The TT-33 is chambered for the 7.62x25mm Tokarev cartridge, which was itself based on the similar 7.63x25mm Mauser cartridge used in the Mauser C96 pistol. Able to withstand tremendous abuse, large numbers of the TT-33 were produced during WWII and well into the 1950s.
Production of the TT-33 in the USSR ended in 1954, but copies (licensed or otherwise) were also made by China (as the Type 51, Type 54, M20, and TU-90) and Poland (as the wz. 48). Hungary rebarreled the pistol to fire 9x19mm Parabellum (as the M48), as well as an export version for Egypt (the Tokagypt 58) which was widely used by police forces. Yugoslavia produced the TT-33 (as the M57, M65 and M70A) as well as North Korea (as the Type 68 or M68). Romania also produced a TT-33 copy (the TTC, or Cugir Tokarov) well into the 1950s.
These have been imported into the U.S. in great numbers in recent years. However, to be importable a trigger blocking safety was added. Police in Pakistan still commonly use the TT pistol as a sidearm, though unofficially, as it is being replaced by modern 9 mm Beretta and GlockS
After WWII and with start of the Cold War the Warsaw Pact countries adopted the TT33 as their standard service pistol. This version was manufactured in the Polish Radom factory 11 in 1954. The Polish Tokarevs are considered by many to have the best fit of all the Communist manufactured Tokarevs
