This Day in History: Mikhail Kalashnikov Dies

By Logan Metesh

RUSSIA – -(AmmoLand.com)- On December 23, 2013, Lieutenant-General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov passed away at the ripe old age of 94. With very little argument, Mikhail Kalashnikov was the most influential arms designer of the 20th century.

There are some words that transcend nations and language boundaries. Some of the big ones would be Coca-Cola and iPhone … and AK47. Kalashnikov’s rifles are known the world over merely by their silhouette – even to those who aren’t arms enthusiasts. In 2004, a study published by Oxford University estimated that one out of every five (or 20%) of the firearms in the world (In. The. World!) belong to the AK family.

In 1919, Mikhail became the seventeenth of nineteen children born to a Russian peasant couple. His father only had two years of formal schooling, but he could read and write; his mother spent her entire life as illiterate. Life was very tough for the Kalashnikovs; eleven of their children died before reaching adulthood, and Mikhail was almost one of those casualties when he became very sick in 1925 when he was six. In 1930, the family’s land was confiscated and they were deported to Siberia.

In short, success – and even …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand