In the village of Kurya Altai Territory in a large peasant family. His father and mother were from Kuban peasants.

In 1930, the family of Timofey Kalashnikov, recognized as a kulak, was exiled from the Altai Territory to the village of Nizhnyaya Mokhovaya (Tomsk Region).

In 1936, Mikhail, having completed ninth grade high school, returned to Kurya, where he got a job at a machine and tractor station, and then became an apprentice at the depot of the Matai Turkestan-Siberian station railway(now the territory of Kazakhstan). After some time, he was transferred to Alma-Ata as the technical secretary of the political department of the 3rd railway department.

In 1938, Mikhail Kalashnikov was drafted into the Red Army. After graduating from the tank driver school, he passed conscript service in the Kiev Special Military District. In the army, he developed an inertial counter to record the actual number of shots fired from a tank cannon, made a special device for a TT pistol to increase the efficiency of firing through slits in the tank turret, and created a device for measuring the service life of a tank engine.

For the latest invention, the commander of the Kyiv Military District, General Georgy Zhukov, awarded Kalashnikov a personalized watch.

In June 1941, Kalashnikov was sent to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) to put the invention into production.

Mikhail Kalashnikov began the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) in August 1941 as a tank commander. In October 1941, in the battles near Bryansk, he was seriously wounded. While on six-month leave for health reasons, Senior Sergeant Kalashnikov developed his first model of a submachine gun.

The prototype was manufactured at Matai station in the workshops of the railway depot.

The first of the weapons specialists to evaluate the prototype was the head of the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy, Major General Anatoly Blagonravov, who identified design flaws, but, noting the talent of the novice developer, recommended sending Kalashnikov for technical study.

In July 1942, Kalashnikov was sent to the scientific testing range of small arms and mortar weapons (NIPSMVO) of the Moscow Military District, where the submachine gun underwent full-scale testing, but due to the high cost of production and certain shortcomings, it did not enter service.

Until 1944, Kalashnikov, in addition to the submachine gun, developed a light machine gun and a self-loading carbine; these models also did not enter service.

In 1945, he took part in a competition to develop an assault rifle chambered for the 1943 model. Based on the results of competitive tests in 1947, the AK-47 assault rifle was recommended for adoption Soviet army.

In 1948, Mikhail Kalashnikov was sent to a military plant in the city of Izhevsk to develop a sample and manufacture a military batch of machine guns. During this time he also worked on a project for a self-loading carbine.

After the successful comprehensive use of AK-47 assault rifles by the troops, at the beginning of 1949, by government decree, it was adopted for service, and its mass production began at the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant. The assault rifle received the official name - “7.62-mm Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1947 (AK).” At the beginning of 1949, Kalashnikov received the Order of the Red Star and the Stalin Prize of the first degree "for the development of a weapon model."

Since 1949, Mikhail Kalashnikov worked in the department of the chief designer of the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant.

In February 2012, during the reorganization of the enterprise, Kalashnikov was transferred to the staff of NPO Izhmash to the position of chief designer - head of the small arms design bureau of the Design and Technology Center of the enterprise.

In addition to the AK-47, there is a designer 7.62 mm caliber and a modernized assault rifle with a folding stock AKMS. After the transition to the 5.45 mm caliber, the AK-74, AKS-74U, and AK-74M Kalashnikov assault rifle models were developed.

Mikhail Kalashnikov was also known as a designer of machine guns. Among his developments are the RPK and RPKS light machine guns of 7.62 mm caliber with a folding stock; RPK-74 and RPKS-74 light machine guns of 5.45 mm caliber with a folding stock. In the early 1960s, a model of a single machine gun chambered for a 7.62x54 mm rifle cartridge was put into service.

In total, the Kalashnikov design bureau created more than a hundred samples of military weapons.

In the early 1970s, Kalashnikov created the Saiga self-loading hunting carbine, designed on the basis of an assault rifle.

In 1971, based on a combination of research and design work and inventions without defending a dissertation, Kalashnikov was awarded the academic degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences.

Lieutenant General Mikhail Kalashnikov - twice Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Stalin and Lenin Prizes. In 2009, on the occasion of the designer’s 90th anniversary, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev awarded Kalashnikov the title of Hero of Russia.

Among the numerous awards of Mikhail Kalashnikov are three Orders of Lenin, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree, October revolution, Red Banner of Labor, Friendship of Peoples, Patriotic War I degree, Red Star, medals. Mikhail Kalashnikov is a holder of the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called.

Kalashnikov was an honorary member (academician) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences, and the Russian Academy of Engineering; full member - academician of the International Academy of Sciences, Industry, Education and Art of the USA, International Academy of Informatization, honorary professor of Izhevsk State Technical University, and a number of other major scientific institutions.

Mikhail Kalashnikov wrote several books of memoirs: “Notes of a gunsmith designer” (1992), “From someone else’s threshold to the Spassky Gate” (1997), “I walked the same road with you: Memoirs” (1999), “Kalashnikov: the trajectory of fate” (2004), “In the whirlwind of my life” (2007), “Everything you need is simple” (2009). He was a member of the Russian Writers' Union.

Since 2002, the Interregional Public Fund named after M.T. has existed in Izhevsk. Kalashnikov, who is working to popularize the activities of the famous designer and other Russian gunsmiths.

In 2012, the name of Mikhail Kalashnikov was assigned to Izhevsk State Technical University.

In August 2013, NPO Izhmash joined OJSC Concern Kalashnikov.

On November 15, 2013, in the designer’s native village of Kurya, it received the status of a branch of the Altai State Museum of Local Lore.

Mikhail Kalashnikov was married, his wife Ekaterina Kalashnikova (1921-1977) worked as a design technician and helped her husband carry out drawing work.

Four children were born into their family: daughters Nellie (1942), Elena (1948), Natalya (1953-1983), son Victor (1942).

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov was born on November 10, 1919, in the village of Kurya, Altai Territory, into a large “kulak” family.

Interest in technology appeared in childhood. Mikhail enthusiastically researched the principles of functioning of various mechanisms. At school he excelled in the exact sciences.

The first acquaintance with the design of weapons occurred after graduating from the seventh grade, when the young man independently disassembled a Browning pistol.

At the age of eighteen, Kalashnikov moved to Kazakhstan and got a job at a depot on Turksib.

