Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
As for gun ownership in Russia - aren't a lot of the weapons simply what people keep for hunting/shooting game in the forest
I've never seen any statistics on that but out of my expirience (just the ppl i know who have guns) half of them bought it just cause it's cool to have one others just earn term to qualify for an assault rifle of just like to shoot in shooting clubs. NOONE of them had bought it for selfe defense. And of course there are some hunters.

- plus perhaps a leftover from the wild 90s
May be some criminals do possess some . But i'm talking about legal registered guns.

or perhaps something people somehow sneaked away from their military service?
- that was never possible.


Russia doesn't have gun shops like the USA has, does it?
It does. And they are much more bigger fancier and richer. there are like 40 of them in my city оружие в Красноярске — 2ГИС
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also you can buy a weapon online http://www.izhguns.ru/info_gds.php?i=GBL0201023KJ and they'll mail it to you

Or normal people who imagine they need to walk around armed,
have never met one

or keep firearms at home to "protect themselves".
they say there are some but i personally don't know anyone of them


I'm personally strrongly asured that a normal person in russia (in america in europe) doesn't need a firearm in his everyday life.
It's more than enough to have some non-lethal weapon.