"I invented it for the protection of the Motherland."
December 23, 2013 8:26 AM Subscribe
Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle, has died after a lengthy illness. He was 94 years old.
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posted by mikelieman at 8:29 AM on December 23, 2013
posted by mikelieman at 8:29 AM on December 23, 2013
What man doesn't remember the first Kalashnikov he fired as a boy!
posted by spitbull at 8:36 AM on December 23, 2013 [15 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 8:36 AM on December 23, 2013 [15 favorites]
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posted by laconic skeuomorph at 8:38 AM on December 23, 2013
posted by laconic skeuomorph at 8:38 AM on December 23, 2013
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posted by arcticseal at 8:39 AM on December 23, 2013
posted by arcticseal at 8:39 AM on December 23, 2013
"I wish I'd made a lawn mower."
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:45 AM on December 23, 2013 [30 favorites]
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:45 AM on December 23, 2013 [30 favorites]
Well, he changed the world, that's for sure...
posted by Artw at 8:45 AM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 8:45 AM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
What man doesn't remember the first Kalashnikov he fired as a boy!
Or at a boy, for that matter...
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:07 AM on December 23, 2013 [7 favorites]
Or at a boy, for that matter...
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:07 AM on December 23, 2013 [7 favorites]
Oh sure they'll bury him now, and when they dug him up years from now he'll be perfectly functional.
posted by Mercaptan at 9:10 AM on December 23, 2013 [83 favorites]
posted by Mercaptan at 9:10 AM on December 23, 2013 [83 favorites]
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An industrial design so iconic it has been incorporated onto flags for nation states as well as for a non-state organization, and also several former and current coats of arms.
It's one thing to know what terrible purposes your creation is being used for and having to live with that fact and hope that the causes behind those uses are just, but to see your creation also become symbolic of a certain kind of power, and to know that it has been glorified in song, movies, and video games on a regular basis... I can't even begin to imagine what that must be like.
posted by radwolf76 at 9:13 AM on December 23, 2013 [4 favorites]
An industrial design so iconic it has been incorporated onto flags for nation states as well as for a non-state organization, and also several former and current coats of arms.
It's one thing to know what terrible purposes your creation is being used for and having to live with that fact and hope that the causes behind those uses are just, but to see your creation also become symbolic of a certain kind of power, and to know that it has been glorified in song, movies, and video games on a regular basis... I can't even begin to imagine what that must be like.
posted by radwolf76 at 9:13 AM on December 23, 2013 [4 favorites]
Here's a . for all the men, women, and children his invention has killed or maimed.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 9:14 AM on December 23, 2013 [15 favorites]
posted by Salvor Hardin at 9:14 AM on December 23, 2013 [15 favorites]
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posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:20 AM on December 23, 2013
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:20 AM on December 23, 2013
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posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:23 AM on December 23, 2013
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:23 AM on December 23, 2013
I remember seeing an interview with him a few years ago in which he was asked how he felt about the influence his rifle had on the rest of the world, and he seemed to struggle with an answer; on the one hand, he made it because of what he saw in their horrific fights with the Germans in WW2, so in that sense, he was very proud that his invention had done what it could to protect his people.
On the other hand, the fact that it became the defacto weapon of choice for a lot of people who used it for nothing less than evil was tough for him.
Still, for better or worse, the man made something that will outlive him by centuries, and not many can say that.
posted by quin at 9:26 AM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
On the other hand, the fact that it became the defacto weapon of choice for a lot of people who used it for nothing less than evil was tough for him.
Still, for better or worse, the man made something that will outlive him by centuries, and not many can say that.
posted by quin at 9:26 AM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
I wonder if he left any money to establish a yearly Kalashnikov Prize. Maybe in a century everyone will have forgotten what he did to make that money.
posted by Woodroar at 9:28 AM on December 23, 2013 [8 favorites]
posted by Woodroar at 9:28 AM on December 23, 2013 [8 favorites]
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posted by tychotesla at 9:30 AM on December 23, 2013
posted by tychotesla at 9:30 AM on December 23, 2013
I wonder if he left any money to establish a yearly Kalashnikov Prize. Maybe in a century everyone will have forgotten what he did to make that money.
I don't think he ever made much from it, Communism and all that.
posted by atrazine at 9:34 AM on December 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
I don't think he ever made much from it, Communism and all that.
posted by atrazine at 9:34 AM on December 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
Woodroar: "I wonder if he left any money to establish a yearly Kalashnikov Prize."
The only winning move is not to play?
posted by Big_B at 9:36 AM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
The only winning move is not to play?
posted by Big_B at 9:36 AM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
I remember seeing an amazing documentary about Kalashnikov and his gone... it was a mixture of raw reportage footage of various armed forces, freedom fighters, guerrillas, terrorists etc using his gun (or just wandering around with it) with minimal commentary/context and a day in the like of Kalashnikov himself as he went out hunting bear.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:38 AM on December 23, 2013
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:38 AM on December 23, 2013
Communism and all that.
