Nuclear Union Weapons, Enemies, and USSR XXI Profiled
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Three-barreled bullpup assault rifle TKB-059, developed in the Tula Design Bureau under the supervision of lead constructor G.A. Korobov, entered field testing in 1961. Its concept was based on an idea of achieving an ultra-fast firing rate so recoil wouldn't have enough time to recoil the weapon off target resulting in a good grouping of shots. Moreover, all three barrels shared the same gun carriage and the same automatic firing system, allowing firing a three bullet volley in addition to a normal burst. Some parts and units of the weapon were unified with the AK.
Testing showed that the weapon indeed had a very good grouping and firing rate of up to 1800 shots per minute. This greatly increased the firepower of an infantry squad, while good grouping meant that even weakly performing shooters could hit their targets accurately. However this assault rifle had a complex and one-of-a-kind construction, while there was no immediate need to swap the AK for something else (and it was impossible to substitute an AK with some new weapon in the light of looming conflict with NATO), so it was never adopted.
Decades passed since the Great Nuclear War, and the Soviet state faced new dangers, revealing the need for the new weapon types. G.A. Korobov has been asked to continue the work on TKB-059 project, and the new prototype was ready quickly. It was made suitable for mass production and eventually was adopted in the military under the ATK designation.
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Due to the prolonged serious illness of Nikita Khrushchev, the post of General Secretary in June 18, 1972 was taken over by Alexei Kosygin, a prominent statesman and party leader, Hero of the Soviet Union, and three time Hero of Socialist Labor. A. N. Kosygin led the country until his sudden death in January 2, 1985.
Former military pilot, the hero of 1962, a 3M bomber pilot Zahar I. Elganin succeeded Kosygin. In 2012 Elganin is 90 years old, but thanks to the success of Soviet medicine the General Secretary looks no more than 65 and is still quite vigorous.
On the first day of the war, his bomber attacked Washington and this greatly influenced the rapid collapse of the enemies' armed forces control, and started the mass panic in the U.S.
Elganin was awarded the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union and was promoted to Colonel for this feat. Later Elganin held several senior command positions in the Armed Forces, and commanded the Madrid Front. Since 1981 he was also the defense minister. Since 1983 he has been a member of the Politburo, and following the death of Alexei Kosygin, he became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
