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Important to realize the derogatory word "tinkerer" was used in a self-effacing manner by Kalashnikov himself, not a universally agreed upon charcateristic
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Kalashnikov's father, Timofey Aleksandrovich Kalashnikov (1883–1930), was a peasant. He completed two grades of [[parochial school]] and could read and write. In 1901 he married Aleksandra Frolovna Kaverina (1884–1957), who was illiterate throughout her life. They had 19 children, but only eight survived to adult age; Kalashnikov was born 17th,<ref name=r10/> and was close to death at age six.
Kalashnikov's father, Timofey Aleksandrovich Kalashnikov (1883–1930), was a peasant. He completed two grades of [[parochial school]] and could read and write. In 1901 he married Aleksandra Frolovna Kaverina (1884–1957), who was illiterate throughout her life. They had 19 children, but only eight survived to adult age; Kalashnikov was born 17th,<ref name=r10/> and was close to death at age six.


In 1930, the government labeled Timofey Aleksandrovich a [[kulak]], stole his property, and deported him to Siberia, along with most of the family. The eldest three siblings, daughters Agasha (b. 1905) and Anna and son Victor, were already married by 1930, and remained in Kuriya. After her husband's death in 1930, Aleksandra Frolovna married Efrem Kosach, a widower who had three children of his own.<ref name=r3/><ref name=r1/>
In 1930, the government labeled Timofey Aleksandrovich a [[kulak]], confiscated his property, and deported him to Siberia, along with most of the family. The eldest three siblings, daughters Agasha (b. 1905) and Anna and son Victor, were already married by 1930, and remained in Kuriya. After her husband's death in 1930, Aleksandra Frolovna married Efrem Kosach, a widower who had three children of his own.<ref name=r3/><ref name=r1/>


Mikhail Kalashnikov married twice, the second time to Ekaterina Viktorovna Moiseyeva (1921–1977).<ref name="weaponplace">{{cite web |title=Калашников Михаил Тимофеевич |url=http://www.weaponplace.ru/kalashnikov.php |language=Russian |publisher=weaponplace.ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/24/world/europe/mikhail-kalashnikov-creator-of-soviet-era-ak-47-weapon-is-dead-at-age-94.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0 |title=Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of AK-47, Dies at 94 |publisher=[[New York Times]] |accessdate=23 Dec 2013}}</ref> She was an engineer and did much technical drawing work for her husband. They had four children: daughters Nelli (b. 1942), Elena (b. 1948) and Natalya (1953–1983), and a son [[Victor Kalashnikov|Victor]] (b. 1942).<ref name="weaponplace"/><ref name=r3/> Victor also became a prominent small arms designer.
Mikhail Kalashnikov married twice, the second time to Ekaterina Viktorovna Moiseyeva (1921–1977).<ref name="weaponplace">{{cite web |title=Калашников Михаил Тимофеевич |url=http://www.weaponplace.ru/kalashnikov.php |language=Russian |publisher=weaponplace.ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/24/world/europe/mikhail-kalashnikov-creator-of-soviet-era-ak-47-weapon-is-dead-at-age-94.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0 |title=Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of AK-47, Dies at 94 |publisher=[[New York Times]] |accessdate=23 Dec 2013}}</ref> She was an engineer and did much technical drawing work for her husband. They had four children: daughters Nelli (b. 1942), Elena (b. 1948) and Natalya (1953–1983), and a son [[Victor Kalashnikov|Victor]] (b. 1942).<ref name="weaponplace"/><ref name=r3/> Victor also became a prominent small arms designer.