At the time of the interview I saw, (and this was after he won every award the Soviets had to offer) he was living in a very small apartment with no real individual wealth apparent. As far as I know, he didn't make a dime off the invention, but he did travel quite a bit as a Motherland celebrity.
posted by quin at 9:41 AM on December 23, 2013
At the time of the interview I saw, (and this was after he won every award the Soviets had to offer) he was living in a very small apartment with no real individual wealth apparent. As far as I know, he didn't make a dime off the invention, but he did travel quite a bit as a Motherland celebrity.
posted by quin at 9:41 AM on December 23, 2013
Mod note: Comment removed. As per usual, don't make someone's obit thread into your own soapbox on related topics.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:52 AM on December 23, 2013
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:52 AM on December 23, 2013
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posted by oceanjesse at 9:53 AM on December 23, 2013
posted by oceanjesse at 9:53 AM on December 23, 2013
But for a simple twist of fate, all those flags and insignia might have a Sturmgewehr 44 emblazoned on them instead.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:00 AM on December 23, 2013 [9 favorites]
posted by KokuRyu at 10:00 AM on December 23, 2013 [9 favorites]
easy to service, durable, easy to copy.
After the undertaker shovels the last bit of dirt onto Kalashnikov's grave, he could take that shovel to a machine shop and do this to it.
(link contains much prejudiced language.)
posted by radwolf76 at 10:00 AM on December 23, 2013 [5 favorites]
After the undertaker shovels the last bit of dirt onto Kalashnikov's grave, he could take that shovel to a machine shop and do this to it.
(link contains much prejudiced language.)
posted by radwolf76 at 10:00 AM on December 23, 2013 [5 favorites]
I wonder if he left any money to establish a yearly Kalashnikov Prize. Maybe in a century everyone will have forgotten what he did to make that money.--Woodroar
I don't think he ever made much from it, Communism and all that.-- atrazine
I think Woodroar is referring to the inventor of dynamite. You know him for his yearly prize.
posted by eye of newt at 10:11 AM on December 23, 2013 [4 favorites]
I don't think he ever made much from it, Communism and all that.-- atrazine
I think Woodroar is referring to the inventor of dynamite. You know him for his yearly prize.
posted by eye of newt at 10:11 AM on December 23, 2013 [4 favorites]
Maybe in a century everyone will have forgotten what he did to make that money.
Maybe the younger members of this thread are unaware of the role the Kalashnikov rifle played in postwar denationalisation and independence movements.
There is a reason why the Kalashnikov rifle is on Mozambique's national flag.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:15 AM on December 23, 2013 [10 favorites]
Maybe the younger members of this thread are unaware of the role the Kalashnikov rifle played in postwar denationalisation and independence movements.
There is a reason why the Kalashnikov rifle is on Mozambique's national flag.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:15 AM on December 23, 2013 [10 favorites]
Here's a . for all the men, women, and children his invention has killed or maimed.
...but without wanting to take anything away from that, or to pretend that most of the resulting governments weren't pretty awful, here's also an anti-. for the colonial empires his invention helped topple.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:17 AM on December 23, 2013 [7 favorites]
...but without wanting to take anything away from that, or to pretend that most of the resulting governments weren't pretty awful, here's also an anti-. for the colonial empires his invention helped topple.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:17 AM on December 23, 2013 [7 favorites]
Interestingly, his wife helped him design the AK:
"Mikhail Kalashnikov married Ekaterina Viktorovna Moiseyeva (1921–1977). She was an engineer and did much technical drawing work for her husband."
I'm sure I saw a TV clip with her talking about her work on the AK but it was a while ago and I can't remember if it was actual tv or online.
posted by marienbad at 10:17 AM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
"Mikhail Kalashnikov married Ekaterina Viktorovna Moiseyeva (1921–1977). She was an engineer and did much technical drawing work for her husband."
I'm sure I saw a TV clip with her talking about her work on the AK but it was a while ago and I can't remember if it was actual tv or online.
posted by marienbad at 10:17 AM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
As far as I know, he didn't make a dime off the invention, but he did travel quite a bit as a Motherland celebrity.
Yeah people in the USSR, especially in 1948, did not invent things to sell them for a profit. The Soviet system of rewarding people for their work is quite different from America's, so it's not really fair to impose the, ah, capitalist mindset on a Soviet engineer.
I suspect Kalashnikov lived decently for someone of his acclaim. As in, he had access to quality goods, a government pension, relative freedom to travel, some freedom from government persecution (never guaranteed, of course) and maybe a dacha in a nice area.
posted by griphus at 10:18 AM on December 23, 2013 [4 favorites]
Yeah people in the USSR, especially in 1948, did not invent things to sell them for a profit. The Soviet system of rewarding people for their work is quite different from America's, so it's not really fair to impose the, ah, capitalist mindset on a Soviet engineer.
