# RIP Mikhail Kalashnikov **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 23, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021 "2013-12-23T16:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/1 "2013-12-23T16:23:50Z")
Weapon designer Mikhail Kalashnikov has died. He was 94. [Story](http://rt.com/news/kalashnikov-dies-inventor-ak-47-887/). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/2 "2013-12-23T17:12:42Z")
When he had an idea, he had an **idea**. Father of an icon. It even appears on flags. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/3 "2013-12-23T17:19:25Z")
Well, damn - there goes an era of weapon design. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/4 "2013-12-23T17:35:52Z")
I think we should celebrate his life and achievements by gathering in public places and firing _something_ overhead…I’m just not sure what. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/5 "2013-12-23T17:42:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > When he had an idea, he had an **idea**. Father of an icon. It even appears on flags. His idea hardly appeared out of a vacuum. He borrowed parts from previous designs to come up with his. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/6 "2013-12-23T17:44:21Z")
That page won’t load. The webmaster should be shot. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/7 "2013-12-23T18:23:26Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > His idea hardly appeared out of a vacuum. He borrowed parts from previous designs to come up with his. You could say that about any inventor. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/8 "2013-12-23T18:40:30Z")
He’ll get a 21,000-gun salute. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/9 "2013-12-23T18:44:57Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You could say that about any inventor. Sorry if I was being too subtle. If he was an American he would’ve gotten his ass sued off for patent infringement. But he did cobble other peoples ideas very well into good and enduring product. Others were trying to do what he did at the same time and couldn’t pull it off. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/10 "2013-12-23T19:26:36Z")
Didn’t he once say he wished he’d invented a lawnmower instead? I’ve actually read this book but can’t recall many details about it: > **[AK47: The Story of the People's Gun eBook : Hodges, Michael: Amazon.co.uk: Books](https://www.amazon.co.uk/AK47-Story-Peoples-Gun-ebook/dp/B004GKMUGC)** > > AK47: The Story of the People's Gun eBook : Hodges, Michael: Amazon.co.uk: Books First General Giap, now Mikhail Kalashnikov, what famous commie is next?!? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/11 "2013-12-23T19:29:09Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Didn’t he once say he wished he’d invented a lawnmower instead? > > I’ve actually read this book but can’t recall many details about it: > > [AK47: The Story of the People's Gun eBook : Hodges, Michael: Amazon.co.uk: Books](http://www.amazon.co.uk/AK47-Story-Peoples-Michael-Hodges-ebook/dp/B004GKMUGC/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387826663&sr=1-7&keywords=ak-47) > > First General Giap, now Mikhail Kalashnikov, what famous commie is next?!? :eek: I’d say Fidel if he weren’t already dead and stuffed. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/12 "2013-12-23T23:40:31Z")
I was saddened when I read the news this morning, and I’m really impressed the first response in this thread wasn’t “Good riddance” or something awful like that. I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Mr Kalashnikov’s designs and I completely understand where he’s coming from when he says he designed the AK-47 to defend his country and is deeply unhappy it’s become a byword for third-world civil wars and insurrections, but ultimately it’s out of his hands and nothing to do with him. I think it says a lot that pretty much every single centrefire rifle made in Russia since the late 1960s has been a variant of the AK-47 in some way - the design really is a masterpiece of engineering and Mr Kalashnikov absolutely deserves to be regarded in the same category as Samuel Colt and John Browning for his contributions to arms design. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/13 "2013-12-24T00:02:26Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I was saddened when I read the news this morning, and I’m really impressed the first response in this thread wasn’t “Good riddance” or something awful like that. > > I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Mr Kalashnikov’s designs and I completely understand where he’s coming from when he says he designed the AK-47 to defend his country and is deeply unhappy it’s become a byword for third-world civil wars and insurrections, but ultimately it’s out of his hands and nothing to do with him. > > I think it says a lot that pretty much every single centrefire rifle made in Russia since the late 1960s has been a variant of the AK-47 in some way - the design really is a masterpiece of engineering and Mr Kalashnikov absolutely deserves to be regarded in the same category as Samuel Colt and John Browning for his contributions to arms design. Exactly, the guy was a genius and a patriot. How his weapons were used is not on him, he built the right weapon for the right time and his legacy will and should endure. He made many other things, improvements to tanks and even, yes, a lawnmower. Mikhail travel well and rest in peace **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/14 "2013-12-24T00:05:37Z")