The beginning of the way

In the fall of 1938, Kalashnikov was drafted into the army. There his outstanding abilities manifested themselves - he managed to develop an inertial counter for shots from a tank gun, as well as a counter for tank engine life and an adaptation for a TT pistol.

In 1942, G.K. Zhukov was reported on the achievements of Mikhail Timofeevich. Under the patronage of the commander, he was sent to a tank technical school in Kyiv. After that, he was sent to the Leningrad plant named after. Voroshilov.

A prototype of the first model of a submachine gun was created by Kalashnikov in three months. This sample was presented to A. A. Blagonravov.

Creating a legendary slot machine

The most significant moment in Kalashnikov’s biography was the creation of an assault rifle, which was destined to become a symbol of the Russian army.

In 1949, 1.5 thousand machine guns were manufactured at the Izhevsk Motor Plant. After successful completion military tests, they were adopted by the Soviet Army. For the creation of this weapon, Kalashnikov was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the Stalin Prize of the first degree.

Other achievements

Mikhail Timofeevich contributed to the development of machine guns, hunting carbines and pistols.

In 1959, the first RPK was adopted. Four years later - an RPKS with a folding stock and a night vision sight.

In 1970, the first industrial batch of self-loading hunting carbines based on AK was produced. In 1992, production of the Saiga, a self-loading hunting carbine, began.

Studying the short biography of Kalashnikov Mikhail Timofeevich , you should know that in the early 50s he tried to create an automatic pistol chambered for 9/18 PM. But the weapon did not become a competitor to the Stechkin pistol, and did not reach field testing.

Illness and death

Kalashnikov’s health began to deteriorate in March 2012. Against this background, the gunsmith, already in old age, ceased his activities.

Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov passed away on December 23, 2013, in Izhevsk. He was diagnosed with stomach bleeding.

The farewell ceremony for the legendary gunsmith took place on December 25-26. The funeral service was held on December 26, in Izhevsk St. Michael's Cathedral.

Mikhail Timofeevich was buried at the Pantheon of Heroes of the Federal War Memorial Cemetery.

Other biography options

• The Kalashnikov family lived in extreme poverty. There was no money to buy school supplies. Therefore, the future gunsmith solved school assignments on birch bark.
• Mikhail Kalashnikov received his doctorate without having either a complete secondary or higher education.
• He is the author of five books, laureate of the Stalingrad literary prize in 1997. Since that time, he has been a member of the Writers' Union of the Russian Federation.
• He is the holder of the title “Legend Man” and an honorary member educational institutions in the Russian Federation, USA and China. All members of his family are somehow related to small arms.

Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov- Russian designer of small arms, twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1958, 1976), Hero of Russia (2009), holder of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (1998), laureate of the Lenin Prize (1964), Stalin Prize (1949), State Prize of Russia (1998), Doctor of Technical Sciences (1971), Lieutenant General (1999), Deputy of the Supreme Council of the USSR (1950-1954); creator of the Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Mikhail Kalashnikov was born November 10, 1919, in the village of Kurya, Kurinsky district, Altai Territory. Misha was the seventeenth child in a large peasant family. In his autobiography, he wrote: “My homeland - the steppe Altai village of Kurya stretches along the Loktevka River, sixty kilometers from the Barnaul - Semipalatinsk railway line, and it is not surprising that I first saw a “live” steam locomotive only in 1936, when I turned 17 years... In 1930, his father was recognized as a kulak and the Kalashnikovs were evicted from the Altai Territory. In 1936, after graduating from the ninth grade of high school, Mikhail went to work as a student at the railway depot of the Matai station in Kazakhstan, and later worked in Alma-Ata as a technical secretary of the Turkestan-Siberian Railway department. In 1938, he was drafted into the Red Army, was sent to the Kiev Military District, graduated from the school of tank driver mechanics, and served in a tank regiment in the city of Stryi in Western Ukraine.

Not everyone is destined to sow grain or stand at the machine, because today you cannot deal with the enemy, as my legendary namesake once did, with just your fist...

Kalashnikov Mikhail Timofeevich

In his army service, Kalashnikov showed himself as an inventor. He developed an inertial counter to count the number of shots fired from a tank gun, made a special device for the TT pistol to increase the efficiency of firing from it through slits in the tank turret, and created a tank engine resource meter. With the latest invention, Junior Sergeant Kalashnikov was sent by the district commander, Army General Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, to Moscow, and from there to Leningrad Plant No. 174 named after Voroshilov to put the invention into production. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, senior sergeant Kalashnikov took part in battles as a tank commander. In October 1941, in the battles near Bryansk, he was seriously wounded and shell-shocked.

In the hospital, Mikhail Timofeevich conceived the design of a submachine gun. Having received a six-month leave for health reasons, he arrived at the Matai station and produced a test sample in the workshops of the depot. Another sample of the weapon was manufactured at the Moscow Aviation Institute, which was evacuated to Alma-Ata, in the workshops of the small arms and cannon weapons department. In June 1942, the sample was sent for review to Samarkand, where the Artillery Academy was located at that time. Tests of the weapon sample were carried out by Professor Anatoly Arkadyevich Blagonravov, who, although he did not recommend the Kalashnikov submachine gun for service, highly appreciated the talent of the inventor. A sample of the weapon was also examined by specialists from the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army, who noted its successful design, but also did not recommend it for production due to the technological complexity of its manufacture. However, it was decided to use Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov for design work, and he was sent for further service to the Central Research Site small arms(NIPSVO) Main Artillery Directorate. In 1944, Mikhail developed a sample of a self-loading carbine, which, although it did not go into production, in the future served as a prototype for the creation of an assault rifle.

During the Second World War, submachine guns - automatic weapons chambered for a pistol cartridge - became widespread in the armies of all countries of the world. Having become an effective melee weapon, submachine guns still could not compare with a carbine in terms of combat range, accuracy, or penetration power. The flaw was inherent in the very basis - the low power of the powder charge of a pistol cartridge. As a result, even after adopting submachine guns, the military leadership had to keep carbines in service. The variety of main weapons of rifle units was extremely inconvenient both in battle and in organizational plan, and in defense production.

The need to create automatic weapons chambered for a rifle cartridge was urgent, and Kalashnikov took up the task. The inventor created the first example of such a weapon chambered for the 7.62 intermediate cartridge of the 1943 model in 1946. M.T. Kalashnikov constantly worked to improve his assault rifle, trying to simplify its design and adapt it to the technological requirements of industry.

