Mikhail Kalashnikov

Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov [Russian: Михаил Тимофеевич Калашников] (10 November 1919 – 23 December 2013) was a Russian general and small arms designer, most famous for developing the AK-47 assault rifle.

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Quotes[edit]

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 lawnmower.
- As quoted in "Kalashnikov: 'I wish I'd made a lawnmower'" by Kate Connolly, in The Guardian (29 July 2002)

I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence.
- As quoted in "AK-47 Inventor Says Conscience Is Clear" by Joel Roberts at CBS News (6 July 2007)

Blame the Nazi Germans for making me become a gun designer … I always wanted to construct agriculture machinery.
- As quoted in "AK-47 Inventor Says Conscience Is Clear" by Joel Roberts at CBS News (6 July 2007)

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.
- "Kalashnikov, 90, decries 'criminal' use of rifle" by Dmitry Solovyov, at Reuters (26 October 2009)

Whenever I look at TV and I see the weapon I invented to defend my motherland in the hands of these bin Ladens, I ask myself the same question: "How did it get into their hands?" I didn't put it in the hands of bandits and terrorists, and it's not my fault that it has mushroomed uncontrollably across the globe. Can I be blamed that they consider it the most reliable weapon?
- "The Man Who Invented The AK-47 Has Died — Here's His Greatest Regret" by Adam Taylor, in Business Insider (23 December 2013)

Before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field.
- As quoted in "Organization Design: A Guide to Building Effective Organizations", by Patricia Cichocki and Christine Irwin, Kogan Page Publishers (Mar 3, 2014)

I was in the hospital, and a soldier in the bed beside me asked: "Why do our soldiers have only one rifle for two or three of our men, when the Germans have automatics?" So I designed one. I was a soldier, and I created a machine gun for a soldier. It was called an Avtomat Kalashnikova, the automatic weapon of Kalashnikov — AK — and it carried the date of its first manufacture, 1947.

You see, maybe all these feelings come about because one side wants to liberate itself with arms. But in my opinion, it is the good that prevails. You may live to see the day when good prevails — it will be after I am dead. But the time will come when my weapons will be no more used or necessary.

My aim was to create armaments to protect the borders of my motherland. It is not my fault that the Kalashnikov became very well-known in the world; that it was used in many troubled places. I think the policies of these countries are to blame, not the designers. Man is born to protect his family, his children, his wife. But I want you to know that apart from armaments, I have written three books in which I try to educate our youth to show respect for their families, for old people, for history.

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