Mikhail Kalashnikov: Difference between revisions
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Kalashnikov was a self-taught engineer with little formal education<ref name="NYT">{{cite news | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/24/world/europe/mikhail-kalashnikov-creator-of-soviet-era-ak-47-weapon-is-dead-at-age-94.html?pagewanted=all&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB&_r=0| title = Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of AK-47, Dies at 94|work =[[The New York Times]]|author= Chivers, C. J. |date=23 December 2013| access-date = 25 December 2013}}</ref> who never profited from the rights to his weapons even after the capitalist counter-revolution, instead living on a modest state pension{{cn}} which allowed him to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.<ref name="NYT"/> He never supported the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] and was a harsh critic of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] and [[Boris Yeltsin]].<ref name="NYT"/> Kalashnikov remained until a supporter of the legacy of the USSR, socialism, and [[Vladimir Lenin]] until his death, and expressed regret that he had never gotten to meet [[Stalin]] while he had been alive.<ref name="NYT"/> He never regretted his invention and was proud of its popularity until his death. | Kalashnikov was a self-taught engineer with little formal education<ref name="NYT">{{cite news | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/24/world/europe/mikhail-kalashnikov-creator-of-soviet-era-ak-47-weapon-is-dead-at-age-94.html?pagewanted=all&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB&_r=0| title = Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of AK-47, Dies at 94|work =[[The New York Times]]|author= Chivers, C. J. |date=23 December 2013| access-date = 25 December 2013}}</ref> who never profited from the rights to his weapons even after the capitalist counter-revolution, instead living on a modest state pension{{cn}} which allowed him to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.<ref name="NYT"/> He never supported the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] and was a harsh critic of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] and [[Boris Yeltsin]].<ref name="NYT"/> Kalashnikov remained until a supporter of the legacy of the USSR, socialism, and [[Vladimir Lenin]] until his death, and expressed regret that he had never gotten to meet [[Stalin]] while he had been alive.<ref name="NYT"/> He never regretted his invention and was proud of its popularity until his death. | ||
== | == Quotations == | ||
<blockquote>''Sixty years after the AK-47 went into production, Mikhail Kalashnikov says he does not stay awake at night worrying about the bloodshed wrought by the world's most popular assault rifle. "I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence." ... It was before he started designing the gun that he slept badly, worried about the superior weapons that Nazi soldiers were using with grisly effectiveness against the Red Army in World War II. He saw them at close range himself, while fighting on the front lines. While hospitalized with wounds after a Nazi shell hit his tank in the 1941 battle of Bryansk, Kalashnikov decided to design an automatic rifle combining the best features of the American M1 and the German StG44.''<ref name="cbs interview">{{cite web | title=AK-47 Inventor Says Conscience Is Clear | website=CBS News | date=6 Jul 2007 | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ak-47-inventor-says-conscience-is-clear/ | ref={{sfnref | CBS News | 2007}} | access-date=1 Dec 2023}}</ref></blockquote> | <blockquote>''Sixty years after the AK-47 went into production, Mikhail Kalashnikov says he does not stay awake at night worrying about the bloodshed wrought by the world's most popular assault rifle. "I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence." ... It was before he started designing the gun that he slept badly, worried about the superior weapons that Nazi soldiers were using with grisly effectiveness against the Red Army in World War II. He saw them at close range himself, while fighting on the front lines. While hospitalized with wounds after a Nazi shell hit his tank in the 1941 battle of Bryansk, Kalashnikov decided to design an automatic rifle combining the best features of the American M1 and the German StG44.''<ref name="cbs interview">{{cite web | title=AK-47 Inventor Says Conscience Is Clear | website=CBS News | date=6 Jul 2007 | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ak-47-inventor-says-conscience-is-clear/ | ref={{sfnref | CBS News | 2007}} | access-date=1 Dec 2023}}</ref></blockquote> | ||
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Mikhail Kalashnikov | |
|---|---|
|
Михаил Калашников | |
 | |
| Born |
Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov 10 November 1919 Kurya, Altai Governorate, Russian State |
| Died |
23 December 2013 (aged 94)[1] Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia[1] |
| Occupation |
|
| Known for | Designer of the AK-47, AKM, and AK-74, as well as the RPK and PK |
| Political party |
United Russia CPRF (until 2001) CPSU (until 1991) |
| Spouse(s) | Ekaterina Viktorovna Kalashnikova (née Moiseyeva; 1921–1977; her death) |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards |
|
Blame the Nazi Germans for making me become a gun designer.... I always wanted to construct agriculture machinery.[2]
Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (Russian: Михаил Тимофеевич Калашников; 10 November 1919 – 23 December 2013) was a Soviet and Russian lieutenant general, inventor, military engineer, writer, and small arms designer. He is most famous for developing the Kalashnikov family of assault rifles, including the AK-47, AKM, and AK-74, which remain some of the most popular firearms ever made. He is also known for the RPK light machine gun and PK machine gun.
Kalashnikov was a self-taught engineer with little formal education[1] who never profited from the rights to his weapons even after the capitalist counter-revolution, instead living on a modest state pension[citation needed] which allowed him to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.[1] He never supported the dissolution of the Soviet Union and was a harsh critic of Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin.[1] Kalashnikov remained until a supporter of the legacy of the USSR, socialism, and Vladimir Lenin until his death, and expressed regret that he had never gotten to meet Stalin while he had been alive.[1] He never regretted his invention and was proud of its popularity until his death.
Quotations
Sixty years after the AK-47 went into production, Mikhail Kalashnikov says he does not stay awake at night worrying about the bloodshed wrought by the world's most popular assault rifle. "I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence." ... It was before he started designing the gun that he slept badly, worried about the superior weapons that Nazi soldiers were using with grisly effectiveness against the Red Army in World War II. He saw them at close range himself, while fighting on the front lines. While hospitalized with wounds after a Nazi shell hit his tank in the 1941 battle of Bryansk, Kalashnikov decided to design an automatic rifle combining the best features of the American M1 and the German StG44.[2]
"After the collapse of the great and mighty Soviet Union, so much crap has been imposed on us, especially on the younger generation," he said. "I wrote six books to help them find their way in life."
He said he is proud of his bronze bust installed in his native village of Kurya in the Siberian region of Altai. He said newlyweds bring flowers to the bust.
"They whisper 'Uncle Misha, wish us happiness and healthy kids,"' he said. "What other gun designer can boast of that?"[2]
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Chivers, C. J. (23 December 2013). "Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of AK-47, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "AK-47 Inventor Says Conscience Is Clear". CBS News. 6 Jul 2007. Retrieved 1 Dec 2023.
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