I. The Sleeping Blueprint: PP-71’s Frozen Legacy
In the early 1970s, Soviet arms legend Evgeny Dragunov (father of the SVD sniper rifle) received a classified brief: design a compact SMG for urban warfare. The PP-71 prototype featured a blowback operation with a rare rotating hammer lock, its 1mm stamped-steel receiver weighing just 1.5kg. But Soviet military obsession with assault rifles shelved the project for two decades.
When the USSR collapsed in 1991, crime-ridden Russia desperately needed CQB weapons. Izhevsk Arsenal resurrected PP-71 blueprints, discovering its honeycomb barrel shroud and foldable metal stock (540mm extended/303mm folded) perfectly suited police needs. A codename “KEDR” (Russian for “cedar”) revival began.
Historical Turning Point:
“When gangsters blast bank doors with shotguns, cops need a metal storm that fits in briefcases.” —1992 Russian Interior Ministry memo
II. Evolution of Fury: The 9×18mm Cartridge Wars
The production KEDR (1994) honored Dragunov’s vision:
Unconventional Ignition: Open-bolt firing + floating firing pin traded rate of fire (800 RPM) for controllability;
Ammo Revolution: Used 9×18mm PM Makarov pistol rounds (6.1g bullet) with 30% less recoil than 9mm Para, enabling 30rd mag dumps;
Silent Doctrine: Interchangeable threaded barrel + suppressor (+137mm length, ≤70dB noise) made it FSB’s assassination tool.
PM rounds’ poor penetration birthed the final evolution—KLIN: To handle high-pressure 9×18mm PMM ammo (450m/s velocity), engineers lengthened bolt travel, boosting rate to 1,100 RPM. The cost? Brutal muzzle climb. Moscow SWAT joked: “Controlling it feels like wrestling a chainsaw-wielding bear!”
III. King of Dark Alleys: Blood Certification in Chechnya
KEDR’s baptism by fire came during the 1996 Battle of Grozny:
Metro Hostage Crisis: Alpha Group operators with KLINs flooded tunnels, 1,100 RPM fire ricocheting concrete to create “kill zones,” eliminating 6 terrorists in 5 seconds;
Oligarch Bodyguards: Chrome-plated KEDR-B (suppressed) became billionaires’ status symbol—concealable under fur coats, penetrating Level III Kevlar at 20m.
The West discovered it in 2004—a KLIN-2 (315mm length) seized from Chechen warlords debuted at arms expos. Special Weapons Review marveled: “The Eastern Scorpion! More vicious than MP5K, more precise than UZI.”
IV. Immortal Ghost: From Pixels to Apocalyptic Dreams
KEDR’s cultural impact transcends combat:
Escape from Tarkov crowns it “newbie savior”: In-game stats mirror reality—73 vertical recoil (out of 100), 15% tighter hip-fire than MP5, players call it “poor man’s laser beam”;
Cyberpunk Icon: KLIN-2’s angular vents inspired sci-fi designs (Resident Evil Village’s Lady Dimitrescu’s custom weapon pays homage);
Collector’s Obsession: A Dragunov-signed PP-71 prototype sold for $120,000 at 2018 Moscow Gun Show, outpacing gold-plated AKs.
V. Legacy: Why the 21st Century Still Needs an Iron Cedar?
Despite MP7 and P90 dominating PDW trends, KEDR excels in three niches:
Extreme Reliability: -40°C Siberian winters see polymer SMGs fail >20%, while KEDR’s phosphated steel receiver fired 2,000 rounds flawlessly in frozen soil tests;
Cost Supremacy: $350 price tag (1/10 of MP5) made Burmese clone MPT-9 the militia favorite;
Modular DNA: Quick-detach suppressor and swappable hammer system inspired Vityaz-SN’s rail ecosystem.