In 1947, the Kalashnikov assault rifle won competitive tests and in 1949 was adopted by the Soviet army under the name “7.62-mm Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1947 (AK).” In the same year, for the creation of the M.T. Kalashnikov received the Stalin Prize of the first degree.

Since 1949, the designer lived in Izhevsk, where the production of his machine guns was launched at the Izhmash plant. For many years, Mikhail Timofeevich worked at the Izhmash design bureau to improve his machine gun and create on its basis unified models of small automatic weapons (AKM, AKMS machine guns, RPK, PK, PKT machine guns for tanks, PKBT for armored personnel carriers). The designer managed to achieve an optimal combination of a number of qualities that ensure high efficiency and reliability of the machine gun in combat, namely: a short locking unit, a suspended bolt, preliminary release of the cartridge case after firing, eliminating failure during extraction of the spent cartridge case, low sensitivity to contamination and the possibility of trouble-free use in any climatic conditions. Kalashnikov not only created the best assault rifle in the world, but also for the first time developed and introduced into the troops a number of standardized models of automatic small arms. (M.Ya. Thessaloniki)

The principle of operation of the Kalashnikov assault rifle

The operation of the Kalashnikov assault rifle is based on the use of the energy of powder gases discharged through a hole in the barrel wall. The channel is locked by turning the shutter to the right. The machine is fed from a 30-round box magazine. The hammer-type impact mechanism is powered by a mainspring. The trigger mechanism ensures single and continuous fire. The fire selector is also a safety device that locks the trigger. There is a bayonet.

With the same dimensions, weight and the same rate of fire, the machine gun has a 2 times greater fire range compared to the PPSh.

Due to the best ballistic properties, it provides a large penetrating effect of the bullet, which expands the possibilities of combat use of the Kalashnikov assault rifle in populated areas, in wooded areas and in the fight against manpower with light protection (helmet, body armor, etc.).

Today, about 70 million assault rifles of its design are in service in 55 countries around the world.

According to rough estimates, more than 50 million Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles have already been produced outside our country.

Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov - quotes

All over the world, Russia is known by four symbols: vodka, matryoshka, caviar and Kalashnikov...

It must be said that this is more than an automatic machine. I say: these are the best machines in the world. There is no other weapon like this on the entire planet.

Only Kalashnikov works with full efficiency.

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Gunsmith's Day (To the 95th anniversary of the birth of Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov)

Lieutenant General M. T. Kalashnikov

For reference:

Kalashnikov Mikhail Timofeevich - an outstanding Soviet and Russian designer of automatic small arms, chief designer - head of the small arms bureau of Izhmash Concern OJSC, lieutenant general. The Soviet and Russian armies are armed with M.T. Kalashnikov has been a member for more than 60 years.

M.T. Kalashnikov was born on November 10, 1919 in the village of Kurya, Barnaul district, Altai province (now Kurinsky district, Altai region) into a large peasant family of Timofey Alexandrovich and Alexandra Frolovna Kalashnikov. He was the seventeenth child in a family in which out of nineteen children born, only eight survived. In 1930, Timofey Kalashnikov, declared a kulak, was expelled from the Altai Territory to Siberia, to the village of Nizhnyaya Mokhovaya (Tomsk Region). In the same year, Timofey Alexandrovich died in exile, unable to withstand the shock that happened. Mother, Alexandra Frolovna, remarried Kosach Efrem Nikitich. Despite the difficult living conditions, she and her stepfather tried to give their children an education. However, there was no school of its own in Nizhnyaya Mokhovaya, and Mikhail had to go to school in the neighboring village of Voronikha, traveling a long distance of 15 km every day.

At school, M. Kalashnikov was drawn to knowledge, and even then he tried to invent a “perpetual motion machine.” In addition to his passion for physics, geometry, various mechanisms He played in amateur performances, wrote poems and epigrams for his school friends.

After graduating from the 7th grade of high school, Mikhail returned back to Altai to earn money. He was unable to get a job in his native village and after some time returned home to Nizhnyaya Mokhovaya, where he studied for another year at school.

In 1936, having corrected the date of birth in the documents, Kalashnikov received a passport and returned to Kurya. There he got a job at a machine and tractor station and joined the Komsomol.

In 1937, Mikhail moved to Kazakhstan and became an apprentice at the railway depot of the Matai station of the Turkestan-Siberian Railway. Communication with machinists, turners and mechanics at the depot strengthened his interest in technology and aroused his desire to do something himself. After some time, he was transferred to Alma-Ata (now Almaty) as the technical secretary of the political department of the 3rd railway department of the Turkestan-Siberian Railway.

In September 1938 M.T. Kalashnikov was drafted into the Red Army. After graduating from the divisional school for junior commanders and mastering the specialty of a tank driver, he continued further service in a tank regiment stationed in the city of Stryi, Western Ukraine, Kyiv Special Military District. The commander of the company in which Kalashnikov served saw the makings of a designer in him. Mikhail Timofeevich recalled: “They carved out “windows” for us in the daily routine, gave us an additional opportunity to work magic in the workshop, so that we could translate our ideas into practical deeds.” The young tanker made a special device for the TT pistol to increase the efficiency of firing through slits in the tank turret, developed an inertial counter to record the actual number of shots from a tank gun, and created a device for measuring the service life of a tank engine.

Tankman Mikhail Kalashnikov during shooting practice. 1940

The last invention turned out to be very important, and at the end of 1940, junior sergeant Kalashnikov was called to report to the district commander, army general. After the conversation, having become familiar with the design of the device, Zhukov sent the inventor to the Kiev Tank Technical School to manufacture two prototypes of the device and conduct their comprehensive tests on combat vehicles. Upon completion of the testing of the device, the district commander awarded Kalashnikov a personalized watch and ordered his secondment to Moscow - to one of the military units, on the basis of which further comparative tests of the device were carried out.

After comparative tests, by order of the head of the Main Armored Directorate of the Red Army, Lieutenant General Ya. N. Fedorenko, in the spring of 1941, Kalashnikov was sent to Leningrad to plant No. 174 named after. K. E. Voroshilov, to finalize the design of the device and put it into mass production. A prototype of the device successfully passed laboratory tests in the factory, and on June 24, 1941, a report was sent to the Main Armored Directorate, signed by the chief designer of the plant S.A. Ginzburg, which stated: “Based on the simplicity of the design of the device proposed by Comrade Kalashnikov and based on positive laboratory test results, the plant in July. g. will work out the working drawings and produce a sample for final, comprehensive testing with the aim of introducing it into special vehicles.” However, it was not possible to conduct comprehensive tests, and the war began.

