The Next Iconic Rifle of Russia?

There seems to be this trend in the community that AN-94 is for the pros and skilled, AEK-971 is for scrubs and is inaccurate at distance. And AK74M, oh well... nobody gives a damn about it at all...

But the fact is, AK74M is the main service rifle in Russia... not AN, so I couldn't resist but to do a little research.. :p

Project Abakan

The birth of these rifles dates back to 1980s, when Soviet realized the newly adopted AK74, although improved in recoil over AKM, still lacked accuracy at long burst and full auto, which had been proven in the 1979 Afghanistan War where troops had to fire quick while moving against guerrillas.

So they demanded a new standard rifle that is more accurate, but still reliable as AK74. A contest called Project Abakan was then held. The rifles that made it to the finals included the prototypes of AN-94, AEK-971.

The result, AEK prototype didn't stand out, and AN was picked as the winner for its single shot accuracy. But instead of making it the new standard, the Russian decided that AK74M would be what soldiers have in their hands.