles took place in
11008-538: The mid-1990s, the Kastet was also no longer able to defeat the frontal armor of modern tanks, as can be seen from the claimed armor penetration of the missile and its upgrades: The MT-12 also fires High Explosive (HE) shells . These are an absolute necessity for an anti tank gun to defend itself against enemy infantry. For combat in general, the HE-shells can be used to combat enemy infantry and soft targets like trucks or enemy artillery. The default ammunition stock of
11136-469: The mostly ceremonial position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet , the nominal head of state . The institutions at lower levels were overseen and at times supplanted by primary party organizations . However, in practice the degree of control the party was able to exercise over the state bureaucracy, particularly after the death of Stalin, was far from total, with the bureaucracy pursuing different interests that were at times in conflict with
11264-410: The name to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), although all republics began as socialist soviet and did not change to the other order until 1936 . In addition, in the regional languages of several republics, the word council or conciliar in the respective language was only quite late changed to an adaptation of the Russian soviet and never in others, e.g. Ukrainian SSR . СССР (in
11392-417: The newly elected Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR , and communist hardliners. On 19–21 August 1991, a group of hardliners staged a coup attempt . The coup failed, and the State Council of the Soviet Union became the highest organ of state power 'in the period of transition'. Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary, only remaining President for the final months of the existence of the USSR. The judiciary
11520-608: The official Soviet system of importance (ground forces were second, Air Force fourth, and Navy fifth). The army had the greatest political influence. In 1989, there served two million soldiers divided between 150 motorized and 52 armored divisions. Until the early 1960s, the Soviet navy was a rather small military branch, but after the Caribbean crisis , under the leadership of Sergei Gorshkov , it expanded significantly. It became known for battlecruisers and submarines. In 1989, there served 500 000 men. The Soviet Air Force focused on
11648-499: The other constituent republics, for most of its history had no republican branch of the CPSU, being ruled directly by the union-wide party until 1990. Local authorities were organized likewise into party committees , local Soviets and executive committees . While the state system was nominally federal, the party was unitary. The state security police (the KGB and its predecessor agencies ) played an important role in Soviet politics. It
11776-570: The partition of Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II . Up until his death in 1953, Joseph Stalin controlled all foreign relations of the Soviet Union during the interwar period . Despite the increasing build-up of Germany 's war machine and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , the Soviet Union did not cooperate with any other nation, choosing to follow its own path. However, after Operation Barbarossa ,
11904-538: The party's highest body the Politburo . Operations were handled by the separate Ministry of Foreign Affairs . It was known as the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (or Narkomindel), until 1946. The most influential spokesmen were Georgy Chicherin (1872–1936), Maxim Litvinov (1876–1951), Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986), Andrey Vyshinsky (1883–1954) and Andrei Gromyko (1909–1989). Intellectuals were based in
12032-459: The party, nor was the party itself monolithic from top to bottom, although factions were officially banned . The Supreme Soviet (successor of the Congress of Soviets ) was nominally the highest state body for most of the Soviet history, at first acting as a rubber stamp institution, approving and implementing all decisions made by the party. However, its powers and functions were extended in
12160-429: The power of the gun that fires it. By the mid-1990s modern tanks had a frontal armor protection of between 800 and 900 mm of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA). With the ammunition then at its disposal, the MT-12 could not expect to penetrate such armor. In this respect, the 100 mm caliber gun had reached its physical limits. In 1981 the tube-fired missile weapon system 9K116 Kastet entered service. The shot fires
12288-511: The primary method of orienting guns in most if not all armies. After being oriented and pointed in the required direction a gun recorded angles to one or more aiming points. Such early directors were the progenitors of the later general class of directors . Indirect fire needs a command and control arrangement to allot guns to targets and direct their fire. The latter may involve ground or air observers or technical devices and systems. Observers report where shots fall so that aim may be corrected. In
12416-418: The range of artillery increased, allowing each battery to have an ever-greater area of influence, but required command and control arrangements to enable concentration of fire. The physical laws of ballistics means that guns firing larger and heavier projectile can send them farther than smaller-calibre guns firing lighter shells. By the end of the 20th century, the typical maximum range for the most common guns
12544-622: The rotatable top of the sight above the height of the layer's head. The German Goertz 1906 design was selected by both the British and the Russians. The British adopted the name "Dial Sight" for this instrument; the US used "Panoramic Telescope"; the Russia used " Goertz panorama ". Elevations were measured by a clinometer , a device using a spirit level to measure a vertical angle from the horizontal plane. These could be separate instruments placed on
12672-510: The same as those of the ZiL-150 truck. The wheels are also helpful to tell T-12 and MT-12 apart. That of the T-12 is secured by six bolts. The wheel of the MT-12 is secured by eight bolts. The 100 mm caliber gun has a 6,300 mm long barrel. The chamber is 915 mm long. The end of the barrel is strengthened and has 80 holes. It serves as a muzzle brake. The semi-automatic breech block system consists of opening and closing cylinders and
