Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov

Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov

Lieutenant General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (Russian: Михаи́л Тимофе́евич Кала́шников, Mihail Timofeevič Kalašnikov) (born November 10, 1919 in Russia's southern Altai region) is a famous Russian small arms designer, most famous for his AK-47, frequently called the Kalashnikov.

Early life

Kalashnikov was conscripted into the Red Army in 1938, and became a tank driver-mechanic, achieving the rank of senior sergeant (tank commander) serving on the T-34s of the 24th Tank Regiment, 12th Tank Division stationed in Stryi before retreating, with the regiment after the failed counterattack at Brody, and eventually being wounded in combat during the defence of Bryansk and released for six months recuperation due to illness. During this time Kalashnikov began designing a submachinegun while in hospital after being wounded in the Battle of Bryansk. Although his first submachinegun design was not accepted to service, his talents as a designer were noticed. From 1942 onwards Kalashnikov was assigned to the Central Scientific-developmental Firing Range for Rifle Firearms of the Chief Artillery Directorate of RKKA. In 1944, he designed a gas-operated carbine for the new 7.62 x 39 mm cartridge; this weapon, influenced by Garand self-loading rifle, lost out to new Simonov carbine which would be eventually adopted as SKS; but it became a basis for his entry in assault rifle competition in 1946. His winning entry, the "Mikhtim" became the prototype for the development of a family of prototype rifles.

This process culminated in 1947, when he designed the AK-47 (acronym for Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947). In 1949, the AK-47 assault rifle became the Soviet Army's standard issue rifle; after that, the design became Kalashnikov's most famous invention.

Later career

Mikhail Kalashnikov, designer of AK-47 (holding an M16A2) and Eugene Stoner, designer of M16 (holding an AK-47)

After WWII, as General Designer of small arms for the Soviet Army, his design subordinates included the Germans Hugo Schmeisser and Werner Grüner (of MG 42 fame) and a pioneer in sheet metal embossing technology in the 1950s.

Later in his career he developed a squad automatic weapon variant of the AK-47, known as the RPK (Ruchnoi pulemyot Kalashnikova - Kalashnikov light machine gun), and also the PK (Pulemyot Kalashnikova - Kalashnikov machine gun), which used the full-power rifle cartridge of the Mosin-Nagant rifle. The cartridge was belt-fed, not magazine-fed. These designs were adopted for their roles, while the AK-47 remained the Red Army's primary infantry weapon.

Since 1949, Mikhail Kalashnikov has lived and worked in Izhevsk, Udmurtia.

He told Reuters Television, "I've always wanted to improve and expand on the good name of my weapon by doing good things."

The legacy of Kalashnikov's rifles as the most popular assault rifles has prompted him to state that

"I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists," he said on a visit to Germany, adding: "I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work - for example a lawnmower."

Despite estimates of some 100 million AK-47 assault rifles circulating, General Kalashnikov claims he has not profited and that he only receives a state pension. Merchandise named for General Kalashnikov, such as umbrellas and knives, are being produced by German company Marken Marketing International (MMI), based in Solingen. One of the items is a knife named for the AK-74.

Awards

Mikhail Kalashnikov was twice named Hero of Socialist Labor. In 1998, he was awarded an Order of Saint Andrew the Protoclete (orden Svyatogo Andreya Pervozvannogo). He holds an advanced degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences.

On 10 November 2009 (his 90th birthday), Kalashnikov was named a "Hero of the Russian Federation" and presented with a medal by President Dmitry Medvedev who lauded him for creating "the brand every Russian is proud of."

Quotations

• "My work is my life, and my life is my work. I invented this assault rifle to defend my country. Today, I am proud that it has become for many synonymous with liberty."
• "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."
• "I am still ready to shake hands with anyone who designs a better assault rifle than mine."
• "It is painful for me to see when criminal elements of all kinds fire from my weapon [...] I created this weapon primarily to safeguard our motherland"
• "Anything that is complex is not useful and anything that is useful is simple. This has been my whole life's motto."


Further reading

• Forge, John (January/February 2007). "No Consolation For Kalashnikov". Philosophy Now (59).
• Hodges, Michael. AK47: the Story of the People's Gun. London: Sceptre, 2007 (hardcover, ISBN 0340921048).

External links

• 'I sleep soundly' - Interview with and article on Mikhail Kalashnikov at the age of 83, from The Guardian newspaper.
• The Biography of the Main Gun Designer Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov
• Mikhail Kalashnikov backs weapons control
• BBC NEWS Profile: Mikhail Kalashnikov
• Free illustrated virtual guided tour of the Museum of Mikhail Kalashnikov
• The life of Mikhail Kalashnikov
• On the AK-47's military and social effects on history
• Homeland Kalashnikov in Altai (English)
• Kalashnikov's Vodka
• Mikhail Kalashnikov with Elena Joly: The Gun that Changed the World