Georgy Semyonovich Shpagin, a future designer, was born on April 17, 1897, in the village of Klyushnikovo into a peasant family. In 1909, after finishing a three-year school at the age of 12, he began working in a carpentry cooperative to help his family. In 1910, after injuring his hand, he took a job in a merchant's shop in Rylsk but soon left due to a conflict with the owner and started working at a glass factory in Sudogda. Later, he returned to his native village and continued to work for hire.

In 1916, Shpagin was drafted into the tsarist army, where he served in the 14th Grenadier Regiment on the Western Front. Due to a finger injury that hindered his shooting, he was transferred to the armory workshops, where he learned the profession of a gunsmith under the guidance of master Dedilov. In 1917, having established himself as an excellent craftsman, he was transferred to the artillery workshops. In early 1918, Shpagin was demobilized and returned home, but by November, he joined the Red Army and served as a gunsmith in the 8th Rifle Regiment of the Vladimir garrison until 1920, holding the rank of captenarmus.

After demobilization in 1920, Shpagin became a locksmith in the experimental workshop of the Kovrov Arms and Machine Gun Factory, where V. G. Fyodorov and V. A. Degtyarev worked. During this time, he proposed an improvement in the assembly of magazines for Fyodorov's automatics, and in 1922, he developed a ball mount for the paired machine gun designed by Fyodorov.

One of Shpagin's significant works was the modernization of the large-caliber Degtyarev machine gun, which had been discontinued due to flaws. In 1939, after the introduction of a belt feed module, the machine gun was adopted into service under the designation DShK. In 1924-25, Shpagin contributed to D. D. Ivanov's project to install a machine gun in a tank, which earned him his first patent. Since 1931, he worked with Degtyarev on large-caliber machine guns and other types of automatic weapons, for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Star in 1933.

Shpagin gained the most fame for creating the PPSh submachine gun of 1941, which became the most widely produced automatic weapon of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. About 6,141,000 units were produced, and it remained in service until 1951.

Shpagin proposed a unique weapon design where metal parts were made by stamping, and wooden parts had a simple shape. This ensured simplicity and reliability, which were crucial in wartime conditions.

On April 26, 1940, it was decided to make the factory in Zagorsk the main production site for the PPSh, and Shpagin headed the design bureau. In 1941, the Red Army adopted the improved PPSh. For its creation, Shpagin was awarded the title of laureate of the Stalin Prize. This submachine gun became a symbol of Victory and was immortalized in art.

During the war, Shpagin organized mass production of the PPSh at the Vyatsko-Polyansky factory, where more than 2.5 million units were manufactured. For this, he was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1942.

In 1943, Shpagin developed the SPSh signal pistol. In 1944, he received a second Order of Lenin and the Order of Suvorov of the second class. In the same year, he joined the All-Union Communist Party and was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the second convocation.

Georgy Semyonovich Shpagin died on February 6, 1952, from stomach cancer and was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery. A memorial House-Museum of Shpagin has been opened in Vyatskiye Polyany, and a monument and memorial plaque have been installed; a street and a lyceum have been named after him.