Mikhail Timofejewitsch Kalashnikov

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Mikhail Timofejewitsch Kalashnikov

Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov ( Russian Михаил Тимофеевич Калашников ., Scientific transliteration Mikhail Timofeevic Kalašnikov *  10. November  1919 in Kurja , government Altai , Russian SFSR ; † 23. December 2013 in Izhevsk , Udmurtia , Russia ) was a Russian weapons designer and lieutenant general . He designed the Soviet Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle , with an estimated 100 million pieces one of the most widely produced weapons in the world. The abbreviation AK-47 stands for Awtomat Kalaschnikowa obrasza 1947 . Kalashnikov was honored twice as a Hero of Socialist Labor and also as a Hero of the Russian Federation .

Life

Mikhail Kalashnikov, circa 1944
AK-47

In 1930, Kalashnikov and his family were deported to the Tomsk region by the Stalinist regime as part of the repression of the so-called kulaks . In 1936 he left school and began technical training on the Turkestan-Siberian Railway , where he worked as a technician. At the age of 19 he was drafted into the Red Army and initially served in driving school and maintenance. In the early stages of the German-Soviet War , Kalashnikov fought as a tank commander until his tank was set on fire in the Battle of Bryansk in autumn 1941 and he was seriously wounded in the shoulder. In the hospital he heard infantrymen complaining about the Russian weapons and began to design the first concepts for a new rifle.

Kalashnikov then rose to become the leading weapons designer in the USSR . In 1947 he presented the AK assault rifle as a prototype , which the Soviet Army introduced from 1949. In 1959 it was modernized in order to simplify production and henceforth under the name AKM ( M for modernisirowannyj , modernized).

The Izhevsk arms factory in the central Urals is the birthplace and production site of the Kalashnikovs. No other Russian make has conquered the world market as extensively as this weapon. It was copied and modified by numerous countries around the world in the following decades; it served as the standard armament of infantry in many armies, including in seven of the eight member states of the Warsaw Treaty (only Czechoslovakia went its own way with the Sa vz. 58 assault rifle ). The Kalashnikov machine was delivered to many communist-oriented countries in the Third World and is still used today by many guerrilla troops. The AK-47, including all further developments and versions (e.g. AK-74 ), has been built around 80 to 100 million times.

Until his death he lived secluded in Izhevsk on a modest pension. After the success of a vodka brand Kalashnikov , in which the weapon manufacturer is not involved, Kalashnikov, in cooperation with the company Marken Marketing International from Solingen , offered consumer goods such as pocket knives and watches under his name.

On the occasion of a UN conference on the subject of small arms , Kalashnikov expressed “dismay” at the fact that “his rifles are causing so much damage all over the world” and criticized the lack of effective international controls on the arms trade . However, he regularly enjoyed celebrating the big birthdays of his invention, including in 2007, when the Kalashnikov was 60 years old.

In November 2013, Kalashnikov fell weak and was taken to a clinic in Izhevsk , Udmurtia . He died there on December 23, 2013.

Mikhail Kalashnikov was buried on December 27, 2013 in the hero pantheon of the military memorial cemetery of the Russian Federation in Mytishchi near Moscow.

Mikhail Timofejewitsch Kalashnikov (2009)

Honors

Kalashnikov received the title Hero of Socialist Labor twice (1958 and 1976), the Order of Lenin (1958, 1969, 1976), the Stalin Prize (1949), the Lenin Prize (1964), the Order of the October Revolution (1974) and medal for his invention of the Red Banner of Labor (1957). In 1971 he was awarded a doctorate in technical sciences. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, Russian President Boris Yeltsin awarded Kalashnikov the Order of Outstanding Service to the Fatherland Second Class in 1994 and appointed him Major General . In 1999 he was promoted to lieutenant general.

On the occasion of his 90th birthday, Mikhail Timofejewitsch Kalashnikov was awarded the title "Hero of the Russian Federation" by a decree of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on November 10, 2009 .

On September 19, 2017, Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky inaugurated a monument by the sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov , which depicts a larger than life statue of Kalashnikovs with the famous AK-47 assault rifle in his hands. On the back of the base is a relief showing various other Kalashnikov weapons. Due to a mix-up by the sculptor, an exploded view of the German StG 44 came underneath , which was removed again after the inauguration.

