Kalashnikov Anniversary

The man who gave the world the AK-47 assault rifle has been taking part in celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of his invention.
They say he didnt get any royalties for his work but he hardly looks like your average peasant, does he?


news.sky.com...

Originally posted by Chorlton
The man who gave the world the AK-47 assault rifle has been taking part in celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of his invention.
They say he didnt get any royalties for his work but he hardly looks like your average peasant, does he?
news.sky.com...

A look in his current biography explains his "look".

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). His current military rank is Doctor of Technical Sciences.

whole article

Oh yes. Lets Honor the man who invented the weapon that has likely killed more people than any other weapon ever. From 8 year olds in the Congo to Muslim extremists in the Middle East, everyone seems to love to kill each other with this gun.

If he DID get royalties for this he would likely be one of the world's richest men I would think.

[edit on 15-8-2007 by andyzero1234]

Andy understand that a gun doesn't kill people, people kill people. I cannot stress this enough, if it was not him who invented the AK-47 someone else would have invented another rifle that would be used if not that rifle would be more devastating. It's bound to happen that man will always devise new ways to kill each other and the means to which to go by it.

A gun alone is harmless without being in the hands of the person willing to use it.

It's a sad story that one of the greatest gun inventors of all time lives among the middle class of Russia.

Shattered OUT...

Originally posted by ShatteredSkies
Andy understand that a gun doesn't kill people, people kill people. I cannot stress this enough, if it was not him who invented the AK-47 someone else would have invented another rifle that would be used if not that rifle would be more devastating. It's bound to happen that man will always devise new ways to kill each other and the means to which to go by it.

A gun alone is harmless without being in the hands of the person willing to use it.

It's a sad story that one of the greatest gun inventors of all time lives among the middle class of Russia.

Shattered OUT...

I agree completely. I agree that killing is perhaps human nature.. We've just gotten a lot better at devising ways to accomplish it. I do think it is important to also understand that the people that distribute these weapons need to be accountable. I would be willing to bet that 8 out of 10 AKs are in the hands of people who shouldn't necessarily have them. I think that the man who created the AK is fairly clear of any blood on his hands, but perhaps the people who are in charge of distributing them (or "losing" them to arms dealers) should be brought up on charges and prosecuted. The AK is the most prolific weapon on the planet and it's no wonder that it is also the most deadly in terms of numbers of people dead. In the early 90s in South Africa you could by an AK47 on the street for less than the price of a pack of cigarettes. The Cold War saw the "loss" of billions worth of hardware including the AK. Most of it ended up in Africa, the rest the Middle East and Asia. Whoever is responsible for illegally putting these guns in the hands of those obviously willing to kill also have blood on their hands.

[edit on 15-8-2007 by andyzero1234]

Almost everyone calls that rifle or anything that looks like it an AK-47. The AK-47 is a 7.62 mm weapon and the Soviets stopped making this in 1974 when they introduced the AK-74. The AK-74 is a 5.45 mm weapon. This is what you see now days since its been over 30 years since the AK-47 has been replaced, and all the ex-soviet comrades who make copies have also converted to the AK-74 caliberation.

This is like calling the new US M4 an "M-16". BTW we can use the 5.45 mm Russian round in an M-16 derivative (5.56 mm bore) but the Taliban and Al Quaida cannot use our 5.56 mm rounds in their AK-74. This is why Bin Laden shops with the ex-soviet comrades rather than capture US munition.

The AK-47 (AKM) is still in use by the Russian military despite the fact that the AK-74 was introduced back in the 1970's. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Shattered OUT...

Originally posted by jaehkimx
This is what you see now days since its been over 30 years since the AK-47 has been replaced.

The AK47 is highly servicable and very rugged. Trust me, the 35 year old+ AK is still going strong and killing plenty of people all over the world.

The AK47 is highly servicable and very rugged. Trust me, the 35 year old+ AK is still going strong and killing plenty of people all over the world.

Actually No. Most weapons called AK-47 these days are actually AK-74s. No body makes the 7.62 mm round any more in any significant amount so it doesn't matter how rugged etc. the AK-47 is, you can't find ammunition for it. The AK-74 is just as rugged and its 5.45 mm does not have the kick of a 7.62 mm round. Also for efficient killing, the 7.62 round will just go through a man. A 5.45 mm round will tumble inside the body of a man after impact and if it does not kill instantly, the wound is always debilitating.