Tank commander Senior Sergeant Kalashnikov met the Great Patriotic War in August 1941 as part of the 108th tank division Bryansk Front. In September of the same year, in battles with the Nazi invaders near Bryansk, his tank company came under artillery fire. Kalashnikov's tank was hit, and he himself was seriously wounded in the shoulder and seriously concussed. For two weeks he and his comrades escaped the encirclement, after which he was sent to the front-line hospital in Trubchevsk, and then to evacuation hospital No. 1133 in Yelets. While in the hospital, Mikhail Timofeevich began working on a project for a submachine gun to equip the Red Army. By creatively using technical literature available in the hospital library, by the time of discharge he had completed working drawings of a new weapon. Having received a six-month leave for health reasons before returning to the front, Kalashnikov returned to Kurya, and then to the Matai station, in the railway workshops of which, with the permission of the head of the depot, he made a prototype of a submachine gun.

With a ready-made sample of his weapon, Kalashnikov headed to Alma-Ata, where at that time the Moscow Aviation Institute was evacuated. Sergo Ordzhonikidze. In the training workshops of the small arms and cannon weapons department of this institute, he refined the design of his submachine gun and assembled a more advanced model of it.

In June 1942, a sample of the Kalashnikov submachine gun was sent for review to the Artillery Academy named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky, which was evacuated to Samarkand. The first of the gunsmith specialists to evaluate the prototype of the new submachine gun was the head of this academy, the largest scientist in the field of ballistics and small arms, future twice Hero of Socialist Labor, Major General of Artillery A. A. Blagonravov. Despite the identified design flaws in the presented weapon, he noted the talent of the novice developer and recommended sending Senior Sergeant Kalashnikov to technical training. Later, the Kalashnikov submachine gun was examined by specialists of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army, who, having appreciated the successful design of the presented weapon, nevertheless rejected its introduction into production due to the technological complexity of manufacturing. They decided to involve the most talented young weapons designer in design work, sending him in July 1942 for further service at the Research Range of Small Arms and Mortar Weapons of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army (NIPSMVO).

Senior Sergeant M. Kalashnikov during work at the NIPSMVO test site

At NIPSMVO, in addition to refining the design of his prototype submachine gun, Mikhail Timofeevich in 1944 developed a light machine gun and a self-loading carbine, the main components of which served as the basis for the creation of a future machine gun.

In 1945, Kalashnikov took part in a competition for the development of automatic weapons chambered for the 7.62´39 intermediate cartridge of the 1943 model. The design of his assault rifle was approved by the competition commission, which decided to manufacture prototypes in 1946 and conduct subsequent comparative field tests .

Many famous gunsmith designers, including V. A. Degtyarev and G. S. Shpagin, became Kalashnikov’s rivals in field tests. The Shpagin assault rifle was the first to leave the tests, then the Degtyarev assault rifle began to malfunction. At the end of the tests, only 3 assault rifles remained, which were recommended for further development, and among them was the M. T. Kalashnikov sample.

By the end of 1946, Kalashnikov improved his assault rifle, and its prototypes (with permanent wooden and folding metal butts) were sent to the test site to continue comparative tests, which took place in May - June 1947. In addition to the Kalashnikov assault rifle, people took part in these tests assault rifles by A. A. Dementyev and A. A. Bulkin, also made in versions with wooden and metal folding stocks. Despite the fact that the winners at this stage of testing were the Bulkin and Dementiev assault rifles, Kalashnikov managed to remain among the competitors, since his assault rifle had a bolt design that ensured the reliable operation of the moving parts of the automation, practically eliminating delays in firing due to contamination of the weapon.

To complete the competitive tests, all participants had to modify their weapons in order to bring the accuracy of combat and the practical rate of fire into compliance with the standards of tactical and technical requirements, achieve a reduction in the weight and size characteristics of the assault rifles, increase the reliability of their operation and improve survivability. Kalashnikov was recommended to redesign the receiver and trigger mechanism, Dementyev - to modify the design of the bolt, increasing wear resistance, achieving reliable operation of the automation and increasing the efficiency of the muzzle brake. Bulkin was required to improve the reliability of the mobile automation system, redesign the casing while simultaneously reducing its length, and introduce changes to the design of the reflector.

To refine his assault rifle, Kalashnikov was sent to Kovrov Vladimir region. In the course of finalizing the design of the machine gun, the team of the department of the chief designer of the Kovrov plant No. 2 used all best ideas competitors, completely redesigned the bolt frame, making it a single unit together with the gas piston rod. The drawings of the receiver, gas tube with receiver guard, fore-end, butt, pistol grip and magazine were worked out in a new way.

Also in 1947, a new version of the Kalashnikov assault rifle again entered testing. And, despite the fact that when best characteristics reliability, it showed the worst results in terms of fire accuracy, the machine gun nevertheless surpassed its competitors and was recommended for adoption by the Soviet army with the subsequent refinement of its characteristics during military testing.

At the beginning of 1948, on the orders of Chief Marshal of Artillery N.N. Voronov, the young designer was sent to the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant to participate in the creation of technical documentation and organize the production of a pilot batch of machine guns for military testing. Until the end of 1948, a pilot batch of 1,500 machine guns was produced. successfully passed military tests. After final revision in January 1949, the assault rifle was adopted by the Soviet Army under the name “7.62 mm Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1947 (AK).” In February of the same year, for its development, M. T. Kalashnikov was awarded the Order of the Red Star and was awarded the Stalin Prize, 1st degree.

M.T. Kalashnikov reports to officers of the invention department of the Main Artillery Directorate of the USSR Ministry of the Armed Forces about the new layout of the machine gun. 1949

AK assault rifle, adopted for service in 1949.

M.T. Kalashnikov with his wife and children. 1959

During these years, the plant's design team, headed by Kalashnikov, created the first unified system of automatic small arms based on the AK. The following were adopted for service: a 7.62-mm modernized assault rifle (AKM), a 7.62-mm light machine gun (RPK), which replaced the Degtyarev light machine gun and the Simonov self-loading carbine in the troops. Later, their modifications were supplied to the army - AKMS and RPKS with folding stocks and night vision sights - AKMN, AKMSN and RPKSN (1963).