I suspect Kalashnikov lived decently for someone of his acclaim. As in, he had access to quality goods, a government pension, relative freedom to travel, some freedom from government persecution (never guaranteed, of course) and maybe a dacha in a nice area.
posted by griphus at 10:18 AM on December 23, 2013 [4 favorites]
Something an old Soviet born friend of mine once said (there are many variants of this).
"God made men and women, Colt made them equal, and Kalashnikov made equal all the nations of the world."
posted by Winnemac at 10:22 AM on December 23, 2013 [7 favorites]
"God made men and women, Colt made them equal, and Kalashnikov made equal all the nations of the world."
posted by Winnemac at 10:22 AM on December 23, 2013 [7 favorites]
Also, I suspect most of the impetus for his inventions was the realization that oh shit we're fighting tomorrow's war with yesterday's weapons and everyone is getting fucking slaughtered on the front. A not-insignifcant part of the fact that I'm alive is due to men like him.
posted by griphus at 10:23 AM on December 23, 2013 [8 favorites]
posted by griphus at 10:23 AM on December 23, 2013 [8 favorites]
He invented the iPod of mass murder. But he's not really to blame. He just happened to be good at his job. We would be griping about someone else if he hadn't been.
So .
And let's not waste so much talent designing weapons this century...
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 10:24 AM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
So .
And let's not waste so much talent designing weapons this century...
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 10:24 AM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
it became the defacto weapon of choice for a lot of people who used it for nothing less than evil
It has also been the weapon of choice and necessity for those brave enough to actually make it happen in national liberation movements, which involves no evil at all.
posted by colie at 10:27 AM on December 23, 2013 [10 favorites]
It has also been the weapon of choice and necessity for those brave enough to actually make it happen in national liberation movements, which involves no evil at all.
posted by colie at 10:27 AM on December 23, 2013 [10 favorites]
And let's not waste so much talent designing weapons this century...,
The weapons of this century are well underway - welcome to the panopticon of surveillance where you can shoot yourself in the foot with your very own facebook entries and tweets.
posted by rough ashlar at 10:33 AM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
The weapons of this century are well underway - welcome to the panopticon of surveillance where you can shoot yourself in the foot with your very own facebook entries and tweets.
posted by rough ashlar at 10:33 AM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
He invented the iPod of mass murder.
An argument can be made that the AK-47 is the polar opposite of the iPod: it is inexpensive to either purchase or manufacture, sturdy through years of abuse, relatively simple to repair and modify, the design is open and practically unchanged since its inception, and the only time you'd wait for one in a long line in the pouring rain is if your life literally depended on it.
posted by griphus at 10:39 AM on December 23, 2013 [34 favorites]
An argument can be made that the AK-47 is the polar opposite of the iPod: it is inexpensive to either purchase or manufacture, sturdy through years of abuse, relatively simple to repair and modify, the design is open and practically unchanged since its inception, and the only time you'd wait for one in a long line in the pouring rain is if your life literally depended on it.
posted by griphus at 10:39 AM on December 23, 2013 [34 favorites]
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I've seen videos around (can't link them now, no Youtube access at work) of his meeting with Eugene Stoner (designer of the AR15/M16, which with minor improvements is still the active US service rifle).
posted by mrbill at 10:39 AM on December 23, 2013
I've seen videos around (can't link them now, no Youtube access at work) of his meeting with Eugene Stoner (designer of the AR15/M16, which with minor improvements is still the active US service rifle).
posted by mrbill at 10:39 AM on December 23, 2013
He lived 20 years longer than Eugene Stoner. Of course.
posted by MeanwhileBackAtTheRanch at 10:44 AM on December 23, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by MeanwhileBackAtTheRanch at 10:44 AM on December 23, 2013 [4 favorites]
Fun fact: Hunter S. Thompson once described the Stoner rifle system as "fantastically efficient." If memory serves me correctly, it was in an essay lampooning the clamor of police forces for greater and greater firepower.
posted by Gelatin at 10:56 AM on December 23, 2013
posted by Gelatin at 10:56 AM on December 23, 2013
If an enemy had recently invaded my country and killed 20+ million people, I think I'd want to invent a better gun too.
posted by freakazoid at 11:08 AM on December 23, 2013 [16 favorites]
posted by freakazoid at 11:08 AM on December 23, 2013 [16 favorites]
Russian farmboy, aspiring poet, and tractor mechanic is pressed into service at 19 years of age. At age 22, he is wounded defending his homeland against a Nazi invasion. Sees his brothers in arms massacred by invading forces' superior weaponry.
While hospitalized, this young man sets out to find a way to improve Russian firearms so that his countrymen can stand even half a chance of holding back the invading forces. Devotes the next six years of his life to this goal, resulting in several iterations of improved firearms and culminating in his invention of the AK-47 in 1947 at just 28 years old (The more cynical may point out that the war was over at this point, but the decaying relations between the allied forces in occupied Germany and Korea certainly suggested otherwise).
