The TT-30 was a single-action, semi-automatic pistol developed by Feodor V. Tokarev in 1930, owing much of its internal and external design to the original John Browning FN Model 1903 automatic pistol. Tokarev designed several other weapons for the Red Army in his time, including other pistol types and automatic rifles. The TT-30 was devised using a simplified unlocked blowback operation system with a swinging link under the barrel, unlocking the barrel from the slide during recoil. Some 1,000 examples were ordered for further trials and the TT-30 was formally adopted as the standard sidearm of the Red Army. Production began at the Tula Arsenal in 1931 ("Tula-Tokarev" making up the "TT" designation in the "TT-30" and "TT-33" series). The TT-30 became the first Tokarev-designed pistol to see notable military service.
As promising as the TT-30 was, developments were already underway on improving the type already entering production. Within three years, the weapon was superseded by the improved TT-33 series, officially introduced to the Red Army in 1933.