"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."
Under my enemy's banner perhaps, but he was brilliant and I believe a good man.
The United States and the Soviet Union were allies of convenience, or perhaps necessity, against the fascists and Imperial Japanese. We quickly grew cold to one another towards the end of the war. To this day, some of my countrymen insist on regarding Russia as an enemy.
In short, myself and Kalashnikov never met, and we were born to opposing nations in very different eras. I hope that we would have found common ground as patriots and as men if we did meet.
He was proud of his invention, though he hated that politicians turned into a weapon of offense, and that extremists made it a weapon of terror.
It is notable, however, that he would have liked to invent something like a lawnmower, and that towards the end of his life he sought out affirmation from the Church.
“I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence.”
“You see, with [designing]weapons, it is like a woman who bears children. For months she carries her baby and thinks about it. A designer does much the same thing with a prototype. I felt like a mother - always proud. It is a special feeling, as if you were awarded with a special award. I shot with it a lot. I still do now. That is why I am hard of hearing.”
“My work is my life, and my life is my work. I invented this assault rifle to defend my country. Today, I am proud that it has become for many synonymous with liberty.”
“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.”
he didn't realise the impact at the time he invented it, same with Sten Gustaf Thulin, the inventor of the plastic bag. His children said he'd be horrified at the damage it's done.
Under my enemy's banner perhaps, but he was brilliant and I believe a good man.
In short, myself and Kalashnikov never met, and we were born to opposing nations in very different eras. I hope that we would have found common ground as patriots and as men if we did meet.
It is notable, however, that he would have liked to invent something like a lawnmower, and that towards the end of his life he sought out affirmation from the Church.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/13/kalashnikov-weapon-inventor-spiritual-pain-dead-millions
“You see, with [designing]weapons, it is like a woman who bears children. For months she carries her baby and thinks about it. A designer does much the same thing with a prototype. I felt like a mother - always proud. It is a special feeling, as if you were awarded with a special award. I shot with it a lot. I still do now. That is why I am hard of hearing.”
“My work is my life, and my life is my work. I invented this assault rifle to defend my country. Today, I am proud that it has become for many synonymous with liberty.”