The T-34/76 was a medium tank built by the Soviet Union from 1940 to the late 1960s, and since the 1950s it has been in use with several other countries. It was called the most effective and important tank built in World War II, and Ewald von Kleist called it the "finest tank in the world". By 1996, the T-34 was still in use in over 27 countries.