The Azovka APV-21 Mriya was Azovka's first Assault Rifle. The name APV is derived from: Avtomat Povyshennoi Tochnost), or Accurized Assault Rifle 21 is derived from the 21st century, while Mriya means "Dream".
Developmental work started in 2015, with Nikolai leaving the KSVS-50 Tsar Kobra project to begin on the APV-21 Mriya.
An interesting name, but it was seen as founder Nikolai Komarov's dream in gun form. The Azovka was first introduced chambered for the admittedly antiquated 7.62x39mm Russian round, better known for its usage in the famed AK-47.
As the name implies, the APV is envisaged in the support fire role, however, several mercenary groups equip it as their main firearm. While having a high RPM, the APV was renowned for its versatility and accuracy.
After several years of producing the APV, Azovka produced a ground up new round called the 8.47x77 Warsaw round.
However, the APV-21 was never as popular as Komarov had hoped. If it wasn't for the picking up of the civilian Model 2022 rifle, the Azovka Firearms would've become bankrupt.
In 7.62x39mm form, the APV was decent, but no better then any of the Marksman rifles preceding it. Additionally, the Russian army had just adopted a new rifle, which the APV preformed marginally better then.
However, with the introduction of the Warsaw round, the characteristics of the rifle completely changed. Every trait of the rifle was improved, and confirmed kills out to 1000m were recorded. However, the new variant was still not bought with any large quantities.
It was not for a lack of quality. The APV-21 was one of the most accurate and stable fully automatic guns. A 3 round burst would kick the rifle so little, that they were able to fall within 2 cm at 500m.
In the end, overall only 2000 APV-21 were sold. 500 were sold in 7.62mm form, most of them for comparison tests. Chambered for the Warsaw, the APV was tested by several armies. While outperforming all of the competition. However, the need to adopt a whole new bullet was the primary reason for it being rejected.
However, due to the rifles great performances, the rifle was still adopted by several nations Elite Special Forces, and Mercenary groups.
The special force operators praised the rifles performance in the field. The APV was very reliable, regardless of environment. Some 7.62mm were later converted to 8.47mm as demand slowly grew.
However, the APV-21 still was largely unsuccessful, but it was instrumental in promoting the performance of the Warsaw round. Many believe the APV-21 being the main reason for the adoption of the SVS-77.