Mikhail Kalashnikov: AK-47 assault rifle designer is 90

The AK-47 (or Avtomat Kalashnikova) is a selective fire, gas operated 7.62mm assault rifle developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the 1940s. It took him several years to develop and fine-tune what later became an internationally recognized perfect killing instrument. AK is a Russian acronym for ‘Kalashnikov’s machine gun,’ and 47 stands for the year it was invented. the durability of Mikhail Kalashnikov invention was demonstrated by being whacked against stones and thrown into mud and water. It was still able to fire, in both heat and cold.

Six decades later, the AK-47 and its variants and derivatives remain in service throughout the world. It has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with regular armed forces as well as irregular, revolutionary and terrorist organizations worldwide.The AK-47 was one of the first true assault rifles and, due to its durability, low production cost and ease of use, the weapon and its numerous variants remain the most widely used assault rifles in the world — so much so that more AK-type rifles have been produced than all other assault rifles combined.The AK-47 was also used as a basis for the development of many other types of individual and crew-served firearms.

Over the course of Mikhail Kalashnikov career he evolved the basic design into a weapons family. The common characteristics of his weapons are the simple, elegant engineering and their ruggedness and ease of maintenance in all operating conditions. Recently Kalashnikov tested a new brand of a machine gun that he says is 40 percent more efficient than existing models.At his advanced age, he still works at his design bureau developing new lines of arms.

Mikhail Kalashnikov quotes:

“It is a thousand times harder to make simple things than complicated ones. It is very important because a soldier doesn’t have university degrees. He needs a simple and reliable weapon. Just as an academic, for that matter, in a combat situation. There’s simply no time to figure how to operate a complicated weapon and press many buttons when the enemy is advancing on you.”

“It is the Germans who are responsible for the fact that I became a fabricator of arms. If not for them, I would have constructed agricultural machines”.

“If someone asks me how I can sleep at night knowing that my arms have killed millions of people, I respond that I have no problem sleeping, my conscience is clean. I constructed arms to defend my country.”

“Before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field.”