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Mikhail Kalashnikov: Inventor of AK-47 Dies At 94

Posted by samzenpus on from the gone-away dept.

necro81 writes "Lt. Gen. Mikhail T. Kalashnikov, an arms designer for the Soviet Union, creator of the AK-47, passed away today at age 94. Kalashnikov was born a peasant and entered the Soviet Army as a conscript. However, the self-taught tinkerer had an aptitude that took him far. The AK-47, his best-known creation, was praised for its reliability and low cost; attributes that have made it the most successful firearm ever, seeing use in homeland defense, rebellion, terrorism, and untold massacres. The inventor was himself ambivalent about the uses his creation had seen, but was nevertheless proud of his contribution to his country, where he is praised as a hero."

2 of 283 comments (clear)

  1. An Eternity of Torment, I ope by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    I am either religious not terribly spiritual, but one can only hope that a man whose invention was responsible for the deaths of so many millions does not go into a peaceful afterlife.

    I always think of the Winchester story:
    http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/afterlife/winchester-mystery-house.htm

  2. PRAISE?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    For inventing the most used murdering tool?!?

    The number of (approximate) dead and permanently maimed by that gun should be put on his grave. The family ought to be ashamed of him!