So, what made the basic design so great? I know that it’s easy to make and maintain and that it’s both durable and reliable but what in the design makes it so\*? \*In a way that’s more detailed than “it’s simple”. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/15 "2013-12-24T00:14:50Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I think we should celebrate his life and achievements by gathering in public places and firing _something_ overhead…I’m just not sure what. I’d rather celebrate by listening to [this.](http://http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KtX-V4OE50Y&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKtX-V4OE50Y) ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/16 "2013-12-24T00:16:02Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > So, what made the basic design so great? I know that it’s easy to make and maintain and that it’s both durable and reliable but what in the design makes it so\*? > \*In a way that’s more detailed than “it’s simple”. The AK-47 and its derivatives all have very loose fitting parts and wide tolerances in their manufacture. Cram it full of mud, it will fire. Let the bolt rust shut, kick it open and it will fire. It really does not need to be maintained or oiled, it just fires. A person who cannot read or without much education can break one down and reassemble it, this can and is taught to children. It is cheap and easy to manufacture with very few moving parts. **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/17 "2013-12-24T00:21:53Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > So, what made the basic design so great? I know that it’s easy to make and maintain and that it’s both durable and reliable but what in the design makes it so\*? > \*In a way that’s more detailed than “it’s simple”. There’s a minimum of moving parts, for a start. The AK-47 isn’t precision made so it has quite a bit of in-built tolerance for dirt, sand, dodgy ammo, and so forth. The trade-off is accuracy but it was never designed to be a marksman’s gun anyway. For example, the chamber is a _little_ bigger than it needs to be, so if a bit of sand or whatever gets in there when a cartridge is loading, it’s not a huge problem. It also means you can use whatever brand of ammo is handy and know the gun will still fire. The barrel is chrome lined, which means it won’t corrode even if it’s never cleaned. The stock is made of wood, which is one of mankind’s building materials of choice for a reason. The AK-47’s generally solid construction means it’s not as worried by extremes of heat or cold, and in the event you do need to take it apart (for thorough cleaning or replacing broken/worn parts), it is simple to so and simple to reassemble. What that means is that the AK-47 is a gun that won’t cop out when there’s adverse conditions all about. The way the gun is designed, it’s very obvious what you need to do to make it work. There’s an obvious cocking handle sticking out of the right hand side of the breech. The safety catch/fire selector is huge. The magazine release is activated pretty much by simply grabbing the magazine. You can give pretty much anyone an AK-47 and between none and a minute’s worth of explanation on how it works and they’re good to go - and use it effectively. ETA - In other words, expanding on what **Capt Kirk** said between me clicking “reply” and before I hit the “submit post” button. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/18 "2013-12-27T15:53:00Z")
I wonder how many 7.62mm-firing AK-47s and AKMs are still in use. The 5.45mm AK-74 and its descendants have been in use for around 30 years. But I bet there are groups out there still using the rifles sent out as “aid” in the 50’s and 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/19 "2013-12-27T16:06:55Z")
I loved him in [White Knights](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090319/). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021/20 "2013-12-27T16:34:07Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I was saddened when I read the news this morning, and I’m really impressed the first response in this thread wasn’t “Good riddance” or something awful like that. Would I do something like that? 😛 **H-T** - Given the millions (no hyperbole) that the Russians and others shipped around the world, I’d say probably \*still \*millions. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-mikhail-kalashnikov/677021.md?page=2)