Mikhail Kalashnikov, the Russian inventor of the globally popular AK-47 assault rifle, attends festivities to celebrate his 90th birthday at the Kremlin in Moscow on November 10, 2009. (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty Images) | NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA via Getty Images
Huffington Post
Mikhail Kalashnikov, whose work as a weapons designer for the Soviet Union is immortalized in the name of the world's most popular firearm, died Monday at the age of 94.
Kalashnikov once aspired to design farm equipment. But even though his most famous invention — the AK-47 assault rifle — sowed havoc instead of crops, he often said he felt personally untroubled by his contribution to bloodshed.
"I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence," he said in 2007.
That's absolutely perfect for the father of modern gun violence worldwide. It's not his fault that his baby is misused. The fact that he invented the most available individual killing machine on the planet doesn't phase him a bit.
This guy should be celebrated like the inventor of the Ebola virus. His contribution to mankind is right up there with malaria and AIDS. Of course the Russians think he's a hero of the Fatherland and the American gun nuts are all jealous he wasn't one of ours.
You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
ReplyDeleteSorry to malign one of your heroes.
DeleteA success story?
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many people have been killed by his invention?
The AK-47 wasn't entirely original, since Kalashnikov used ideas from the M1 Garand and the StG 44, but it provides acceptable accuracy and impeccable reliability in a rifle that's easy to make. One characteristic of a good engineer is that his designs are simple and effective. That applies here.
ReplyDeleteThere's a story told by Colonel David Hackworth about his days in Vietnam. He was present at the excavation of an enemy soldier who'd been buried in the mud for months with his AK-47. Hackworth picked it up and fired off all thirty rounds, then declared that our troops needed something that reliable.
Obviously you favorite kill weapon. Are you attending the funeral to pay homage?
DeleteActually, I'm partial to the SMLE and the M1911, thanks.
DeleteOff now, worship death and its tool, your gun
Delete