Revision as of 21:35, 25 December 2013

Mikhail Kalashnikov
Михаил Тимофеевич Калашников
Mikhail Kalashnikov at the Kremlin, December 2009
Born
Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov

(1919-11-10)10 November 1919
Kurya, Altai Krai, Russian SFSR
Died23 December 2013(2013-12-23) (aged 94)
Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia
NationalityRussian
Occupations
  • Small arms designer
  • Russian lieutenant general
Known forDesigner of the AK-47 and AK-74
Spouse(s)Ekaterina Viktorovna Kalashnikova (née Moiseyeva; 1921–77; her death)
Children
  • Victor (son; b. 1942)
  • Nelli (daughter; b. 1942)
  • Elena (daughter; b. 1948)
  • Natalya (daughter; 1953–83)
Parents
  • Aleksandra Frolovna Kalashnikova (née Kaverina)
  • Timofey Aleksandrovich Kalashnikov
Awards

Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (Template:Lang-ru; 10 November 1919 – 23 December 2013) was a Russian general and small arms designer, most famous for developing the AK-47 assault rifle, as well as the AKM and AK-74 assault rifles.[1]

Kalashnikov was, according to himself, a self-taught tinkerer who combined innate mechanical skills with the study of weaponry to design arms that achieved battlefield ubiquity.[4] Even though Kalashnikov felt sorrow at the weapons’ uncontrolled distribution, he took pride in his inventions and in their reputation for reliability, emphasizing that his rifle is "a weapon of defense" and "not a weapon for offense".[4]

Early life

Kalashnikov was born in Kurya, Altai Krai, Russian SFSR,[1] to Aleksandra Frolovna Kalashnikova (née Kaverina) and Timofey Aleksandrovich Kalashnikov. In 1930, his father and most of his family were deprived of property and deported to the village of Nizhnyaya Mokhovaya, Tomsk Oblast.[5][6] In his youth, Mikhail suffered from various illnesses and was on the verge of death at age six.[3] He was attracted to all kinds of machinery,[5] but also wrote poetry, dreaming of becoming a poet.[7] He went on to write six books and continued to write poetry all of his life.[6][8] Kalashnikov's parents were peasants, but, after deportation to Tomsk Oblast, had to combine farming with hunting, and thus Mikhail frequently used his father's rifle in his teens. Kalashnikov continued hunting into his 90s.[3]

File:Mikhail Kalashnikov.jpg
Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1949

After completing seventh grade, Mikhail, with his stepfather's permission, left his family and returned to Kurya, hitchhiking for nearly 1000 km. In Kurya he found a job in mechanics at a tractor station and developed a passion for weaponry. In 1938, he was conscripted into the Red Army. Because of his small size[9] and engineering skills he was assigned as a tank mechanic, and later became a tank commander. While training, he made his first inventions, which concerned not only tanks, but also small weapons, and was personally awarded a wrist watch by Georgy Zhukov.[3] Kalashnikov served on the T-34s of the 24th Tank Regiment, 108th Tank Division[2] stationed in Stryi[3] before the regiment retreated after the Battle of Brody in June 1941. He was wounded in combat in the Battle of Bryansk in October 1941[3] and hospitalized until April 1942.[2] While in the hospital, he overheard some fellow soldiers complaining about the Soviet rifles of the time.[10]

Kalashnikov's first submachine gun

Seeing the drawbacks of the standard infantry weapons at the time, he decided to construct a new rifle for the Soviet military. During this time Kalashnikov began designing a submachine gun.[11] Although his first submachine gun design was not accepted into service, his talent as a designer was noticed.[3] From 1942 onwards Kalashnikov was assigned to the Central Scientific-developmental Firing Range for Rifle Firearms of the Chief Artillery Directorate of the Red Army.[12]

In 1944, he designed a gas-operated carbine for the new 7.62x39 mm cartridge. This weapon, influenced by the StG 44, lost out to the new Simonov carbine which would be eventually adopted as the SKS; but it became a basis for his entry in an assault rifle competition in 1946.[13]

His winning entry, the "Mikhtim" (so named by taking the first letters of his name and patronymic, Mikhail Timofeyevich) became the prototype for the development of a family of prototype rifles.[14] This process culminated in 1947, when he designed the AK-47 (standing for Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947). In 1949, the AK-47 became the standard issue assault rifle of the Soviet Army and went on to become Kalashnikov's most famous invention.[15] While developing his first assault rifles, Kalashnikov competed with two much more experienced weapon designers, Vasily Degtyaryov and Georgy Shpagin, who both accepted the superiority of the AK-47. Kalashnikov named Alexandr Zaitsev and Vladimir Deikin as his major collaborators during those years.[3]