A modernized example of an AKM assault rifle with a wooden
and folding metal (bottom) butts

RPK light machine gun on a bipod with a disk and a box magazine (below)

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 20, 1958, for the modernization of the machine gun and the creation of a light machine gun, the head of the design bureau of the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant M.T. Kalashnikov was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.

In the early 60s. last century, the Kalashnikov design bureau created the design of a single machine gun chambered for a 7.62´54 mm rifle cartridge. The Soviet Army adopted 7.62-mm Kalashnikov machine guns - PK (1961), PKS (1961), a tank version - PKT, for installation on armored personnel carriers - PKB (1962) and their modernized versions PKTM and PKMB , as well as PKM and its easel version PKMS (1969).

PKMT tank machine gun with electric trigger

For the first time in world practice, a series of unified models of small arms were created, identical in operating principle and unified automation scheme.

The automatic small arms developed by Kalashnikov were distinguished by their high reliability, efficiency, and ease of use. For the first time in the history of the creation of small arms, he managed to achieve an optimal combination of a number of qualities that ensured highly effective use and exceptional reliability of the machine gun in combat, namely: a short locking unit, a suspended bolt, preliminary release of the cartridge case after the shot, eliminating failure when removing the spent cartridge case, low sensitivity to contamination and the possibility of trouble-free use in any climatic conditions.

Kalashnikov not only created the best assault rifle in the world, but also for the first time developed and introduced into the troops a number of standardized models of automatic small arms. In 1964, for the creation of a complex of unified machine guns PK, PKT, PKB M.T. Kalashnikov and his assistants A.D. Kryakushin and V.V. Krupin were awarded the Lenin Prize.

From August 1967 to April 1975, Kalashnikov was deputy chief designer of the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (since April 1975 - Izhmash Production Association). In 1969, on the occasion of his 50th anniversary, the designer was awarded military rank"Colonel Engineer"

At the end of the 60s. In the twentieth century, the design bureau under the leadership of M. T. Kalashnikov begins to carry out important research and experimental work to create new small-caliber automatic weapons. In accordance with the instructions of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, it was necessary to create military weapons not only of a reduced caliber (5.45 mm), but also with increased combat qualities.

According to the results of the first round of field competitive tests, of the seven presented assault rifles from different design teams, only Kalashnikov and A.S. samples were allowed to be tested in the military. Konstantinov (Kovrov).

Competitions among the troops ended with the adoption of 5.45-mm AK-74 and AKS-74 assault rifles into service in 1974 by the Soviet Army and the Warsaw Pact countries, and a little later, on their basis, it was developed and adopted for service new complex small arms: shortened assault rifle AKS-74U (1979) and its modifications with night sight AKS-74SN, AKS-74UB with a silent firing device (SBS) and a silent under-barrel grenade launcher, as well as light machine guns - RPK-74 (based on AK -47), RPKS-74 with a folding stock, RPK-74M and a modification with a night sight RPK-74N.

AK-74 assault rifle with bayonet

AKS-74 assault rifle with a folded metal butt (below)

Based on the totality of research and development work and inventions without defending a doctoral dissertation in 1971, M. T. Kalashnikov was awarded the academic degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences. In April 1975, Colonel-Engineer Kalashnikov was appointed deputy chief designer of the Izhmash production association. And on January 15, 1976, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, for outstanding services in the creation of new technology, he was awarded the Order of Lenin and the second gold medal “Hammer and Sickle”.

In May 1979, Mikhail Timofeevich became the chief designer - head of the small arms design bureau of the Izhmash research and production association (in the early 90s of the last century it was transformed into Izhmash JSC, later into Izhmash Concern OJSC , and in 2013 - to OJSC Concern Kalashnikov).

In 1980, in his native village of Kurya, a bronze bust of the twice Hero of Socialist Labor was installed to the famous gunsmith.

Bust of twice Hero of Socialist Labor M. T. Kalashnikov, installed in his homeland in the village of Kurya

In 1991, the AK-74M 5.45 mm caliber and its modifications with optical and night sights (AK-74MP, AK-74MN) entered service and into mass production. All Kalashnikov assault rifles could be equipped with bayonets, PBS and under-barrel grenade launchers.

In the early 90s. last century, based on the AK-74M, the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant began developing a new, “hundredth” series of Kalashnikov assault rifles for the most common cartridges in the world (7.62´39, 5.56´45 NATO, as well as Russian 5.45´39 mm ). This is how machine guns appeared: AK-101, AK-102 (both 5.56 mm), AK-103, AK-104 (both 7.62 mm), AK-105 (5.45 mm), as well as completely new ones - AK -107 (5.45 mm) and AK-108 (5.56 mm), developed on the basis of the AK-74M and AK-101, respectively, designed with a balanced automatic system.

To the question often asked to the designer about whether his conscience was tormenting him for creating a “killing machine,” Kalashnikov replied: “It’s not my fault that today these weapons are used in the wrong places. This is the fault of politicians, not designers. I created weapons to protect the borders of the Fatherland."

In addition to small arms for the Armed Forces, the design bureau under the leadership of Kalashnikov developed a large number of weapons for athletes and hunters, which not only met its intended purpose, but also had high technical characteristics and beauty. The Saiga self-loading hunting carbines, designed on the basis of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, have gained enormous popularity among hunting enthusiasts in our country and abroad. Among them: the smooth-bore model “Saiga”, the self-loading carbine “Saiga-410”, “Saiga-20S”. More than a dozen modifications of carbines are still produced today.

After the collapse of the USSR, the merits of the now legendary gunsmith designer were highly appreciated in Russian Federation. By decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 5, 1994, for outstanding services in the field of creating automatic small arms and significant contributions to the defense of the Fatherland, he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd degree. In the same year, he was awarded the next military rank of “Major General”.

By decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated June 6, 1998, a group of seven designers, among whom was the famous gunsmith M. T. Kalashnikov, was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art in 1997 (in the field of design - for a collection of sports and hunting equipment weapons). And on October 7, 1998, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, for his outstanding contribution to the defense of the Fatherland, he was awarded the country's highest award - the revived Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called.

In 1999, M. T. Kalashnikov was awarded the rank of “Lieutenant General”. In 2001, he joined the ranks of the United Russia party.

Kalashnikov was the only person awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation and twice the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation with a special distinction - the Gold Star medal for outstanding services in strengthening the country's defense capability on November 10, 2009 (Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1258).

