The SVT-70 (Russian: Снайперская Винтовка Тавианская Оружейная образца 1970, Tavianian: Снайперска Винтовка Тавиянска Збройовка взор 1970, Romanized: Snajperska Vintovka Tavijanska Zbrojovka vzor 1970) is a standard army issue, semi-automatic, gas piston-operated marksman rifle produced under license by the Taviana Arms National Company (Russian: Тавианская Оружейная, Tavianian: Тавиянска Збройовка, Romanized: Tavijanska Zbrojovka). It is based on an earlier marksman rifle developed in the Soviet Union. Still, it contains a few stubble differences mainly relating to the materials used in the manufacturing process as well as the firing mechanism which lowers its recoil. The rifle was introduced in 1970 to modernize the army's stockpile of aging World War 2 era marksman rifles and to standardize with the rest of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact which had adopted the 7.62×39mm cartridge.