Why did the Finns choose the Mosin Nagant?
It comes down to numbers and a new cash poor nation. The Finns captured massive amounts of Mosin Nagant rifles in the Finnish Civil War of 1918. As they were a new nation in dire need to put weapons in their army’s hands, the Mosin Nagant was the clear answer to the Finns. The Finns did not have to spend enormous amounts of money to acquire rifles from outside sources as they had the rifles on hands. In the 1920’s the Finns made great efforts to have the Mosin Nagant become the standard arm in Finland. They did so by trading or selling many of the non Mosin Nagants still in Finland. These included a number of rifles with Japanese rifles being sold and traded in mass to acquire more Mosin Nagants. It was also seen as an advantage for the Finns to be armed with a rifle that could use the ammunition of their most likely enemy. The greatest threat to Finland for years, and years to come, was Russia – The Soviet Union, so using Russian ammo worked out well for Finland.