Later career

File:Michail Timofejewitsch Kalaschnikow Izhevsk 2.jpg
Monument to Kalashnikov in Izhevsk

From 1949, Mikhail Kalashnikov lived and worked in Izhevsk, Udmurtia. He held a degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences (1971)[1][2] and was a member of 16 academies.[16]

Over the course of his career, he evolved the basic design into a weapons family. The AKM (Template:Lang-ru – Kalashnikov modernized assault rifle) first appeared in 1963, was lighter and cheaper to manufacture owing to the use of a stamped steel receiver (in place of the AK47's milled steel receiver), and contained detail improvements such as a re-shaped stock and muzzle compensator. From the AKM he developed a squad automatic weapon variant, known as the RPK (Template:Lang-ru – Kalashnikov light machine gun).

He also developed the general-purpose PK machine gun (Template:Lang-ru – Kalashnikov machine gun), which used the more powerful 7.62×54R cartridge of the Mosin-Nagant rifle. It is cartridge belt-fed, not magazine-fed, as it is intended to provide heavy sustained fire from a tripod mount, or be used as a light, bipod-mounted weapon. The common characteristics of all these weapons are simple design, ruggedness and ease of maintenance in all operating conditions.

Approximately 100 million AK-47 assault rifles had been produced by 2009,[8] and about half of them are counterfeit, manufactured at a rate of about a million per year.[11][17] Izhmash, the official manufacturer of AK-47 in Russia, did not patent the weapon until 1997, and in 2006 accounted for only 10% of the world's production.[7] Kalashnikov himself claimed he was always motivated by service to his country rather than money,[6] and made no direct profit from weapon production.[18] He did however own 30% of a German company Marken Marketing International (MMI) run by his grandson Igor.[19] The company revamps trademarks and produces merchandise carrying the Kalashnikov name, such as vodka,[8] umbrellas and knives.[20][21] One of the items is a knife named for the AK-74.[19]

During a visit to the United States in the early 2000s, Kalashnikov was invited to tour a Virginia holding site for the forthcoming American Wartime Museum. The former tanker Kalashnikov became visibly moved at the sight of his old tank in action, painted with his name in Cyrillic.[22]

On 17 November 2013, Kalashnikov was hospitalized in an Udmurtian medical facility.[23] He died on 23 December 2013 at a hospital after a prolonged illness.[24][25][26]

Family

Kalashnikov's father, Timofey Aleksandrovich Kalashnikov (1883–1930), was a peasant. He completed two grades of parochial school and could read and write. In 1901 he married Aleksandra Frolovna Kaverina (1884–1957), who was illiterate throughout her life. They had 19 children, but only eight survived to adult age; Kalashnikov was born 17th,[15] and was close to death at age six.

In 1930, the government labeled Timofey Aleksandrovich a kulak, confiscated his property, and deported him to Siberia, along with most of the family. The eldest three siblings, daughters Agasha (b. 1905) and Anna and son Victor, were already married by 1930, and remained in Kuriya. After her husband's death in 1930, Aleksandra Frolovna married Efrem Kosach, a widower who had three children of his own.[3][5]

Mikhail Kalashnikov married twice, the second time to Ekaterina Viktorovna Moiseyeva (1921–1977).[27][28] She was an engineer and did much technical drawing work for her husband. They had four children: daughters Nelli (b. 1942), Elena (b. 1948) and Natalya (1953–1983), and a son Victor (b. 1942).[27][3] Victor also became a prominent small arms designer.

Weapon designs

The Russian Medal of Small Arms Maker was introduced in 2008 and named after Kalashnikov.[29]

During his career, Kalashnikov designed about 150 models of small weapons.[16] The most famous of them are:

Awards

Incorporates information from the corresponding article in the Russian Wikipedia

Russian Federation

Decorations

Awards

  • State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of design (1997)
  • Award of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of education (2003)
  • All-Russian Literary Prize of Suvorov (2009)

Honorary diplomas

  • Diploma of the Government of the Russian Federation (1997, 1999)

Medals

  • Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
  • Medal "Symbol of Science" (2007)
  • Gold Medal of Zhukov
  • Medal "For outstanding contribution to the development of the collection business in Russia"

Acknowledgements

  • Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (1997, 1999, 2002, 2007)

Soviet

Honours

Medals

  • Medal "Hammer and Sickle" (1958,1976)
  • Medal "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945"
  • Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
  • Medal "In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"
  • Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
  • Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
  • Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR"
  • Medal "Veteran of Labor" on behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
  • Jubilee Medal "30 years of the Soviet Army and Navy"
  • Jubilee Medal "40 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
  • Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
  • Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
  • Jubilee Medal "70 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
  • Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th anniversary of Moscow"

Awards

Foreign decorations

Other honours

  • the home of Mikhail Kalashnikov in the village he set Courier lifetime bronze bust (1980)
  • the name of the designer named projected prospect in Izhevsk (1994)
  • "Honorary Citizen of the Altai Territory" (1997)
  • Ministry of Economy of Russia award – The sign "of small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov" (1997)
  • Union of scientific and engineering organizations and the Government of Udmurtia established an award named after Mikhail Kalashnikov (1999)
  • Diamond company "Alrosa" extracted 29 December 1995 gem diamonds weighing 50.74 carats given the name "designer Mikhail Kalashnikov" (14.5 x 15, 0h15, 5 mm, quality Stones Black) (1999)
  • Mikhail Kalashnikov Cadet School in Votkinsk (2002)
  • Award in his name at the School of Weapon Skills of Izhevsk (2002)
  • Izhevsk State Cultural Institution "Museum of Mikhail Kalashnikov"
  • "Honorary Engineer of Kazakhstan" (Kazakhstan; 2004)
  • Gift from President Hugo Chávez, the highest award of the Republic – a copy of the famous sword of Simon Bolivar, which is a relic of Venezuela and the copy is equal to the highest award of the country (2009)
  • The name of Mikhail Kalashnikov was given to the military department of the Mining Institute in St. Petersburg (2009)
  • Izhevsk State Technical University was awarded the name of Mikhail Kalashnikov (2012)
  • German knife company Boker has dedicated a series to him (2013)

