The RPK, sometimes retroactively termed the RPK-47, is a Soviet 7.62×39mm light machine gun that was developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the early 1960s, in parallel with the AKM assault rifle. It was created to standardize the small arms inventory of the Soviet Army, where it replaced the 7.62×39mm RPD machine gun. The RPK continues to be used by the military of the post-Soviet states and certain African and Asian nations. The RPK is also manufactured in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Serbia.

The 7.62×39mm round is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge of Soviet origin. The cartridge is widely used due to the worldwide proliferation of Kalashnikov rifles, as well as the SKS, RPD, and RPK light machine guns.