This man made no personal profit from these inventions and advances that he engineered, in the service of his country during a defensive war. His only crime is that he engineered too well, such that the usefulness of his invention outlived the task he designed it for.
He invented the iPod of mass murder.
No. May he rest in peace.
posted by 256 at 11:16 AM on December 23, 2013 [27 favorites]
While hospitalized, this young man sets out to find a way to improve Russian firearms so that his countrymen can stand even half a chance of holding back the invading forces. Devotes the next six years of his life to this goal, resulting in several iterations of improved firearms and culminating in his invention of the AK-47 in 1947 at just 28 years old (The more cynical may point out that the war was over at this point, but the decaying relations between the allied forces in occupied Germany and Korea certainly suggested otherwise).
This man made no personal profit from these inventions and advances that he engineered, in the service of his country during a defensive war. His only crime is that he engineered too well, such that the usefulness of his invention outlived the task he designed it for.
He invented the iPod of mass murder.
No. May he rest in peace.
posted by 256 at 11:16 AM on December 23, 2013 [27 favorites]
I've never shot a real ak47 but I have shot dozens of virtual ones. Thanks Mikhail!
posted by Our Ship Of The Imagination! at 11:20 AM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Our Ship Of The Imagination! at 11:20 AM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
He invented the iPod of mass murder.
Except that iPods are inventions that enrich people's lives with music and culture, sure.
This man made no personal profit from these inventions and advances that he engineered
Nah, he lived a pretty sweet, pampered life during his weapons-making career with the Soviet Union.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:32 AM on December 23, 2013
Except that iPods are inventions that enrich people's lives with music and culture, sure.
This man made no personal profit from these inventions and advances that he engineered
Nah, he lived a pretty sweet, pampered life during his weapons-making career with the Soviet Union.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:32 AM on December 23, 2013
Mefi is usually kind of short on gun facts, so I'll offer a few.
The AK isn't the iPod of firearms. It's more like the Volkswagen Beetle. It's absurdly simple and easy to make and repair, even with the most primitive of machine shops. In the public eye, its western counterpart is usually said to be the equally iconic M-16, but the American rifle is a high-precision creature that was plagued with all sorts of quality and reliability problems early on that sometimes cost American lives. It was also much, much more expensive to make. As a consequence, the rifle American servicemen carry today is significantly different from the one they had 50 years ago. I believe the AK, though, is pretty much the same.
They are almost absurdly reliable. It's not as accurate (usually) as an M-16, but if I were going to have one rifle in a scary place (or, if you prefer, in a zombie apocalypse), I'd take the AK in a heartbeat. *Especially* if I was in Eurasia where rounds for it would be plentiful.
As a machine, the Kalashnikov is almost without peer. It's iconic for a reason. The man did fantastic work while constrained by both war and the inefficiencies of the Soviet system. May he rest in peace.
If you enjoy shooting, or are just curious, it's usually pretty easy to find a range that keeps examples of both platforms (modern M4 and AK) around. They're both fun, though the AK has quit a bit more recoil than the M4 (bigger bullet, more powder). You'll also get a very clear feeling for the fundamental differences in approach -- the M4 is still a very precise, very well-made object. The AK looks like something stamped out of a single piece of sheet metal, and that's not far from the truth. It's hard to appreciate this unless you've actually held one, though.
posted by uberchet at 11:48 AM on December 23, 2013 [21 favorites]
The AK isn't the iPod of firearms. It's more like the Volkswagen Beetle. It's absurdly simple and easy to make and repair, even with the most primitive of machine shops. In the public eye, its western counterpart is usually said to be the equally iconic M-16, but the American rifle is a high-precision creature that was plagued with all sorts of quality and reliability problems early on that sometimes cost American lives. It was also much, much more expensive to make. As a consequence, the rifle American servicemen carry today is significantly different from the one they had 50 years ago. I believe the AK, though, is pretty much the same.
They are almost absurdly reliable. It's not as accurate (usually) as an M-16, but if I were going to have one rifle in a scary place (or, if you prefer, in a zombie apocalypse), I'd take the AK in a heartbeat. *Especially* if I was in Eurasia where rounds for it would be plentiful.
As a machine, the Kalashnikov is almost without peer. It's iconic for a reason. The man did fantastic work while constrained by both war and the inefficiencies of the Soviet system. May he rest in peace.