Thanks to Kalashnikov, Russia has been celebrating a new professional holiday- Gunsmith's Day. This is a holiday for all workers of the military-industrial complex (DIC), creators domestic weapons, specialists involved in the history of the development of weapons and the study of the traditions of Russian weapons. Mikhail Timofeevich headed the editorial board of the monthly magazine "Kalashnikov", published since 1999 by the Federation of Practical Shooting of Russia and the Union of Russian Gunsmiths, which publishes materials about weapons, ammunition, equipment, history, hunting, shooting sports and combat experience.

The legendary designer of automatic small arms lived in Izhevsk, which became his hometown of gunsmiths, and continued his fruitful work at Kalashnikov Concern OJSC until last days own life. M. T. Kalashnikov died on December 23, 2013 after a serious, long illness. He was buried with military honors on December 27, 2013 on the Central Alley of the Pantheon of Heroes of the Federal War Memorial Cemetery in the Mytishchi district of the Moscow region.

Mikhail Timofeevich was an Honored Worker of Industry of the USSR, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of the Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Honorary Member (Academician) Russian Academy Sciences, Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences, Russian Academy of Engineering; full member - academician of the Petrovsky Academy of Arts and Arts, the International Academy of Sciences, Industry, Education and Art of the USA, the International Academy of Informatization, the Union of Designers of Russia, the Engineering Academy of the Udmurt Republic; honorary professor of Izhevsk State Technical University and a number of other major scientific institutions. He was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 3rd (1950 - 1954) and 7th - 10th (1966 - 1984) convocations.

He was also awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city of Izhevsk (1988), the Udmurt Republic (1995), the Altai Territory (1997) and the village of Kurya, Altai Territory.

Among other awards of M. T Kalashnikov, the Russian Order: “For Military Merit” (2004), Soviet: three Orders of Lenin (1958, 1969, 1976), Order of the October Revolution (1974), Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (1985), Red Banner of Labor (1957), Friendship of Peoples (1982), Honorary weapon from the President of the Russian Federation (1997), medals, as well as orders and medals of foreign countries.

Laureate of the Presidential Prize of the Russian Federation (2003), All-Russian Literary Prize "Stalingrad" (1997), All-Russian Literary Prize named after. A. V. Suvorova (2009). Member of the Russian Writers' Union.

The name of the designer is immortalized on a stele for gunsmith designers on the territory of the Degtyarev plant in the city of Kovrov. In November 2004, a museum and exhibition complex dedicated to the legendary gunsmith designer opened in Izhevsk. The event was timed to coincide with the 85th anniversary of M. T. Kalashnikov. The central place in the exhibition was occupied by a monument to the designer.

Lifetime monument to M. T. Kalashnikov in Izhevsk.
Sculptor V. Kurochkin

In Egypt, on the Sinai Peninsula, a monument to the Kalashnikov assault rifle was erected.

The Kalashnikov assault rifle is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most common weapon in the world (according to some sources, there are about 100 million assault rifles in the world). Various modifications of the Kalashnikov assault rifle are in service with the armies and special forces of 106 countries.

In April 2014, by order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Mikhail Kalashnikov Medal of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation was established. It is awarded to military personnel and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces, workers of the defense industry and research organizations for “differences in the introduction of innovations in the development, production and commissioning of modern weapons and military equipment.”

The words of M. T. Kalashnikov sound like a testament to descendants: “Sometimes I want to shout so that many, many boys in our Russia, and not only in it, can hear me: “Men!.. My dears! Good ones... Don’t think that everything in the world has already been invented, everything was not done by you. Go for it, boys!.. The old designer, the gray-haired general, calls you to this...”

Mikhail Pavlov,
Senior Researcher, Research Institute
military history of the Military Academy of the General Staff
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Candidate of Technical Sciences

The tenth of November can be considered one of the memorable dates national history. On this day in 1919, the outstanding Soviet and Russian small arms designer Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov was born in the village of Kurya, Altai province. And on September 19 last year, under the auspices of Moscow, in the park at the intersection of Sadovaya-Karetnaya and Dolgorukovskaya streets, a monument to Mikhail Kalashnikov was unveiled.

It was Kalashnikov who developed the unique, most popular, simple and reliable assault rifle in the world. Until now, no designer has done anything like this. But Mikhail Timofeevich himself always noted: “I tell all the designers in the world: “I will be the first to shake hands with the one who does better.” But for now I’m standing there with my hand outstretched.” And indeed, on this moment Most armies in the world prefer the Kalashnikov assault rifle.

The Russian Military Historical Society holds the grand opening of the monument to M. T. Kalashnikov

There are many myths regarding the famous machine gun and its legendary designer. Did Kalashnikov borrow German developments? Did German engineers help him? And what other types of weapons, less known to a wide circle of readers, were invented and introduced by the famous gunsmith?

We decided to put an end to this once and for all controversial issues, and for this, the correspondent of the “History.RF” portal met with military historian and small arms researcher Andrei Ulanov.

“We might know not the Kalashnikov assault rifle, but the Kalashnikov tanks”

- What was Mikhail Timofeevich’s youth like? Were there any interesting moments or nuances?

Here, of course, the most significant thing that can be remembered is the fact that Kalashnikov was from a family of exiles; he could not simply leave his place of residence. Of course, it is difficult to consider the fake seal of the commandant’s office an invention, but the fact that Mikhail Timofeevich showed extraordinary ingenuity in doing so is enough interesting fact his biography, about which he himself for a long time, for obvious reasons, preferred to remain silent. And it must be further clarified that the Matai station depot, where Kalashnikov began working, is not a depot in the usual sense for us as just a hangar for storing steam locomotives, but in fact a small repair shop. Of course, it was difficult to become a designer there, but it was quite possible to gain a whole range of useful skills and knowledge.

That is, it turns out that from an early age he began to get involved, due to the specifics of his stay, with various technical inventions?

It’s difficult to say whether this was due to the specifics of the stay; rather, it was just a mindset or something like that. I think that he would have become a designer in almost any conditions; another question is that his activity would not necessarily be related to weapons. Actually, if not for the war, it is quite possible that we would know not the Kalashnikov assault rifle, but Kalashnikov tanks.

- Looking ahead a little, did the fact that he comes from such a family affect his life and career? Were there any problems?

As he himself mentions, he hid this fact for a long time, but, apparently, if it became known, it did not have any impact.

- How did he come to develop weapons in principle?

