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Smoothbore Federation
Гладкоствольные Федерация (Russian)
гладкоствольні Федерація (Ukrainian)
Formation May 9, 2000
Type civil rights
Legal status active
Purpose/focus Firearms-ownership rights
Publishing
Headquarters Volgograd, Russia
Location Flag of Russia Volgagrad, Russia
Official languages Russian
Founder Nikolay Patrushev
President Dimitry Naryshkin
Vice President Olga Tomovna

The Smoothbore Federation (Russian: Гладкоствольные Федерация, Gladkostvol'nyye Federatsiya) is a firearms-advocacy group in Russia - advocating gun rights in the Russian Mainland. It is the oldest and the largest gun rights group in Russia, and was formed on May 9, 2000, the anniversary of Victory Day over Nazi Germany, during the presidency of Boris Pokrovsky. It was also one of the first gun rights organizations to have formed from the former Soviet bloc.

It was formed by Nikolay Patrushev, a veteran of the Soviet Armed Forces.

The group's goals were to "..restore gun culture in the glorious Motherland". At the time of its forming, smoothbores, along with double-barrel shotguns were among one of the only firearms legal for citizens, earning the name "Smoothebore" Federation.

The Smoothbore Federation currently educates Russian citizens on the history of firearms in Russia, and the impact they had on Russian lives, especially for those living in the Ural Mountains and rural areas where hunters lived. 

Currently, the Smoothbore Federation is one out of three major national gun-rights organizations in the Soviet Union, the other two being the Russian National Shooters Organization and the Motherland Rifle Owners Coalition. The Smoothbore Federation contains the most members, numbering at 1,341,314, though the Russian National Shooters Organization, who numbers 993,432 members - contains more political influence. Despite this, the three gun rights organizations work hand-in-hand to protect and revive gun culture in Russia and the Soviet Union.

History[]

In 1992, as part of President Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost, firearms were re-legalized, however - only smoothbore rifles and double-barreled shotguns were legalized for citizens. A strict system in which people had to undergo Soviet Armed Forces-approved firearms safety classes were implemented. Firearms were legal, only for hunting, target-shooting and pest control. 

Citizens would be granted a Firearms Identification Card (Идентификационная карточка огнестрельного оружия), which would have to be renewed every single year for a price of 4,000 rubles, equal to $125 USD. Military-style weapons, attainable via a Military Grade Weapons Authorization Card (Карта разрешения на оружие военного уровня) or MGWAC was near-impossible to attain, except for Soviet military veterans.

However, there were reports of Soviet authorities purposefully granting MGWAC licenses for pro-Soviet paramilitaries in Ukraine, Belarus and Yugoslavia, those volunteers helping the established Yugoslav government in Belgrade.

Therefore, President Gorbachev stiffened the laws to check for ties with separatist groups, since Belarus and Ukraine were hotbeds of separatists.

As per the stipulations that last Russian Republic president Vasily Belinsky made with last Soviet president Boris Pokrovsky for re-unification, was that Alaska would be able to keep its nearly American-style Right to Bear Arms, something that Pokrovsky agreed with.

Therefore, after the re-unification, Alaskan gun laws were untouched. Although since President Pokrovsky was an avid gun owner, firearms legislation all across Russia (outside of Alaska) were loosened, yet remained under the table, up until 1999 when citizens in the mainland complained of high crime.

In 2000, handguns were legalized for ordinary citizens, previously they had only been legal for military veterans and ex-law enforcement. Nikolay Patrushev, a veteran of the Soviet Armed Forces, had a different view of firearms, stating that Russians have been robbed of what once "made them Russians". 

On February 23, 2000, on Armed Forces day, Patrushev released a statement, stating that firearms should extend beyond the military, and that they meant for for Russians than just military tools. He argued that before the days of the Soviet Union, families owned firearms for hunting, he also argued that during World War II as Russia was invaded by the Nazis, armed militants provided the back-bone for the crippled Soviet forces.

On March 1, he opened a shooting range in Volgagrad, in which he hosted shooting competitions in the style of World War II in which participants got to loosely re-enact the Battle of Stalingrad. 

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