12800-453: The sighting arrangements used by the Boers with their German and French guns is unclear. The early goniometric devices suffered from the problem that the layer (gun aimer) had to move around to look through the sight. This was very unsatisfactory if the aiming point was not to the front, particularly on larger guns. The solution was a periscopic panoramic sight, with the eyepiece to the rear and
12928-467: The sights, or remain closed when that sight is not needed. When the enemy is still at distance, the crew might open all three observation panels of the shield to allow use of the panoramic periscope sight of the S71-40 mount. This allows the gunner to scan for targets. While doing so, the gun-shield still protects his body. Only the part of his head protected by his helmet gets exposed. In close combat only
13056-456: The small vertical panel that forms a loophole for direct fire observation is opened. Behind it, the OP4M-40U sight is mounted. This has a 5.5 times magnification and an angle of view of 11 degrees. Closing the other panels allows the crew to move behind the shield without risk of getting hit by small arms fire from enemy infantry or tanks. The gun also has a passive night sight. At first this
13184-469: The struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare , propaganda campaigns, espionage , far-reaching embargoes , rivalry at sports events and technological competitions such as the Space Race . Constitutionally, the USSR was a federation of constituent Union Republics, which were either unitary states, such as Ukraine or Byelorussia (SSRs), or federations, such as Russia or Transcaucasia (SFSRs), all four being
13312-412: The terrain at 25 km/h instead of only 15 km/h. On the left arm of the carriage is a castering wheel which can be unfolded. It allows the 7-men crew to manhandle the 3,000 kg gun over short distances without the use of a towing vehicle. The equilibrator of the MT-12 differs from that of the T-12. An equilibrator serves to keep the gun in balance, even while the barrel weight on both sides of
13440-644: The territory occupied by the Red Army , forming satellite states , and undertook rapid economic development which cemented its status as a superpower . Geopolitical tensions with the US led to the Cold War . The American-led Western Bloc coalesced into NATO in 1949, prompting the Soviet Union to form its own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact , in 1955. Neither side engaged in direct military confrontation, and instead fought on an ideological basis and through proxy wars . In 1953, following Stalin's death ,
13568-492: The truth". Human rights in the Soviet Union were severely limited. The Soviet Union was a totalitarian state from 1927 until 1953 and a one-party state until 1990. Freedom of speech was suppressed and dissent was punished. Independent political activities were not tolerated, whether these involved participation in free labour unions , private corporations , independent churches or opposition political parties . The freedom of movement within and especially outside
13696-575: The weapon ideally suited for the prolonged positional warfare that dominates the last two years of the Ukrainian conflict. At the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the Ukrainian Army still used both MT-12 and MT-12R, and the Russian proxies still used the MT-12. On the Ukrainian side, the Territorial Defense brigades, composed of local volunteers, have been issued MT-12 guns. The MT-12 might give these reserve units
13824-455: The world's longest border , measuring over 60,000 kilometres (37,000 mi), or 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 circumferences of Earth. Two-thirds of it was a coastline . The country bordered Afghanistan , the People's Republic of China , Czechoslovakia , Finland , Hungary , Iran , Mongolia , North Korea , Norway , Poland , Romania , and Turkey from 1945 to 1991. The Bering Strait separated
13952-587: Was Moscow . The Soviet Union's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917. The new government, led by Vladimir Lenin , established the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the world's first constitutionally socialist state . The revolution was not accepted by all within the Russian Republic , resulting in the Russian Civil War . The RSFSR and its subordinate republics were merged into
14080-496: Was a gun-mounted rotatable open sight, mounted in alignment with the bore, and able to measure large angles from it. Similar designs, usually able to measure angles in a full circle, were widely adopted over the following decade. By the early 1900s the open sight was sometimes replaced by a telescope and the term goniometer had replaced "lining-plane" in English. The first incontrovertible, documented use of indirect fire in war using Guk's methods, albeit without lining-plane sights,
14208-444: Was about 24 to 30 km, up from about 8 km in World War I. During World War I, covered positions moved farther back and indirect fire evolved to allow any point within range to be attacked, firepower mobility , without moving the firers. If the target cannot be seen from the gun position, there has to be a means of identifying targets and correcting aim according to fall of shot. The position of some targets may be identified by
14336-539: Was also the industrial center of the Soviet Union. Historian Matthew White wrote that it was an open secret that the country's federal structure was 'window dressing' for Russian dominance. For that reason, the people of the USSR were usually called 'Russians', not 'Soviets', since 'everyone knew who really ran the show'. Under the Military Law of September 1925, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of
14464-540: Was carried out within the terms of the Soviet Civil Code. Some Soviet legal scholars even said that "criminal repression" may be applied in the absence of guilt. Martin Latsis , chief of Soviet Ukraine 's secret police explained: "Do not look in the file of incriminating evidence to see whether or not the accused rose up against the Soviets with arms or words. Ask him instead to which class he belongs, what
