The Degtyaryov machine gun was put into service in late 1927 and became one of the first USSR types of small arms. It used a 7.62×54mmR rifle cartridge (Mosin’s rifle ammunition), which was widely manufactured in the USSR.

The Russian small arms designer Vasily Alekseyevich Degtyaryov developed this machine gun in the 1920s. His contribution to the country’s defense capability earned him four Stalin Prizes (the fourth one was awarded posthumously) and the title of the Hero of Socialist Labor (Degtyaryov became the second person after Stalin to receive the award). He was also nominated for the rank of Major General of the Engineering and Artillery Service and the degree of Doctor of Engineering Science. Among his many awards, Degtyaryov received three Orders of Lenin, the Order of Suvorov, First and Second Class, the Order of the Red Star and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.