It depends on what is considered a weapon. Mikhail Timofeevich made a number of, as they say, rationalization inventions during his service in the tank forces on the eve of the war. But only one thing was connected with small arms - a device for firing a TT pistol from a tank. The rest - the inertial counter of gun shots or the engine life counter - are precisely improvements related to tank materiel.

This is described in sufficient detail in his memoirs. In the USSR, so-called rationalization activities were encouraged; for example, during the war, special brochures were even published listing which topics were most desirable. According to Mikhail Timofeevich’s recollections, they had a special notice board in their unit. Well, plus the company commander advised me to get involved and, apparently, somehow supported this endeavor.

The development of the counter was already a serious job, suffice it to say that during its testing, Kalashnikov met twice with (who was then in command of the Kyiv Military District), received a watch as a reward and was sent to a tank factory to help put the counter into mass production. There he met the beginning of the war. But it just so happened that the plant went to be evacuated, and tankman Kalashnikov went to the front.

- What about the device for TT?

In general, very little is known about these inventions, and, as I already said, the main source is the memories of Kalashnikov himself, and he apparently did not consider these works important enough to describe in detail. Quite by accident, I managed to find about that very counter in one of the publications dedicated to him. But what everything else looked like is not really known.

“Even while lying in the hospital, I thought about the machine gun”

- What about the injury? And how did Kalashnikov end up in arms production?

We can say that Kalashnikov was very lucky that he did not meet the beginning of the war in his native part. The epic of Ryabyshev’s 8th Mechanized Corps, where he served, is known quite widely, and it is not a fact that the sergeant would have been able to survive these battles. Kalashnikov was able to join his colleagues on a trip to buy new T-34s. With them, he ended up in a reserve regiment and then fought as a tank commander in the 216th separate tank regiment.

The main battles of the 216th Tank Regiment were at the end of August 41st. The battles were difficult and, in general, unsuccessful for our units: the regiment was surrounded, and the remnants of the units had difficulty breaking out of it. There was an adventure story with Kalashnikov’s injury. He was wounded during the battle. He came out of the encirclement wounded, with his comrades; Apparently, at that moment it sunk into his soul that tankers needed a more compact version of a personal submachine gun than the PPD available at that time or later the PPSh. Already lying in the hospital, according to his memoirs, he was thinking about how to make a new type of weapon for the crews of armored vehicles; in conversations with his roommates, front-line soldiers, he only became stronger in this desire. Having completed his recovery, he received a six-month rehabilitation leave and went to the same locomotive depot at the Matai station to make his first submachine gun. You need to understand that there is no supernatural thing in the fact that some sergeant made weapons. Dozens of different samples from the rear and from the army arrived at the test site. Usually a barrel from a PPSh was taken, and on its basis samples were made, as they say, “on the knee”.

- Is this using the example of the Sudaev submachine gun (PPS), which is considered handicraft?

Not certainly in that way. Yes, there is a stereotype about handicraft, but the mistake is that the submachine gun is not adapted for handicraft, but for mass production. It was believed that almost every artel could make it. Indeed, one of the artels was present on the list of manufacturers, but this St. Petersburg artel had extensive experience and collaborated with factories. Thus, handicraft is, rather, a stereotype caused by the confusion in the relations of the Soviet People's Commissariats. Of course, weapons cannot be made in barns; this applies more to the British “Stan”.

Almost nothing is known about the first sample of the Kalashnikov submachine gun, and its famous photo- This is already the second sample. Walking through the authorities, Mikhail Timofeevich meets Academician Blagonravov, who is considered the father of the Soviet school of small arms. He gives Kalashnikov his recommendation. Apparently, he saw in young man genius designer and decided to help him. The second model of the Kalashnikov submachine gun was created at the facilities of the evacuated Moscow Aviation Institute. With it he ends up at the NIPSVO shooting range (Red Army Small Arms Research Range).

The submachine gun did not enter service, but we can already see the designer Kalashnikov, who was in search of his famous invention?

Kalashnikov submachine gun. 1942

Right. Despite the fact that his submachine gun was somewhat similar to the Thompson - perhaps he had seen it somewhere - he continues to work on a compact weapon for armored vehicle crews, at that moment he sees just such a model as his goal. Being a tank driver, he understood all the needs of the crew members: a compact weapon required convenient placement, good firepower and, most importantly, should not restrict movement, especially in winter, when it is already difficult to squeeze into the hatches of an armored vehicle in clothes. In general, he completed this task, but due to the complexity of production and reliability, his sample required fine-tuning.

- How then did the transition to the concept of an assault rifle occur?

It’s interesting that Kalashnikov himself has nothing to do with this. By this time, it had already been decided that the niche of a compact submachine gun was occupied by the PPS, which was already going into production. However, the military and GAU designers noted the young Kalashnikov, they liked some of his decisions and the overall originality of the design, and he went back to Central Asia continue to work on other types of weapons. He worked on a light machine gun, but the machine gun was not very successful, which, however, is typical for all models of domestic light machine guns chambered for a rifle cartridge during the Great Patriotic War, created even by eminent designers.

Is it possible to say that by this time Kalashnikov had entered the galaxy of famous small arms designers?

I think no. The light machine gun is from 1943, tested in 1944. Kalashnikov became a truly serious competitor for venerable gunsmiths a little later, during the competition for a self-loading carbine, which was won by the famous Simonov carbine. But after the machine gun, Kalashnikov was taken to NIPSVO, where he got the opportunity to get acquainted with a rich collection of small arms of all types and countries of the world, improving his skills. The ability to sort through and study design solutions used in different types weapons, became a great help for the young designer, and there was already a real struggle with Simonov’s carbine.

“The Kalashnikov sample, even in terms of the disassembly scheme and the concept of the structure, does not resemble anything else”

- How did Mikhail Timofeevich get into this competition?

Kalashnikov initially did not get involved in working on an intermediate cartridge and a machine gun for it. The undisputed favorite at that time was the same Sudaev with his AS-44, and if not for his death, perhaps we would never have heard about the Kalashnikov assault rifle. However, there was little time left until the end of the war, and the military decided that there was no need to rush into adopting a new weapon, especially since the AS was large in weight, was called a “heavy machine gun” and had a bipod. The military was no longer satisfied that 2-3 people per squad would be armed with such machine guns, like the Germans with Sturmgewehrs, and a new competition was announced. Since Sudaev died, the competition was already held without a clear favorite, and Kalashnikov was added to the number of participants. This is the same competition in 1946 where the AK-46 appeared. Kalashnikov was among the outsiders, but got the opportunity to refine his model. Mikhail Timofeevich undertook a radical reworking of his model, and the same AK-47, now known throughout the world, was born.