14592-495: Was commonly used by ancient armies. It was used during both battles and sieges. For several centuries Coehorn mortars were fired indirectly because their fixed elevation meant range was determined by the amount of propelling powder. It is also reasonable conjecture that if these mortars were used from inside fortifications their targets may have been invisible to them and therefore met the definition of indirect fire. It could also be argued that Niccolò Tartaglia 's invention of
14720-404: Was dissolved, resulting in its constituent republics of Armenia , Georgia and Azerbaijan being elevated to Union Republics, while Kazakhstan and Kirghizia were split off from the Russian SFSR, resulting in the same status. In August 1940, Moldavia was formed from parts of Ukraine and Soviet-occupied Bessarabia , and Ukrainian SSR. Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania were also annexed by
14848-520: Was experiencing a lack of ATGMs. Incomplete list of MT-12 operators: The MT-12 has served in many conflicts: Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR ), commonly known as the Soviet Union , was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by area , extending across eleven time zones and sharing borders with twelve countries , and
14976-483: Was instrumental in the Red Terror and Great Purge , but was brought under strict party control after Stalin's death. Under Yuri Andropov , the KGB engaged in the suppression of political dissent and maintained an extensive network of informers, reasserting itself as a political actor to some extent independent of the party-state structure, culminating in the anti-corruption campaign targeting high-ranking party officials in
15104-424: Was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers , but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars . The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment,
15232-412: Was not exported by the Soviet Union. The MT-12R or 2A29R was taken into service from 1981 to 1990. It has the small 1A31 Ruta radar fire control system. This does automatic target detection, range finding, tracking and engagement at distances up to 3,500 m. It enables the gun to quickly find and hit targets at night, and in other conditions of poor or no visibility. The MT-12R was not exported by
15360-450: Was not independent of the other branches of government. The Supreme Court supervised the lower courts ( People's Court ) and applied the law as established by the constitution or as interpreted by the Supreme Soviet. The Constitutional Oversight Committee reviewed the constitutionality of laws and acts. The Soviet Union used the inquisitorial system of Roman law , where the judge, procurator , and defence attorney collaborate to "establish
15488-473: Was on 26 October 1899 by British gunners during the Second Boer War . Although both sides demonstrated early on in the conflict that they could use the technique effectively, in many subsequent battles, British commanders nonetheless ordered artillery to be "less timid" and to move forward to address troops' concerns about their guns abandoning them. The British used improvised gun arcs with howitzers;
15616-459: Was only 54% of that of the United States, this means that the Soviet Union generated 1.5 times more pollution than the United States per unit of GNP. The Soviet Chernobyl disaster in 1986 was the first major accident at a civilian nuclear power plant . Unparalleled in the world, it resulted in a large number of radioactive isotopes being released into the atmosphere. Radioactive doses were scattered relatively far. Although long-term effects of
15744-477: Was repeatedly postponed. Formal recognition came when the new Labour Party came to power in 1924. All the other countries followed suit in opening trade relations. Henry Ford opened large-scale business relations with the Soviets in the late 1920s, hoping that it would lead to long-term peace. Finally, in 1933, the United States officially recognized the USSR, a decision backed by the public opinion and especially by US business interests that expected an opening of
15872-482: Was that "the Constitution was written not for you, but for American Negroes, so that they know how happy the lives of Soviet citizens are". Crime was determined not as the infraction of law, instead, it was determined as any action which could threaten the Soviet state and society. For example, a desire to make a profit could be interpreted as a counter-revolutionary activity punishable by death. The liquidation and deportation of millions of peasants in 1928–31
16000-574: Was the APN-5-40, later the APN-6-40 known as Brusinka (Cranberry). As these do not use power, these are very big and vulnerable devices. They were therefore dismounted before transport, and only attached to the gun before dusk if the gun was in position. The MT-12 can also use other night sights, like the 1PN35, 1PN53, or APN-7. For indirect fire aiming, the MT-12 is equipped with the S71-40 mechanical artillery sight, PG-1M panoramic telescope and
16128-640: Was the Russian responsibility to assist them. The Comintern was the weapon of choice. A few revolutions did break out, but they were quickly suppressed (the longest lasting one was in Hungary)—the Hungarian Soviet Republic —lasted only from 21 March 1919 to 1 August 1919. The Russian Bolsheviks were in no position to give any help. By 1921, Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin realized that capitalism had stabilized itself in Europe and there would not be any widespread revolutions anytime soon. It became
16256-455: Was to enable fire from a 'covered position', one where gunners can not be seen and engaged by their enemies (that and as the range of artillery lengthened, it was impossible to see the target past all the intervening terrain). The concealment aspect remains important, but from World War I equally important was the capability to concentrate the fire of many artillery batteries at the same target or set of targets. This became increasingly important as
16384-480: Was used by the Burgundians in the 16th century. The Russians seem to have used something similar at Paltzig in 1759 where they fired over trees, and their instructions of the time indicate this was a normal practice. These methods probably involved an aiming point positioned in line with the target. The earliest example of indirect fire adjusted by an observer seems to be during the defence of Hougoumont in
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