Childhood & Early Life
Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov was born on November 10, 1919, in Kurya, Russia, to Aleksandra and Timofey Kalashnikov. He was 17th of a family of 19 children.
In 1930, his family lost their property to the Soviet collectivization process and was displaced to a village in the Siberian Tomsk Oblast region. His father passed away during their first winter there and his mother remarried soon after.
His family of peasants had to supplement their income by hunting, and he learnt to use a rifle at an early age. He also liked machinery and poetry.
He was a sickly child, suffering from several ailments, and almost died when he was six.
He dropped out of school after the seventh grade and hitchhiked back to Kurya to take up a job as a tractor mechanic, where he developed a taste for engineering.
Continue Reading Below
Career
In 1938, Mikhail Kalashnikov signed up with the ‘Red Army’, where his engineering experience and small stature got him the job of a tank mechanic, and later, he became a tank commander.
He tinkered about with machinery, inventing small weapons during training, which caught the attention of his superiors.
From 1941-42, he was hospitalised due to injuries sustained in the ‘Battle of Bryansk’. In the hospital, he overheard a soldier complain about the drawbacks of Soviet rifles. He decided right then to create a new rifle for the Soviet army.
With the help of a few friends, he designed a submachine gun, and even though army superiors rejected it, his talent did not go unnoticed.
In 1943, he was hired by ‘Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant’ as a gun designer and began working on creating automatic weapons.
In 1944, he created a gas-operated carbine for a new cartridge.
In 1946, he entered his new creation ‘Mikhtim’ in an assault rifle competition, but lost to a competitor.
In 1947, he succeeded in perfecting his assault rifle design and the AK-47 was born. AK-47 meant ‘Avtomat Kalashnikova’ - automatic weapon of Kalashnikov - and the year of its creation, 1947.
In 1949, he permanently moved to Izhevsk, Udmurtia, after the Soviet Army adopted the AK-47 as a standard issue assault rifle.
Continue Reading Below
From 1949-63, he continued to work on modernized and improved variants of the AK-47, most notable among them being the AKM, RPK Kalashnikov, and PK.
Due to their sturdy build, simplicity of design, ease of use and low maintenance in any condition, they became the weapon of choice for armed forces and guerilla armies - from frozen Siberia to the hot deserts of Africa. He and his gun soon attained legendary status.
In 1971, he attained the degree of ‘Doctor of Technical Sciences’ and became a member of 16 educational institutions.
Since the official manufacturer of AK-47, ‘Izhmash’, had not patented the weapon until 1997, counterfeit copies of the AK-47 were made and sold all over the world, sometimes for as little as $15. ‘Izhmash’-manufactured AK-47s made up only 10% of the nearly 100 million sold each year.
Mikhail claimed that he made no profit from gun production, and had created AK-47 to serve his country. But it is believed that he pocketed 30% of the profits from his grandson’s German company ‘Marken Marketing International’ that designed Kalashnikov-branded merchandise like knives, vodka, umbrellas, etc.
In 2006, shocked to see his guns in the hands of bandits and children, he backed the UN ‘Control Arms campaign’ to halt the illicit distribution of small arms. He even stated that he could not be blamed for the gun’s uncontrolled spread across the globe.
Until 2016, his family owned the title to the ‘AK-47’ trademark, but lost it to the ‘Kalashnikov Concern’ (formerly ‘Izhmash’) in a lawsuit.
As the AK-47 and its black market variants began to be used in terrorist attacks across the world, Mikhail began to question the creation of his invention towards the end of his life.
Books by Mikhail Kalashnikov
Mikhail Kalashnikov was a member of the ‘Russian Authors Union’ and wrote many books during his lifetime.
Continue Reading Below
In 1992, his first book ‘The Arms Designer Notes’ was published.
In 1997, his personal memoirs ‘From A Stranger’s Doorstep To The Kremlin Gates - A Word From The AK Man’ were published.
In 2006, he co-authored the book ‘The Gun that Changed the World’ that was also his autobiography.
Awards & Achievements
In 1949, he won the prestigious ‘Stalin Prize’, ‘USSR State Prize’ and ‘Order of the Red Star’, all awarded by the Soviet Union for the creation of AK-47.
In 1964, he was awarded one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union, ‘Lenin Prize’.
In 1999, he received his first foreign decoration, ‘Order of Honour of Belarus’.
In 2004, a museum named after him ‘The Kalashnikov Museum’ was established in Izhevsk, Russia.
In 2008, he received the ‘Order of St. Andrew’, the highest order of the Russian Federation.
In 2009, he was decorated with the ‘Hero of the Russian Federation’, the highest honourary title of the Russian Federation.
Continue Reading Below
In 2014, the Russian post issued a stamp in his honour.
In 2017, a 30-foot-tall bronze statue of him was unveiled in Moscow.
Family & Personal Life
Mikhail Kalashnikov was married to Ekaterina Moiseyeva, who was an engineer and did many technical drawings for him. He had four children: son, Victor, and daughters, Nelli, Elena and Natalia.
He was a gifted poet and his pre-war poems were published in a Kiev newspaper. He also enjoyed hunting well into his 90s.
In November 2013, he was hospitalised for a prolonged illness and passed away on December 23, 2013 from gastric haemorrhage.
He was buried at the ‘Federal Military Memorial Cemetery.’
Facts About Mikhail Kalashnikov
Mikhail Kalashnikov was an avid fisherman and enjoyed spending time by the water whenever he could.
Kalashnikov was known for his love of gardening and took great pride in cultivating his own fruits and vegetables.
He had a passion for designing and building various mechanical devices, not just firearms.
Kalashnikov was a strong advocate for education and spent much of his later years supporting educational initiatives in Russia.
