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No other rifle has been as important to Finland as the Mosin Nagant Model 1891. While other Finnish models might come to mind, when collectors think of Finland the Mosin Nagant M91 has no peer in importance to the Finnish nation. It was the M91 that set into motion the Finnish line of rifles that so many of us collect today, and there were more M91s issued in Finland than any other version of the Mosin Nagant rifle. If not for the M91 the history of Finnish firearms would have taken a far different course. In this article I will explain the history of the M91s as used in Finland. In a later article I will cover in details some of the less common versions of Finnish M91s such as the M91rv, the M91 P-Series Dragoon, the Finnish converted Dragoon, the M91 with stock discs in place, the no date/no maker version, and other rarities. While these less than common versions may be mentioned in this article it will just be done in passing and not covered in detail.
THE HISTORY
Finland was under Swedish control starting in the 1300s and ending with the Swedish Russian War of 1808-1809. At the end of the Swedish Russian War, Finland became a Grand Duchy of Imperial Russia and this change led to the introduction of Russian arms into Finland. This period of Russian domination ended on December 6, 1917 when Finland took advantage of the turmoil in Russia to declare its independence. The Finnish Civil War soon broke out and ran from January 17th to May 15th 1918, pitting the Finnish Whites (non Bolshevik) against the Finnish Reds (pro Bolshevik). While there were over 70,000 Russian troops still inside Finland, their involvement in the Finnish Civil War was minor as only an estimated 7,000-10,000 soldiers from these garrisons took part in the fighting. It is interesting that the Germans also played a role in the Finnish Civil War when the 10,000 plus man Baltic Sea Division committed troops to the White side. These German soldiers played key roles in battles in and around Finnish areas such as Hanko, Lahti, Hämeelinna, Hyvinkää, and Riihimäki. The Germans were under the command of Gustav Adolf Joachim Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz who would also play a part in the fighting that would lead to the independence of the Baltic States. In the end, the Whites were able to vanquish the Reds and the modern nation of Finland had its start.
One of the first issues facing the new nation was forming and arming its armed forces. Finland’s armed forces were formed into two main “branches”, these were the Finnish Army and the Civil Guard (Suojeluskunta). While the command elements of these forces were mixed, it is important to note these were independent organizations with both undertaking arms design and development. In the Finn depots there was a great mix of small arms which included, but not limited to, various Mauser rifles (German and Swedish), Japanese Arisaka rifles and carbines, Austrian M95 rifles and carbines, and even small numbers of British Enfields and Swiss Vetterlis. Even with all these types of arms, the largest type in Finnish control was the Mosin Nagant M91 numbering over 190,000 rifles. As the Finns had inherited so many of the M91s, it was an easy decision for Finland to adopt these rifles as their standard issue rifle. After the M91 was accepted as the standard, Finland began to purchase M91 rifles from other nations to add to their inventory. These purchases began in the 1920s and continued into the early 1940s with most of the purchases coming from various nations which captured or were issued Russian M91s during or after World War One.
Finnish Purchases Of The M91 Rifle:
1926 39,900 from Italy
1928 13,000 from Albania
1928 2,000 from France
1936 4,600 from Hungary
1936 2,900 from Poland
1936 10,900 from Czechoslovakia
1939 56,500 from Yugoslavia
1940 300 from Hungary
1941 12,300 from Bulgaria
There were also over 30,000 M91s bought or traded for by Transbaltica OY from 1928 to 1934. These rifles came from a number of sources. Transbaltica also sold many of the Japanese rifles in Finland to Estonia and Latvia in the late 1920s. These purchases and trades gave Finland over 173,000 M91s to add to their inventory.
(The information of trades and purchases is based on information from Sotilaskasiaseet Suomessa 1918-1991 Vol.3, Markku Palokangas: Vammalan Kirijapaino Oy and is also shown on the great website The Finnish Jaeger Platoon created by my good friend Jarkko Vihavainen.)
In the 1920s the Finns began to upgrade and repair the various M91s in their possession as many of these rifles were in poor condition or did not meet Finnish standards. By far the most common problem with the M91s was the condition of the barrels, but the rear sight was also a problem as they were calibrated in the Russian measurement of arshens (Equal to xxxx meters) These were problems the Finns would have to correct to ensure the rifles issued to their forces would be suitable for Finnish service. The solution of the measurements was easy to correct as the Finns simply added numbers to the right side of the rear sights which showed distance in hundreds of meters. In 1926 the Finns also added a notch to the sight base by filing a 150 meter setting. In many cases the front sight was also replaced with a taller stacked post which was a great improvement over the Russian design. While these were somewhat uncomplicated solutions to the issue of accuracy, correcting the substandard condition of the barrels required a more drastic solution.
The First Finnish M91s
The first attempt to correct the substandard barrel condition was to begin production of a Finnish made barrel to replace the older Russian versions. These barrels were produced by Suomen Ampumataruikehdas in Riihimäki with the production beginning in 1922 and ending in 1924. As this was the first Finnish attempt in such a venture, a number of problems were encountered in production and approximately only 200 barrels were produced. It is interesting that these rifles were produced for the Finnish Army, but the barrels were made at a facility which would later become the property of the Civil Guard. The barrels are marked SAT Riihimäki and are one of the most uncommon military rifles in the world. Low production numbers and losses from various causes have made the SAT M91s possibly the most sought after of all Finnish small arms. There are very few examples of these left in the world with a select few being known in private or museum collections in Finland and the USA. For the Finnish collector there is no more prized rifle than the SAT as it is truly the rarest of the rare. Those lucky enough to own one are the envy of all fellow Finn collectors.
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