If you enjoy shooting, or are just curious, it's usually pretty easy to find a range that keeps examples of both platforms (modern M4 and AK) around. They're both fun, though the AK has quit a bit more recoil than the M4 (bigger bullet, more powder). You'll also get a very clear feeling for the fundamental differences in approach -- the M4 is still a very precise, very well-made object. The AK looks like something stamped out of a single piece of sheet metal, and that's not far from the truth. It's hard to appreciate this unless you've actually held one, though.
posted by uberchet at 11:48 AM on December 23, 2013 [21 favorites]
i know nothing about ballet but i know he did big things there too.
posted by Colonel Panic at 11:53 AM on December 23, 2013
posted by Colonel Panic at 11:53 AM on December 23, 2013
relatively simple to modify
Though, of course, there is no reason to modify an AK-47. RIFLE IS FINE.
posted by joechip at 11:56 AM on December 23, 2013 [16 favorites]
Though, of course, there is no reason to modify an AK-47. RIFLE IS FINE.
posted by joechip at 11:56 AM on December 23, 2013 [16 favorites]
I can say that I honestly never wish to hear or experience one in certain situations.
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posted by buzzman at 12:08 PM on December 23, 2013
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posted by buzzman at 12:08 PM on December 23, 2013
The AK-47 was and is very important.
* It is easy to manufacture. The parts are loose and ill-fitting, so you don't need high precision. Great for non-Great Powers to manufacture and export.
* It is easy to maintain. The loose-fitting parts mean that grit and dirt don't stop it working. Ideal for your peasant army.
* It is easy to use. You don't need lots of training and skill to use it. Ideal for your revolutionaries.
* It's automatic. You don't need to be highly-trained to spurt a whole bunch of bullets at your opponent. Great for close-combat urban combat and ambushes.
* It's easy to make ammunition. Dirty, low-grade rounds won't jam and break it.
* It's a machine gun, but the ammunition is light-weight and easy to transport without, say, a mule, and it was cheap to make.
* It's easy to make variants. A folding-stock version could be hidden under a coat.
* It was the product of a planned economy, so it could be manufactured in vast numbers and fed into the wars against the West.
* It is reliable. You could find Kalashnikovs in 2009 in Afghanistan that were manufactured in 1953.
Why does this matter? Well, I'm British. After the Indians threw us out, we turned to Africa: our settlers in the Kenyan highlands and Zimbabwe and of course the South African state would allow us access to land and raw materials and keep the Empire and Britain going with a place in the world.
The AK-47 took that away from us. It denied the US victory in Vietnam. It was hugely important in taking the world away from the European and American colonisers: sure, we couldn't hold China or India, but with the AK-47 we couldn't even hold Rhodesia or Vietnam. Without it, the mantle might simply have passed from France and Britain to the USA: with it, we now have a world, for all its ills, where the people who run countries usually come from the country.
I do recommend THE GUN, by CJ Chivers, from which most of the above comes: he also notes that the creation of the AK-47 was not an individual project, but was very much a collaborative effort.
Finally, I fired an AK-47 at a firing range in Las Vegas: we Brits don't get to fire assault rifles. It felt like the least-accurate rifle I'd ever fired, but I also felt I'd flung a serious amount of lead down the range.
posted by alasdair at 12:09 PM on December 23, 2013 [28 favorites]
* It is easy to manufacture. The parts are loose and ill-fitting, so you don't need high precision. Great for non-Great Powers to manufacture and export.
* It is easy to maintain. The loose-fitting parts mean that grit and dirt don't stop it working. Ideal for your peasant army.
* It is easy to use. You don't need lots of training and skill to use it. Ideal for your revolutionaries.
* It's automatic. You don't need to be highly-trained to spurt a whole bunch of bullets at your opponent. Great for close-combat urban combat and ambushes.
* It's easy to make ammunition. Dirty, low-grade rounds won't jam and break it.
* It's a machine gun, but the ammunition is light-weight and easy to transport without, say, a mule, and it was cheap to make.
* It's easy to make variants. A folding-stock version could be hidden under a coat.
* It was the product of a planned economy, so it could be manufactured in vast numbers and fed into the wars against the West.
* It is reliable. You could find Kalashnikovs in 2009 in Afghanistan that were manufactured in 1953.
Why does this matter? Well, I'm British. After the Indians threw us out, we turned to Africa: our settlers in the Kenyan highlands and Zimbabwe and of course the South African state would allow us access to land and raw materials and keep the Empire and Britain going with a place in the world.
The AK-47 took that away from us. It denied the US victory in Vietnam. It was hugely important in taking the world away from the European and American colonisers: sure, we couldn't hold China or India, but with the AK-47 we couldn't even hold Rhodesia or Vietnam. Without it, the mantle might simply have passed from France and Britain to the USA: with it, we now have a world, for all its ills, where the people who run countries usually come from the country.
I do recommend THE GUN, by CJ Chivers, from which most of the above comes: he also notes that the creation of the AK-47 was not an individual project, but was very much a collaborative effort.
Finally, I fired an AK-47 at a firing range in Las Vegas: we Brits don't get to fire assault rifles. It felt like the least-accurate rifle I'd ever fired, but I also felt I'd flung a serious amount of lead down the range.
posted by alasdair at 12:09 PM on December 23, 2013 [28 favorites]
"This is the AK-47 assault rifle, the preferred weapon of your enemy, and it makes a very distinctive sound when fired at you, so remember it."
