Mikhail Kalashnikov

[bbjohn]

I saw on Yahoo! News that Mikhail Kalashinkov, the designer of the AK-47, died Tuesday at age 94.

As I understand it, he originally wanted to design farm equipment. However, he turned his hand to designing weapons after he was wounded early in World War II (or, as the Russians call it, the Great Patriotic War). He saw the carnage caused by the automatic rifles the Germans had, and he wanted to build something like this for Soviet troops so they could fight back on equal terms.

The result, the AK-47, was introduced in 1947. It must be considered one of the greatest hand-held weapons of all time. It's easy to use and maintain, as well as being rugged and reliable. It can operate in all kinds of weather conditions. It's great for armed forces who want an effective weapon at low cost. It's also ideal for troops who have had only a minimal amount of training.

It's estimated there are currently 100 million AK-47s in use worldwide.

It would've been nice if this guy had been designing weapons for the West during the Cold War!

The story included an interesting quote from him. He said this to the Associated Press in 2007: "I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to to come to an agreement and resorting to violence."

Sadly, that last statement is very true.

I certainly hope we can create a world where there would be little use for Mr. Kalashnikov's rifles. That would be a fitting tribute to the man.

-Big Bad John

[nachtjaeger]

RIP Mikhail Kalashnikov.

That is a great sentiment, BBJohn. "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; neither shall they learn war any more." Such a beautiful dream.

[Billie Bonce]

I won't repeat what was said in another thread. So, just few comments to what was written here.

He saw the carnage caused by the automatic rifles the Germans had, and he wanted to build something like this for Soviet troops so they could fight back on equal terms.

Don't forget that the Soviet Union produced fully automatic PPSh (ППШ) in huge amounts during the war. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PPSh-41

It would've been nice if this guy had been designing weapons for the West during the Cold War!

I disagree. I believe, Western manufacturers of firearms would disagree, too.

I certainly hope we can create a world where there would be little use for Mr. Kalashnikov's rifles. That would be a fitting tribute to the man.

Totally agree

[Tim Kelly]

I met his granddaughter Irina; she lives in New York and has her own photojournalism agency. I said That I thought he must have made millions from his invention, and she replied,
"Nyet! Not see kopeck one! Bloody Reds take everything! No copyright in Sovietski Soyuz, everything belong to state!"

[Billie Bonce]

I met his granddaughter Irina; she lives in New York and has her own photojournalism agency. I said That I thought he must have made millions from his invention, and she replied,
"Nyet! Not see kopeck one! Bloody Reds take everything! No copyright in Sovietski Soyuz, everything belong to state!"

It has been discussed here in another topic. viewtopic.php?f=11&t=9269#p65195