In the mid-1950s, the Soviet high command accepted a compromise that would shape frontline infantry small arms for decades: prioritizing platform commonality over dedicated squad-level suppressive fire capability.That decision, formalized with the 1959 adoption of an AK-derived automatic rifle, the RPK, sacrificed the sustained-fire advantages of the earlier belt-fed RPD in favor of simplified logistics, shared magazines and some parts, and easier training.By the early 1960s, the RPD, a lightweight, intermediate-caliber automatic weapon that had already proven its value in the post-World War II Soviet arsenal, was withdrawn from many frontline formations and replaced in doctrine and practice by the magazine-fed RPK.The result was an enduring gap in squad firepower that Soviet infantry compensated for through doctrine and tactics for decades, and that was only beginning to be redressed after reforms in the 21st century and the combat experience of the Russo-Ukrainian war.