- A few words about the very concept of the intermediate cartridge: how did our designers come to it?

Judging by the documents at my disposal, our command regarded the appearance of the Sturmgever as closing a gap in the light machine gun in the Wehrmacht. The successful MG-42 was quite heavy, and the infantrymen were armed with submachine guns with a firing range of up to 200 meters. “Sturmgever” became an unpleasant surprise, which increased the density of fire of the rifle squad several times, and most importantly, delayed the opening range of fire. The command of the Red Army understood that these types of weapons were the future, and, despite the fact that the war ended with the current models of small arms, work on both the intermediate cartridge and weapons for it was already underway during the war. It is interesting that the Americans, on the contrary, regarded it as an “ersatz” weapon that the Germans made simply because they could not master a normal self-loading rifle and due to lack of funds.

By the way, about the Americans: there is a myth that they encountered an AK in Vietnam, which became an unpleasant surprise for them, just like the Sturmgewehr did for us in its time...

No, I do not think so. There is a certain amount of truth in this, but we are talking about guerrilla warfare, not very successful for Americans in general. When it comes to small arms, they took a fundamentally different path, “stepping over” the intermediate cartridge. One can even say that they crushed their projects for intermediate cartridges, immediately switching to a low-pulse high-speed cartridge, which the entire NATO bloc later switched to. M-16 and other Western weapons chambered for

5.56 mm still reached the level where we were forced to catch up with them with our AK-74 chambered for the same low-pulse 5.45 mm cartridge. But, despite this, our cartridge was indeed heavier and more powerful, and due to this it did not change its flight path in the jungle, hitting the branches. Of course, the role of the AK in Vietnam is somewhat exaggerated; the partisans mostly had older models of Soviet weapons, but nevertheless, I came across reviews from veterans of the war in Afghanistan and Chechnya that it was really better to work with the green paint with a 7.62 mm AK.

Well, the most important question. There is a misconception that Kalashnikov somehow borrowed some parts of the Sturmgever. This version still has followers. What can we answer them?

The photograph shows the fundamental difference in the disassembly scheme of the German Sturmgever and AK

If we talk about the Soviet weapons school, we have formed our own entirely. You can even call it the school of Alexey Sudaev and NIPSVO. This is the desire for the reliability of weapons, which, starting with the PPS and moving to the AK, is achieved by a small number of rubbing surfaces and a large supply of automatic energy that grinds small debris that gets inside the weapon. This is what Kalashnikov won against Bulkin and Dementyev, the other finalists. The military decided that it was better to fine-tune the machine gun according to other parameters, but take its highest reliability as the main one. It is interesting that the Sturmgever also has borrowed components: for example, the trigger mechanism was taken from the Czech Kholek. You see, the basic designs of small arms were invented at the beginning of the twentieth century. For example, almost all pistols were invented according to Browning's scheme, and we can assume that all pistols come from him.

American rifles and carbines M-16 and M-4 are much closer in design to the German model

- Another myth is that the German Schmeisser allegedly helped Kalashnikov in his work...

Of course not. They never crossed paths and worked in different cities. Kalashnikov made a completely original model, which, even in terms of the disassembly scheme and the concept of the weapon’s structure, is not similar to the Sturmgever. The Garand scheme used in the AK differs from the German one, and there is not an ounce of truth in the myth that one of the Germans helped him. Kalashnikov’s assistant, designer Zaitsev, and GAU officer Dementyev did a lot for the machine gun. These people need to be remembered; they really helped create the best machine gun in the world.

With your permission, I will make a small digression. The fact is that I consider Mikhail Timofeevich’s most successful invention not even a machine gun, but a machine gun, the famous PC.

Kalashnikov machine gun

This was a very big step forward, the Russian cartridge case with a rim is a big problem, it cannot be fed for stitching, but must be fed in two strokes or, as on the PC’s competitor, the Nikonov machine gun, a complex unreliable feeding system must be used. The fact that Kalashnikov made such a light, reliable and unpretentious machine gun truly became the pinnacle of his design career. But the main thing is that this is a unique machine gun (speaking of borrowings); for example, the FN MAG is much heavier and more inconvenient.

- How did the work on the new machine develop? How did it come into service and how did its evolution take place?

Initially, the AK was, of course, a little damp. Theoretically, it could have been sent to Korea, but the result would have been as disastrous as the M-16 in Vietnam. Any new weapon requires some time to be developed and mastered by industry. Moreover, fully stamped versions became relevant already with the AKM - after all, the AK often required milling and more attention during production. Then it turned out that the Americans were working on a low-impulse cartridge, which has greater flatness, higher accuracy, and lower ammunition weight. Developing his weapon, instead of the standard RPD light machine gun, Kalashnikov developed an RPK light machine gun on the basis of an assault rifle. Despite the fact that it was a smaller machine gun than the RPD, in conditions new concept nuclear war the infantry had to shoot from embrasures in the sides of the armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. The new machine gun was suitable for this, and most importantly, it provided unification of cartridges for the entire squad.

- Is this where we come to the AK-74?

It’s true that a competition began, in which Kalashnikov took part as one of the competitors, but considerations for unifying the appearance of weapons and training those called up from the reserve turned out to be decisive. The military abandoned the AK concept and adopted a new model under the symbol AK-74 chambered for a low-pulse 5.45 mm cartridge. However, we still see that many modern designs in one way or another repeat the well-known silhouette and design of the AK.

- And in conclusion, a little about the prospects of the machine gun...

In my opinion, the possibilities for improving small arms have reached their limit. Now the main improvements are sights, minor improvements and improvements to small arms. I don't think anything so revolutionary could ever be invented that would be as much of a milestone in small arms as the AK.

To my regret, I personally did not know Mikhail Timofeevich, but, looking at his life, we can see his evolution as a designer. From the first samples to the hardest competition for a machine gun, where he won the competition. He also came to the PK machine gun, which became not just the pinnacle, but perhaps the best single machine gun in the world. At the same time, he worked all his life on an automatic pistol, in a competition where Stechkin won. He took part in the beginning of work on the famous Saiga hunting carbine. And in general, we see that this man devoted his entire life to his favorite business, and most importantly, as he himself said: “I invented weapons not to kill people, but to protect my Fatherland.”