Kalashnikov: The Man And Assault Rifle

Kalashnikov: The Man And Assault Rifle

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the father of the world's most popular assault rifle, is handed an AK-74 November 23, 2002 in Izhevsk, 1000 East km. from Moscow. November 23 marked the 55th anniversary of the release of the first Kalashnikov gun. Mikhail Kalashnikov welcomed Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov to the celebrations at the Izhmash plant. According to the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategic and Technologies some 70 million to 100 million Kalashnikovs have been built worldwide since 1947, compared about 7 million to Kalashnikov's Western rival the M-16 assault rifles.

A boy sits near an AK-47 assault rifle at a FARC check point February 26, 2001 in Cristales, Colombia. The FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) is the country's largest rebel group and has been waging an insurgency against the government for decades, at the cost of some 3,000 lives a year. 

Fighters of the UNITA pro-Western forces armed with a local variant of the AK-47 Kalashnikov during the civil war in Angola.  1977

 

An AK-47 assault rifle rests against a sign at the entrance of a paramilitary training center for park rangers July 21, 2006 at Ishango in the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 500 Congolese rangers have been trained at the center in the last year to fight highly armed poachers who have ravished eastern Congo's wildlife population in recent years, taking advantage of the chaos caused by war. The center, run by the Frankfurt Zoological Society, has been funded by European, American and UN donors. 

In this frame grab handout image released March 8, 2004 by Hamas nearly a year after their deaths, British Muslim suicide bombers, 27-year-old Omar Khan Sharif (R) and 22-year-old Asif Muhahmmad Hanif stand together in uniform as they hold AK 47 rifles, and stand together under a poster of Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Maqadmehin, February 8, 2003 in Gaza Strip. The 22-year-old Briton of Pakistani descent blew himself up at Mike's Place, a jazz club on Tel Aviv's beach promenade April 30, 2003, killing three people in an attack claimed by Hamas. Hanif's partner in the attack, 27-year-old Sharif, attempted to detonate his bomb, but failed, then fled the scene. His body later washed ashore on a Tel Aviv beach. 

A Palestinian gunman gives his AK-47 assault rifle to a young girl to hold October 26, 2001 in the al-Azzar refugee camp, as he takes a break from fighting with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Israeli tanks and troops remained in their positions in West Bank towns despite calls for their withdrawal from the United States. 

Inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle, General Mikhail Kalashnikov, launches the new brand of Kalashnikov Vodka, on September 20, 2004 in London, England. The new vodka – the idea of British entrepreneur John Florey – is distilled in St Petersburg and retails for about USD24 a bottle. 

A soldier in the anti-government army of the Sudan holds his Kalashnikov AK-47 automatic rifle at the ready.  8th March 1971.

 Iraqi Police learn weapons handling with the AK-47 at the Jordan International Police Training Center September 4, 2005 in Amman, Jordan. About 300 instructors, mostly former and current police officers, from 17 different countries are training Iraqi Police in marksmanship, patrol tactics, self defense, community policing, and other police tactics. Approximately 1,500 policemen a month graduate from the school before being assigned to police stations throughout Iraq. 

An AK 47 rifle is laid against the wall of a make shift militia mosque on August 20, 2004 in Najaf. A spokesman for Moqtada al-Sadr said today that the militia will hand the shrine of Imam Ali to a committee of clerics, while fighting continues in the city. 

General Mikhail Kalashnikov, launches the new brand of Kalashnikov Vodka, on September 20, 2004 in London, England. 

A Palestinian woman holds an AK-47 above her head as she shouts pro-Arafat slogans during a rally to mark the 39th anniversary of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement's (Fatah) foundation on December 31, 2003 in Gaza City, Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered at the Palestinian Legislative council to mark the anniversary of the 1965 founding of Fatah. 

A child soldier loyal to the government fires at rebels July 23, 2003 at a key bridge in Monrovia, Liberia. Clashes continued in the Liberian capital, despite a call for a cease fire by leaders of the LURD rebel group. 

An AK-47 rifle and a Quraan are pictured against a wall in a fighters nest on November 7, 2004 in the city of Fallujah, Iraq. The Mujahadeen are preparing for a major U.S. offensive against their city. 

A shop advertising AK-47 assault rifles and pistols stands next to a school for Islamic studies, or “madrassa”, September 10, 2006 in the tribal area of Sakhacot in western Pakistan. Small shops produce and sell thousands of weapons to people in the area near the porous border with Afghanistan. U.S. military commanders complain that Taliban fighters stage attacks on coalition troops from safe havens in the Pakistani tribal areas. 

A Palestinian boy holds a gunman's AK-47 assault rifle during a round of fighting with Israeli soldiers October 26, 2001 in the al-Azzar refugee camp located within the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Israeli forces maintained their positions in West Bank towns despite calls for their withdrawal from the United States. 

A shopkeeper shows off his wares, Russian, Chinese and Pakistani-made AK-47 assault rifles, September 10, 2006 in the tribal area of Sakhacot in western Pakistan. Small shops produce and sell thousands of weapons to people in the area near the porous border with Afghanistan. U.S. military commanders complain that well-armed Taliban fighters stage attacks on coalition troops from safe havens in the Pakistani tribal areas. The Russian AK-47 retail price was $410, the Chinese $300 and the locally made Pakistani version just $125. 

Police officer, colonel Tatiana Osetrova congratulates Mikhail Kalashnikov, the father of the world's most popular assault rifle, November 23, 2002 in Izhevsk,1000 East km. from Moscow. 

A village guard show his AK-47 in the southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak, October 19, 2007. Turkey's parliament resoundingly approved a motion on Wednesday allowing troops to cross into northern Iraq to hunt down Kurdish rebels there, but its Western allies and Baghdad urged Ankara to refrain from military action. 

Afghan police recruit, Masuma, 18, fires her AK-47 assault rifle during training at a regional police training center on June 6, 2006 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Police receive a 5-9 week training course supervised by American contractors at the center. Afghan and coalition security forces are battling Taliban insurgents across southern Afghanistan. On Tuesday a suicide bomber reportedly rammed a U.S. convoy in the southeast Afghan province of Khost, injuring several American soldiers. 

A member of the 2-69 Armored Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Division fires the AK-47 assault rifle during target practice November 24, 2007 in Baghdad, Iraq. The 2-69 periodically heads to an ad-hoc shooting range near their Baghdad base to fine-adjust their rifle sites and practice using the AK-47, the weapon of the Iraqi Army soldiers that they often train. 

Kenyan policemen holding rifles confront demonstrators during clashes in the Mathare slums on January 20, 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya. International mediators have attempted to unlock political gridlock in the East African nation which has lost 600 people in severe post-election violence amid allegations that the incumbent president manipulated the December elections. 

Former French special forces arms instructor Norbert Tible teaches a Congolese park ranger the use of an AK-47 assault rifle July 21, 2006 at Ishango in the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 500 rangers have been trained in military techniques in the last year to fight highly armed poachers who have ravished eastern Congo's wildlife population recently, taking advantage of the chaos caused by years of war. The center, run by the Frankfurt Zoological Society, has been funded by European, American and UN donors. 

An Iraqi Shiite man loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr holds his AK 47 during the fighting on August 6, 2004 in Najaf, Iraq. Mahdi Army militia launched sustained attacks on U.S. and coalition troops across Iraq. 

Inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle, General-Major Mikhail Kalashnikov, launches the new brand of Kalashnikov Vodka, on September 20, 2004 in London, England.