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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: What do you think of death of Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of AK-47?
"Blame the Nazi Germans for making me become a gun designer ... I always wanted to construct agriculture machinery." -Mikhail Kalashnikov
It was no doubt this gun was very successful.
On the other hand so many people says he is responsible for deaths? So what is your stand?
I have never seen a gun kill anyone, it is just a tool that can be used for positive or negative purposes like any other tool. I have however seen many people kill other people using various tools.
It's an old debate. Should we blame Gruuuukk, inventor of the stick ? Or Muuuaaarr, inventor of a stick with a stone attached at one end ? The guy invented a weapon, a good one. People fought mostly dirty wars with it, because it was cheap yet convenient. If it wasn't a Kalashnikov, it would have been a Sten, a machete, or whatever else.
I am sure people think, "ah, he designed the AK-47", but in fact the man did lots of gun design. A great engineer, albeit in a questionable field. The purpose of his designs, killing people, as DrMonkey writes, people will kill people one way or the other.
And... it is one less on Santa's list.
I was just kinda surprised he made it to 94. I was also kinda surprised he didn't get blown away by an AK. 'live by the AK, die by the AK'?
I got to fire an AK-47 once. Solid weapon but it seems it's biggest selling point was that the round it fired (7.62mm) somehow made it to the top in the world's choice of standard rounds. available everywhere and cheap.
factoid: numbers manufactured:
AK-47 ~100million
M-16 ~8million
I was more off balance to read that Lou Reed has died two months ago.
sucks he had to patent on it... he could have made so much money... but i'm sure his fame lead to riches any how.
I wonder if he will receive a 21 gun salute at his funeral...
I have never seen a gun kill anyone, it is just a tool that can be used for positive or negative purposes like any other tool. I have however seen many people kill other people using various tools.
I feel sad about his passing.
He was a patriot. he believed in what he was doing. And who can blame him when you look at what the Germans were doing to Russia.
His work effectively gave the soviet block their version of the bomb before they had the real thing.
He probably caused the cold war. Because his invention could out fire power anything the west had. A single non political man possibly helped create a world superpower with his simple invention. You have to remember there was strong calls in the west to keep WW2 going.
He made little money, but was proud to wear his medals. 3 Orders of Lenin. Amazing.
He invented the AK to save his comrades. He wanted to help them. Things were different then. As we all know.
I think every war veteren's passing is a loss to society. Because we lose the first hand experience of how destructive war is.
We lose the voices that can tell us not to do it again.
RIP Mikhail Kalashnikov.