I believe people involved in the program have since admitted that this was mostly to commit suicide in case they got stuck with no way home

Salyut 3 also had a "self-defence gun" derived from an aircraft autocannon mounted to the station, enabling them to shoot at approaching enemy spacecraft

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salyut_3#On-board_gun

Feels a bit excessive. Wolves and brown bears generally avoid humans. Polar bears see us as food but brown bears do not.

There also might be some unfriendly people. Like escaped convicts living in the woods, in the middle of nowhere.

They most certainly have a shank stashed on ISS somewhere