Fail-safe, simple to use and cheap to produce – the world’s most popular weapon, AK-47, will long remain a monument to its late ‘father,’ Mikhail Kalashnikov, who died 2013 aged 94.
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1. Mikhail Kalashnikov, who was a tank commander during World War II, began his career as a weapons designer after a shoulder injury during the Battle of Bryansk. While in hospital in 1942, he overheard wounded soldiers complaining about Soviet rifles and decided to change that.

2. The first Kalashnikov rifle was produced in 1947, bringing its creator the Stalin Prize and the Order of the Red Star. The AK-47 has been the standard issue assault rifle of the Soviet and then Russian army since 1949.
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3. Durability, low production cost, availability and ease of use are the features, which assured AK-47 global success. Kalashnikov’s creation performs in sandy or wet conditions that jam more sophisticated weapons. The designer called it a “symbol of the creative genius” of the Russian people.
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4. The AK-47 has made
it into the Guinness
Book of Records as the
most widely spread
weapon in the world,
with 100 million
Kalashnikov rifles
currently in use.
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5. Military and special
forces in 106 countries
around the globe from
Afghanistan to
Zimbabwe are now
armed with AK-47s.
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6. Russia not only
distributes the
Kalashnikov rifles all
over the world, but also
licensed its production in
over 30 other countries,
including China, Israel,
India, Egypt and Nigeria.
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7. It is believed that
AK-47s have caused
more deaths than
artillery fire, airstrikes
and rocket attacks
combined. An estimated
quarter of a million
people are gunned down
by bullets from
Kalashnikovs every
year.

8. But Mikhail
Kalashnikov himself
never experienced self-
reproach about the
blood spilled with the
help of his invention as
he created AK-47 for
protection. “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.
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9. Relative cheapness
has always been one of
the most important
advantages of AK-47.
The average global price
of the assault rifle was
estimated at $534 in
2005, according to
Oxford University
economist Phillip
Killicoat. Though in
African countries the
price of AK-47 is on
average $200 cheaper.
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10. Osama bin Laden
always had a
Kalashnikov rifle with
him during his video
appearances. According
to some reports, it was
the US, which gave the
Al Qaeda founder his
first AK-47 to fight the
Soviets in Afghanistan.
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11. During the Vietnam
War, many American
soldiers gave up their
M16s for the more
reliable Kalashnikov
rifles, which they picked
up from dead enemies.
Even now, the US
marines carry AK-47
magazines with them
because of how
common the weapon is.
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12. The image of AK-47
appears on the flag of
Mozambique as well as
coats of arms of
Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso
(1984-97) and East
Timor. The Kalashnikov
rifle is also present on
the flag of Lebanese
militant organization,
Hezbollah.
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13. The parents in some
African states name
their babies ‘Kalash,’
which is another
nickname for the
Kalashnikov assault
rifle, according to a
documentary by
Russia’s Channel One.
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14. Russia’s top
basketball player,
Andrey Kirilenko, born in
the city of Izhevsk,
which hosts the
Kalashnikov rifle
factory, has played
under No.47 in the NBA
and was nicknamed
‘AK-47.’

15. Egypt has
immortalized the AK-47
by erecting a giant
monument, portraying a barrel and bayonet of a Kalashnikov rifle at theSinai Peninsula.
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16. A gold coated
Kalashnikov assault rifle
was recovered by US
troops from the
weapon collection of
former Iraqi leader,
Saddam Hussein.
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17. Coins dedicated to
Mikhail Kalashnikov and
his creation were issued
not only in Russia, but
also in such a peaceful
place as New Zealand,
which marked the rifle’s 60th birthday with special two-dollar
pieces. They came in
cases shaped after the
AK-47 magazine.
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18. French newspaper,
Liberation, has named
AK-47 the most
important invention of
the XX century, with
the Russian rifle leaving
the atomic bomb and
space flight behind.
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19. Mixing vodka,
absinth, lemon,
cinnamon and sugar is
the recipe for the
Kalashnikov shot drink.
There’s also a
Kalashnikov vodka
brand, which has been
sold in bottles
resembling the shape of an AK-47 since 2004.
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20. Colombian artist,
Cesar Lopez, has
transformed a dozen of
AK-47s into guitars,
with then UN General
Secretary, Kofi Annan,
getting one of the
musical instruments as
a gift in 2007.

Good to know....

thank God you put pictures cos I actually don't know that's AK 47.

Cc:seun

since then it became a nightmare to an average Nigerian policeman.