Mikhail Kalashnikov

Mikhail Kalashnikov
Mikhail Kalashnikov
Михаил Калашников
Deputy of the Supreme Soviet
	In office; 1950–1958
	In office; 1966–1989
Personal details
Born	10 November 1919; Kurya, Altai Governorate, Russian SFSR
Died	23 December 2013 (aged 94); Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia
Political party	United Russia; CPRF (until 2001); CPSU (until 1991)
Spouse	Ekaterina Moiseyeva (m. 1940; died 1977)
Children	4, including Victor
Occupation	Small arms designer
Known for	Designer of the AK-47, AKM, AK-74, RPK, and PK
Awards	USSR State Prize (1959); Hero of Socialist Labour (1964); Stalin Prize (1978); Lenin Prize (2); Hero of the Russian Federation; Order of St. Andrew; Order For Merit to the Fatherland II cl.;
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Branch/service	Red Army
Years of service	1938 – 1941
Rank	Lieutenant general
Battles/wars	World War II Eastern Front Battle of Brody; Battle of Bryansk; ; ;

Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov^[a]^[b] (10 November 1919 – 23 December 2013) was a Soviet and Russian lieutenant general, inventor, military engineer, writer, and small arms designer. He is most famous for developing the AK-47 assault rifle and its improvements, the AKM and AK-74, as well as the RPK light machine gun and PK machine gun.^[1]

Kalashnikov was, according to himself, a self-taught tinkerer who combined innate mechanical skills with the study of weaponry to design arms that achieved battlefield ubiquity.^[6] Even though Kalashnikov felt sorrow at the weapons' uncontrolled distribution, he took pride in his inventions and in their reputation for reliability, emphasizing that his rifle is "a weapon of defense" and "not a weapon for offense".^[6]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cite error: The named reference bse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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^ Cite error: The named reference r3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
^ ^a ^b Chivers, C. J. (23 December 2013). "Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of AK-47, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 December 2013.

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[5] Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.

[6] Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.

[NYT-8] Chivers, C. J. (23 December 2013). "Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of AK-47, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 December 2013.

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Mikhail Kalashnikov
Михаил Калашников


Deputy of the Supreme Soviet
In office 1950–1958
In office 1966–1989

Personal details
Born	(1919-11-10)10 November 1919 Kurya, Altai Governorate [ru], Russian SFSR
Died	23 December 2013(2013-12-23) (aged 94) Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia
Political party	United Russia CPRF (until 2001) CPSU (until 1991)
Spouse	Ekaterina Moiseyeva (m. 1940; died 1977)
Children	4, including Victor
Occupation	Small arms designer
Known for	Designer of the AK-47, AKM, AK-74, RPK, and PK
Awards	USSR State Prize (1959)^[1] Hero of Socialist Labour (1964)^[1] Stalin Prize (1978)^[2]^[3] Lenin Prize (2)^[1] Hero of the Russian Federation Order of St. Andrew Order For Merit to the Fatherland II cl.
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Branch/service	Red Army
Years of service	1938 – 1941
Rank	Lieutenant general
Battles/wars	World War II Eastern Front Battle of Brody Battle of Bryansk