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posted by IvoShandor at 12:15 PM on December 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
.
posted by IvoShandor at 12:15 PM on December 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
.
The maker of the M16, and the AK-47, holding each others guns
posted by bdz at 12:33 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
The maker of the M16, and the AK-47, holding each others guns
posted by bdz at 12:33 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
I do recommend THE GUN, by CJ Chivers
As Chivers himself noted today, the AK-47 has been used as a tool of oppression just as much, if not more than, one of liberation.
posted by Rangeboy at 12:37 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
As Chivers himself noted today, the AK-47 has been used as a tool of oppression just as much, if not more than, one of liberation.
posted by Rangeboy at 12:37 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
As Chivers himself noted today, the AK-47 has been used as a tool of oppression just as much, if not more than, one of liberation.
It's an incredibly complicated legacy, certainly. The AK is an iconic gun, and I'd like to own one simply for the history involved. But I'm not sure I'd like to have the weight of its invention on my conscience.
posted by Dip Flash at 12:53 PM on December 23, 2013
It's an incredibly complicated legacy, certainly. The AK is an iconic gun, and I'd like to own one simply for the history involved. But I'm not sure I'd like to have the weight of its invention on my conscience.
posted by Dip Flash at 12:53 PM on December 23, 2013
I just remembered I actually own an AK-47 round... bought it at a stall at an air show years ago
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:56 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:56 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
He had a complex life, and a complex legacy. And so did the machine he designed.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 1:05 PM on December 23, 2013
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 1:05 PM on December 23, 2013
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posted by mulligan at 1:10 PM on December 23, 2013 [4 favorites] That's a Dragonov.
posted by Artw at 1:11 PM on December 23, 2013 [12 favorites]
posted by Artw at 1:11 PM on December 23, 2013 [12 favorites]
There are plenty of videos on YouTube of people showing how easy it is to field strip and re-assemble their AK-47. This one is less than 2 minutes long.
Also, the North Hollywood Shootout guys were armed with AK-47 variants. (Previously on MeFi)
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 1:28 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also, the North Hollywood Shootout guys were armed with AK-47 variants. (Previously on MeFi)
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 1:28 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Sorry, Artw, it is now too late for me to edit! I fired too quickly
posted by mulligan at 1:33 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by mulligan at 1:33 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
As Chivers himself noted today, the AK-47 has been used as a tool of oppression just as much, if not more than, one of liberation.
Yeah, but if you put put the very mixed, troubled legacy of the AK up against that of the M-16 and its descendants or the FN FAL, it starts to look pretty good by comparison.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:37 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yeah, but if you put put the very mixed, troubled legacy of the AK up against that of the M-16 and its descendants or the FN FAL, it starts to look pretty good by comparison.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:37 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Don't knock the M-16! It was a favourite weapon of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam in the early days of the American War.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 1:48 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 1:48 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
It has also been the weapon of choice and necessity for those brave enough to actually make it happen in national liberation movements, which involves no evil at all.
Some of the greatest evils in history have been committed in the name of national liberation, which is not to say that national liberation is itself evil.
posted by snottydick at 1:50 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Some of the greatest evils in history have been committed in the name of national liberation, which is not to say that national liberation is itself evil.
posted by snottydick at 1:50 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
RIFLE IS FINE
There's also the classic AK vs. AR vs. Mosin Nagant
posted by mrbill at 2:42 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
There's also the classic AK vs. AR vs. Mosin Nagant
posted by mrbill at 2:42 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
.
He's having some interesting conversations with John Browning and Samuel Colt
posted by hot_monster at 3:07 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
He's having some interesting conversations with John Browning and Samuel Colt
posted by hot_monster at 3:07 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
If he had never lived, how would Ice Cube have know what a good day was?
posted by Megafly at 3:25 PM on December 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Megafly at 3:25 PM on December 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
Dasvidania Mikhail Timofeyevich.
posted by Megafly at 3:27 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Megafly at 3:27 PM on December 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
As it turns out, the AK-47 has a thrust-to-weight ratio of around two. This means if you stood it on end and somehow taped down the trigger (Note: Please, PLEASE do not try this at home) it would rise into the air while firing.
posted by shoesfullofdust at 4:18 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by shoesfullofdust at 4:18 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
> The maker of the M16, and the AK-47, holding each others guns
That was 100% less hot than I was hoping for.
posted by heyho at 5:22 PM on December 23, 2013 [5 favorites]
That was 100% less hot than I was hoping for.
posted by heyho at 5:22 PM on December 23, 2013 [5 favorites]
So what would have happened if someone went back in time and uninvented the AK-47?
Would there be fewer dead people? Would rappers be singing about their slingshots?
