The AK - 47

Which single weapon killed the maximum number of humans on earth? Without any doubt, it is the AK -47 assault rifle, which was created by a Russian brain called Mikhail Kalashnikov (Михаил Тимофеевич Калашников, Mihail Timofeevič Kalašnikov).




His parents had 18 children and Kalashnikov was the 17th. Well, the fact is only 6 children survived and he is one among them. After 9th grade, he joined the Railways as a technical clerk. Then he joined the Red Army during 1938. He continued his studies at the Army’s Engineering school. He invented many small stuffs from that day onwards (like revolution counter to count the number of shells fired from a Tank). He was with the tank division and during world war II he was the commander of a Tank division.




During that time (1941) he got wounded by shells and confined to a military hospital for months and that was the time he ‘invented’ a new automatic assault rifle, in his mind. When he was out of the hospital, he started working on it. Many trial models came out but it was during 1947 that the gun officially got manufactured and became the standard rifle for the Russian Army. A stands for Avtomat (means Automatic) and K stands for Kalashnikova and 47 is the year of manufacture thus – Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947 or AK-47.

Russia’s main AK-47 factory at Izhmash makes around 100,000 rifles per year but around the world, 900,000 imitations are made every year. This is the weapon of choice by the terrorists. But Kalashnikov clearly says, his guns are sold as per the rules and norms and it is up to the governments to have regulations and control over weapons used in their country, which is absolutely right.

So far, it is the number one assault rifle in the world, though the Americans hesitate to admit it (it is said that even the Americans used AK-47 during the Vietnam war, but they claim that they won the war with their M-16).

Mikhail Kalashnikov won many awards from his country, like - degree of Doctor of engineering science, Orders of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner of Labour, Order of the Great Patriotic War of the First Class, Order of the Red Star etc etc)

So, how rich is Mikhail Kalashnikov, considering the AK-47s circulating around the world? Well, he is not benefited by that number. He just gets a State pension and he sells Vodka of his own brand made at his own Vodka Company (he is the chairman of the Kalashnikov Joint Stock Vodka Co.)!!




How violent is he? He is a peace lover! And he hopes that truth will prevail and the use of weapons will end one day..