Quotes

  • "I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists ... I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work — for example a lawn mower."[10][18]
  • "Blame the Nazi Germans for making me become a gun designer ... I always wanted to construct agriculture machinery."[11]
  • "I created a weapon to defend the borders of my motherland. It's not my fault that it's being used where it shouldn't be. The politicians are more to blame for this."[6][7][8][15][18]
  • "When a young man, I read somewhere the following: God the Almighty said, 'All that is too complex is unnecessary, and it is simple that is needed' ... So this has been my lifetime motto – I have been creating weapons to defend the borders of my fatherland, to be simple and reliable."[32]
  • "I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence."[33]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Калашников Михаил Тимофеевич" (in Russian). Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
  2. ^ a b c d "Работаю по призванию". Отечественные архивы (in Russian) (1). 2004. Contains an autobiography and a copy of the resume submitted with Kalashnikov's application to the Soviet Communist Party
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Биография М.Т.Калашникова". Kalashnikov.name. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  4. ^ a b C. J. Chivers (23 December 2013). "Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of AK-47, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 December 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b c "The AK-47 Kalashnikov Museum". Kalashnikov-weapons-museum.ak47-guide.com. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d Alexandr Osipovich (10 November 2009). "Gun inventor, 'happy man' Kalashnikov turns 90". AFP via Google.com. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  7. ^ a b c "Poet at heart: Kalashnikov inventory turns 90 in a hail of praise". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). 12 November 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Kalashnikov 'wanted to be poet and more'". BBC World News 74. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  9. ^ Compare Kalashnikov and Dmitry Medvedev in File:Kalashnikov Medvedev.jpg. Medvedev is ca. 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in). Watt, Nick (5 July 2008). "World's Leaders Don't Stand So Tall". ABC News. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ a b Connolly, Kate (30 July 2002). "Kalashnikov: 'I wish I'd made a lawnmower'". The Guardian.
  11. ^ a b c "AK-47 Inventor Doesn't Lose Sleep Over Havoc Wrought With His Invention". The Associated Press via Fox News. 6 July 2007.
  12. ^ "Interview of Mikhail Kalashnikov" (Interview). 15 December 2009. {{cite interview}}: Unknown parameter |channel= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |program= ignored (help)
  13. ^ Bolotin, D.N. (1995). Soviet Small-Arms and Ammunition. Finnish Arms Museum Foundation. pp. 69–70, 115. ISBN 9519718419.
  14. ^ Kalashnikov, Mikhail (June 1983). "How and Why I Produced My Submachine Gun". Sputnik: A Digest of Soviet Press. Moscow: Novosti Press Agency: 70–75.
  15. ^ a b c "AK-47 inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov in intensive care". Rt.com. 22 December 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  16. ^ a b Alexandrov, Georgy (10 November 2009). "Михаил Калашников: «Всё нужное – просто»" (in Russian). Argumenty i Facty.
  17. ^ Dmitry Solovyov (26 October 2009). "Kalashnikov decries "criminal" use of rifle, REUTERS". Reuters.com. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  18. ^ a b c d "Father of the AK-47 receives Russia's top honor". En.rian.ru. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  19. ^ a b "Care for a Kalashnikov Umbrella?". The Moscow Times. 21 February 2003.
  20. ^ "Coming soon – the Kalashnikov brolly?". BBC. 17 February 2003.
  21. ^ Connolly, Kate (17 February 2003). "Kalashnikov lends his name to an umbrella". The Telegraph.
  22. ^ Keating, Susan Katz (23 December 2013). "Mikhail Kalashnikov, Dead at 94, Once Visited the Tank Farm in Virginia". Susan Katz Keating blog. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  23. ^ "Скончался легендарный конструктор стрелкового оружия Михаил Калашников" (in Russian). RIA Novosti. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  24. ^ Alpert, Lukas I. (23 December 2013). "Designer of the Popular Kalashnikov Rifle Dies". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 23 December 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ "Mikhail Kalashnikov, designer of AK-47 rifle, dead at 94". The Star.
  26. ^ Heintz, Jim. "Rifle designer Mikhail Kalashnikov dead at 94". Associated Press. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  27. ^ a b "Калашников Михаил Тимофеевич" (in Russian). weaponplace.ru.
  28. ^ "Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of AK-47, Dies at 94". New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  29. ^ "ПОЛОЖЕНИЕ О НАГРУДНОМ ЗНАКЕ "МЕДАЛЬ ИМЕНИ КОНСТРУКТОРА СТРЕЛКОВОГО ОРУЖИЯ М.Т. КАЛАШНИКОВА" (in Russian). The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. 27 June 2008.
  30. ^ "Orthodox Christians honour memory of Saint Apostle Andrew the First-called". Pravda. 13 December 2001. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  31. ^ "Теперь ИжГТУ носит имя М. Т. Калашникова" (in Russian). istu.ru. 21 February 2012.
  32. ^ Dmitry Solovyov (26 October 2009) Kalashnikov, 90, decries "criminal" use of rifle. Reuters
  33. ^ AK-47 inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov dead at 94 - Militarytimes.com, 23 December 2013

Further reading

  • Forge, John (2007). "No Consolation For Kalashnikov". Philosophy Now (59). Retrieved 24 January 2007. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Ружье. Оружие и амуниция double/special issue of 1997/5-6 has a fairly complete inventory of Kalashnikov's designs. Issues 1 and 2 of the same magazine from 1999 have articles on Kalashnikov's 1st sub-machine gun (1942) [1][2] and respectively his first rifle (1944–45) [3][4].
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mikhail Kalashnikov.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Mikhail Kalashnikov.

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