Would there be more or less oppression in the world?
Would someone else have invented a cheap gun?
posted by mecran01 at 8:23 PM on December 23, 2013
Would there be fewer dead people? Would rappers be singing about their slingshots?
Would there be more or less oppression in the world?
Would someone else have invented a cheap gun?
posted by mecran01 at 8:23 PM on December 23, 2013
A musical tribute to Kalasnikov by Goran Bregović:
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 10:01 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 10:01 PM on December 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
I own an AK-47 round myself, it was made into a pen. The pen was made by one of the guys who dug the Sarajevo Tunel. I recognized him from a documentary on TV.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 10:11 PM on December 23, 2013
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 10:11 PM on December 23, 2013
In honor of his passing, I will confess what I hate to confess: the AK-47 is way, way easier to break down and clean than my beloved M16.
It is also not that much less accurate at most combat ranges.
When you absolutely, positively must drop-kick a rifle into mud and then use it afterwards, think Kalashnikov.
posted by corb at 8:39 AM on December 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
It is also not that much less accurate at most combat ranges.
When you absolutely, positively must drop-kick a rifle into mud and then use it afterwards, think Kalashnikov.
posted by corb at 8:39 AM on December 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yesterday NPR had an interesting overview of the gun and Kalashnikov's thoughts on it.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:46 AM on December 24, 2013
Because he kind of wiped out the careers and ambitions of almost two generations of firearms designers. Since everything was occupied by the Kalashnikov, by the AK, they couldn't produce the weapons they designed.They ran a follow-up piece this morning, talking with New York Times reporter C.J. Chivers, and author of The Gun, about the myths surrounding Kalashnikov and the weapon he made famous.
...
In his later years, Kalashnikov said that it weren't for the war, he would have preferred to design farm machinery to make the lives of peasants easier. But he didn't apologize for his gun.
He said the gun was created to protect the borders of the Fatherland, and that neither he nor the weapon were to blame for the uses to which it has been put. That, he said, was the fault of politicians who couldn't solve problems by peaceful means.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:46 AM on December 24, 2013
Let's take a moment to aim upwards
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...
..... ........ ... ...... ....
.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:01 AM on December 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
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...
..... ........ ... ...... ....
.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 10:01 AM on December 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
Some of the greatest evils in history have been committed in the name of national liberation, which is not to say that national liberation is itself evil.
One could say this about just about anything. Some of the history's greatest evils have been committed in the name of: ____________. Try anything. Even rainbows or lollipops.
For example: the Great Lollipop Massacre of '03. Remember that? Yeah, thought not. Learn to history.
posted by IvoShandor at 10:07 AM on December 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
One could say this about just about anything. Some of the history's greatest evils have been committed in the name of: ____________. Try anything. Even rainbows or lollipops.
For example: the Great Lollipop Massacre of '03. Remember that? Yeah, thought not. Learn to history.
posted by IvoShandor at 10:07 AM on December 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Goddam smog. Curse you, Henry Ford. Goddam crowded parking lots. And curse your goddam kids, too. And gas prices. And them goddam pearl divers that twist our tails on account of the oil. Somebody needs to be called to account for this.
But, back to Fearful Admiration of fact and theory.
Ode to the AK and its children. Fine. That little SKS carbine was a son of a bitch at close range, too. (Sweet rifle, the SKS, you can empty the clip without losing your sight picture.) They both had fearsome bayonets, skinny triangular blades, like fencing foils they were, and when they folded out, over a foot long, they gave me the shivers. See, I was trained with an M-14, but I traded it in for the little plastic M-16 when it came time to be a soldier for real. This was about three days before I set foot in Vietnam, while I was still on Okinawa, dying my T-shirts and shorts green, and packing my duffle bag. I knew right away that I wouldn't be mounting a bayonet charge with that little plastic piece of shit, but I was mighty impressed with what happened at the firing range, when I flipped it onto Rock and Roll and burned off 20 rounds. Yessir. Both the AK and that SKS were made for close in fighting, butt smashing with those hefty wooden stocks, and the M-16 fired magic bullets. Throwing apples at oranges.
But the AK-47 was a mythical monster to us for the longest time; well, I guess it was only about two months before we caught D-500 in the bend of the river in D-Zone, killed them all. We laid their captured weapons out in rows, to take inventory. Chinese types, Russian types, plus those other little darlings, like the RPD and that monstrous son of a bitch that shot them 12.7 mm rounds. Also, a spiffy 11mm bolt-action sniper rifle with a very good 3X scope.
Some of the guys on the teams liked to carry the AK for a while....something about taking the weapon out of those dead hands, and his ammo pouches and magazines...useful trophies that you earn the most elemental way possible. Sometimes we carried them specifically to confuse things during ambushes. But most guys on the teams gave them up and went back to the M-16. Ammo was the main issue there. Plus, for the longest time, the M-16 was The Black Rifle, as they called it, and they had heard the myths about how the bullet would turn you into hamburger as it went tumbling through the meat. Down in III Corps, in the Herd, we never had any jamming issues with our weapons. Anyhow, you could hear the AK's voice through the din of a gunfight, sounded like tearing a cardboard box...we'll maybe not quite, just a bunch of pops and clanks, but you knew.