Quotes

  • "As a young man I read somewhere: God Almighty said, 'Anything that is too complicated is unnecessary and what is necessary is simple.' ... And that became my motto in life - I designed weapons to defend the borders of my fatherland in such a way that they are simple and reliable. "
  • "Even during the first fire tests, some constructions were completely discarded and not even recommended for rework. For a designer, this is a severe blow if the work of many sleepless nights is suddenly rejected. But it is better if it happens that way than when thousands get in distress by soldiers in combat, possibly be let down by their weapon. " (Kalschnikow on the selection process for the new Soviet orderly weapon )
  • "Accuse the Nazi Germans of becoming a weapons designer ... I always wanted to design agricultural machines."

literature

  • Edward Clinton Ezell : Kalashnikov: The Genius and His Life's Work . DWJ, Blaufelden 2011, ISBN 978-3-936632-70-5 (English: The AK 47 Story. Translated by Bernd Rolff).
  • Michail Kalaschnikov, Elena Joly: My life . Kunstmann, Munich 2004, ISBN 978-3-88897-369-7 (French: Ma vie en rafales. Translated by Bernd Wilczek).
  • Kalashnikov: the designer and his weapons. from AK 47 to PK (= Visor Special. Volume 25). Vogt-Schild, Bad Ems 2002, ISBN 978-3-9807787-3-2 .
  • Oliver Rohe: My latest invention is a mole trap . Mikhail Kalashnikov, his life, his work. a story. Matthes & Seitz, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-88221-952-4 (French: Ma derniére création est un piége á taupes. Translated by Till Bardoux).

Web links

Commons : Mikhail Kalashnikov  - Collection of images

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Johann Althaus: 100 YEARS KALASCHNIKOW, His weapon is more deadly than bombs or rockets. In: Welt.de. November 10, 2019, archived from the original on December 30, 2019 ; accessed on December 30, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Svetlana Kalmykowa: Калашникова похоронят в Ижевске ( German: Kalashnikov is buried in Ischewsk). In: Voice of Russia . December 23, 2013, accessed December 25, 2013 (Russian, German edition of the site ).
  3. ↑ Alexei Makartsev: Mikhail Kalashnikov would have turned 100 - BNN editor met assault rifle inventors. In: Baden latest news. November 9, 2019, archived from the original on December 30, 2019 ; accessed on December 30, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Ulf Mauder: Russia celebrates, 100 years ago the inventor of the assault rifle Kalashnikov was born. In: Badische Zeitung. November 7, 2019, archived from the original on December 30, 2019 ; accessed on December 30, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Johann Althaus: 100 YEARS KALASCHNIKOW, His weapon is more deadly than bombs or rockets. In: Welt.de. November 10, 2019, archived from the original on December 30, 2019 ; accessed on December 30, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Ulf Mauder: Russia celebrates, 100 years ago the inventor of the assault rifle Kalashnikov was born. In: Badische Zeitung. November 7, 2019, archived from the original on December 30, 2019 ; accessed on December 30, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Germany's inglorious top position. In: Spiegel Online . June 27, 2006, accessed December 25, 2013 .
  8. ^ DW-TV: Journal Reporter from August 26, 2007 , a report on the 60th birthday of the Kalashnikov
  9. ↑ Inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle - Mikhail Kalaschnikow is dead. Süddeutsche Zeitung , December 23, 2013, accessed on December 24, 2013 .
  10. ↑ a b c d Mikhail Kalashnikov in the encyclopedia of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Retrieved April 20, 2018 (Russian).
  11. ↑ Biography of Kalashnikovs in the portal warheroes.ru (Russian)
  12. ↑ RIA Novosti: Kalashnikov honored as Hero of Russia for the 90th November 10, 2009
  13. ↑ Mikhail Kalashnikov - Moscow unveils monument to rifle inventors. In: Spiegel Online. September 19, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2017 .
  14. ^ Controversy over the Moscow Kalashnikov monument. In: The Standard . September 22, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Kalashnikov statue changed because of German weapon. In: bbc.com. September 22, 2017, accessed on September 23, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Scandal erupts after blueprint of Nazi rifle found on newest Kalashnikov monument. In: rt.com. September 22, 2017, accessed on September 23, 2017 .
  17. ↑ Dmitri Solovyov: Kalashnikov, 90, decries "criminal" use of rifle. In: Reuters. October 26, 2009, accessed December 30, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Günter Wollert, Reiner Lidschun, Wilfried Copenhagen : Illustrated Encyclopedia of small arms around the world: small arms today (1945 to 1985) . 3. Edition. tape 2 . Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-89488-059-7 , p. 404 .
  19. ↑ Associated Press via Fox News: AK-47 Inventor Doesn't Lose Sleep Over Havoc Wrought With His Invention. July 6, 2007, accessed December 30, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Kalashnikov, Michail Timofejewitsch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Калашников, Михаил Тимофеевич (Russian); Kalašnikov, Michail Timofeevič (scientific transliteration)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian weapons designer and lieutenant general
DATE OF BIRTH November 10, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Kurja , Altai Governorate , Russian SFSR
DATE OF DEATH December 23, 2013
Place of death Izhevsk , Udmurtia , Russia