I will say, for the record, that I never once cursed the inventor of the AK-47, although I did sometimes have harsh thought about some of the guys who were using them.
posted by mule98J at 10:35 AM on December 24, 2013 [12 favorites]
But, back to Fearful Admiration of fact and theory.
Ode to the AK and its children. Fine. That little SKS carbine was a son of a bitch at close range, too. (Sweet rifle, the SKS, you can empty the clip without losing your sight picture.) They both had fearsome bayonets, skinny triangular blades, like fencing foils they were, and when they folded out, over a foot long, they gave me the shivers. See, I was trained with an M-14, but I traded it in for the little plastic M-16 when it came time to be a soldier for real. This was about three days before I set foot in Vietnam, while I was still on Okinawa, dying my T-shirts and shorts green, and packing my duffle bag. I knew right away that I wouldn't be mounting a bayonet charge with that little plastic piece of shit, but I was mighty impressed with what happened at the firing range, when I flipped it onto Rock and Roll and burned off 20 rounds. Yessir. Both the AK and that SKS were made for close in fighting, butt smashing with those hefty wooden stocks, and the M-16 fired magic bullets. Throwing apples at oranges.
But the AK-47 was a mythical monster to us for the longest time; well, I guess it was only about two months before we caught D-500 in the bend of the river in D-Zone, killed them all. We laid their captured weapons out in rows, to take inventory. Chinese types, Russian types, plus those other little darlings, like the RPD and that monstrous son of a bitch that shot them 12.7 mm rounds. Also, a spiffy 11mm bolt-action sniper rifle with a very good 3X scope.
Some of the guys on the teams liked to carry the AK for a while....something about taking the weapon out of those dead hands, and his ammo pouches and magazines...useful trophies that you earn the most elemental way possible. Sometimes we carried them specifically to confuse things during ambushes. But most guys on the teams gave them up and went back to the M-16. Ammo was the main issue there. Plus, for the longest time, the M-16 was The Black Rifle, as they called it, and they had heard the myths about how the bullet would turn you into hamburger as it went tumbling through the meat. Down in III Corps, in the Herd, we never had any jamming issues with our weapons. Anyhow, you could hear the AK's voice through the din of a gunfight, sounded like tearing a cardboard box...we'll maybe not quite, just a bunch of pops and clanks, but you knew.
I will say, for the record, that I never once cursed the inventor of the AK-47, although I did sometimes have harsh thought about some of the guys who were using them.
posted by mule98J at 10:35 AM on December 24, 2013 [12 favorites]
-Josh Rushing's Al-Jazeera report on the AK-47, [A] weapon considered more lethal than the atomic bomb, including interview with the inventor.
-The Kalashnikov rifle family tree, including the soldiers who consider themselves as tough as the rifle they carry.
RIP _/|\_
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 12:37 PM on December 26, 2013
-The Kalashnikov rifle family tree, including the soldiers who consider themselves as tough as the rifle they carry.
RIP _/|\_
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 12:37 PM on December 26, 2013
Is Mikhail Kalashnikov In Hell? The Man Was Confident He Would Not Go There
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 3:36 PM on December 26, 2013
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 3:36 PM on December 26, 2013
5 Reasons for the AK’s Legendary Reliability
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:38 AM on December 30, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:38 AM on December 30, 2013 [3 favorites]
One of the things I really appreciated about Mr K. was in Josh Rushing's interview. JR pulls out an AK-47-shaped bottle of vodka that had been released in Russia.
Mr K. was surprised and HELLA upset. "I DO NOT APPROVE!" was his reaction. He didn't want his gun associated with getting drunk.
just realized the Josh Rushing YT video isn't available in the US. Part 1, Part 2
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 9:07 AM on December 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Mr K. was surprised and HELLA upset. "I DO NOT APPROVE!" was his reaction. He didn't want his gun associated with getting drunk.
just realized the Josh Rushing YT video isn't available in the US. Part 1, Part 2
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 9:07 AM on December 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Dead AK-47 Inventor To Be Buried In Mud For A Week, Cleaned Off, Then Put Back To Work
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:57 PM on January 5, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:57 PM on January 5, 2014 [3 favorites]
Okay, now *that's* funny.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:23 PM on January 6, 2014
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:23 PM on January 6, 2014
The Russian Orthodox Church just released a letter that Kalashnikov sent to the Patriarch expressing remorse and sadness at what his weapon has done.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 2:29 PM on January 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Salvor Hardin at 2:29 PM on January 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by swift at 8:28 AM on December 23, 2013 [48 favorites]