Did Mikhail Kalashnikov Regret Designing the AK-47?

[nsaspook]

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/23/22022220-father-of-ak-47-mikhail-kalashnikov-dead-at-94?lite

Kalashnikov often said he felt personally untroubled by his contribution to bloodshed.

"I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence," he said in 2007.
...
"Blame the Nazi Germans for making me become a gun designer," said Kalashnikov. "I always wanted to construct agricultural machinery."

RIP

 

[zoobyshoe]

I wonder if they'll bury him next to Molotov.

 

[lisab]

Interesting that he feels a bit bothered by his life's work. Well I think it would take a certain kind of person to feel good about having your name synonymous with a weapon. And making money -- probably a lot of money -- off of said weapon? And feeling OK with it? Yeah it would take a certain kind of person.

Edit: btw he did not get rich from his work. From spook's link:

But because his invention was never patented, he didn't get rich off royalties.
"At that time in our country patenting inventions wasn't an issue. We worked for Socialist society, for the good of the people, which I never regret," he once said.

 

[nsaspook]

Interesting that he feels a bit bothered by his life's work. Well I think it would take a certain kind of person to feel good about having your name synonymous with a weapon.

A little more background on Mr. Kalashnikov and his design work.

http://kalashnikov-weapons-museum.ak47-guide.com/ch4.html

 

[russ_watters]

Interesting that he feels a bit bothered by his life's work. Well I think it would take a certain kind of person to feel good about having your name synonymous with a weapon. And making money -- probably a lot of money -- off of said weapon? And feeling OK with it? Yeah it would take a certain kind of person.

Just a bit though. From the wiki:

"I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists ... I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work — for example a lawn mower."[10][18]
"Blame the Nazi Germans for making me become a gun designer ... I always wanted to construct agriculture machinery."[11]
"I created a weapon to defend the borders of my motherland. It's not my fault that it's being used where it shouldn't be. The politicians are more to blame for this."[6][7][8][15][18]
"When a young man, I read somewhere the following: God the Almighty said, 'All that is too complex is unnecessary, and it is simple that is needed' ... So this has been my lifetime motto – I have been creating weapons to defend the borders of my fatherland, to be simple and reliable."

Can't say I blame him. The Nazis forced an awful lot of people to focus their talents on them.

 

[Mark44]

In my view, a weapon is a tool that can be used for good or for evil. There are other gun designers whose names are synonomous with the weapons they created - Samuel Colt (revolver, M1911 .45 cal semiauto pistol), John Moses Browning (Browning machine gun, Browning Automatic Rifle or BAR), and Eugene Stoner (AR-15), to name just a few.

 

[turbo]

In my view, a weapon is a tool that can be used for good or for evil. There are other gun designers whose names are synonomous with the weapons they created - Samuel Colt (revolver, M1911 .45 cal semiauto pistol), John Moses Browning (Browning machine gun, Browning Automatic Rifle or BAR), and Eugene Stoner (AR-15), to name just a few.

Thank you, Mark. Many US citizens do not have such a practical and historical understanding of firearms and that makes for some misunderstandings (some quite heated).

If I were to get a chance to laud the achievements of a designer/engineer in regard toward advances in engineering, I would choose Whitworth with his unique hexagonal rifle bore and fitting hexagonal bullets. Yeah, it was still a muzzle-loader, but the incredible accuracy of that rifle negated the need for fielding masses of cannon-fodder. Whitworths were quite popular with the confederacy.

 

[SteamKing]

In my view, a weapon is a tool that can be used for good or for evil. There are other gun designers whose names are synonomous with the weapons they created - Samuel Colt (revolver, M1911 .45 cal semiauto pistol), John Moses Browning (Browning machine gun, Browning Automatic Rifle or BAR), and Eugene Stoner (AR-15), to name just a few.

Although Colt produced the M1911 for the US Army, Samuel Colt personally had nothing to do with this weapon, having died many years prior to its introduction. However, the M1911 was designed by Browning and its caliber and other features were suggested by Col. J.T. Thompson while he was posted to the Ordnance Dept. of the US Army. Thompson would go on to develop his submachine gun after WW I.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1911_pistol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_T._Thompson

 

[mheslep]

When Kalashnikov states, "Blame the Nazi Germans for making me become a gun designer", recall the context. The then Soviet Union lost up to 24 million people to the Nazis, military and civilian (14% of the total population); this compared to less than half a million US fatalities. Who knows, maybe the toll would have a been a million higher if the Soviets had not had such a reliable, easy to make infantry weapon.

 

[Yanick]

When Kalashnikov states, "Blame the Nazi Germans for making me become a gun designer", recall the context. The then Soviet Union lost up to 24 million people to the Nazis, military and civilian (14% of the total population); this compared to less than half a million US fatalities. Who knows, maybe the toll would have a been a million higher if the Soviets had not had such a reliable, easy to make infantry weapon.

The AK-47 was not developed until 1947 and I don't believe any of the standard issue weapons of WW II were Kalashnikov's doing.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Kalashnikov

 

[SteamKing]

The AK-47 was not adopted by the Soviet Army until 1949. During the war, the standard infantry rifle was the Mosin-Nagant model 1891, which was produced until the end of the war and which was replaced by the AK. There were some submachine guns issued, primarily the PPSh-41 and PPS-42, along with the Thompson .45 cal. obtained from the US thru Lend-Lease. Of course, Soviet troops also availed themselves of captured German weapons like the MP-40.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_weapons_of_the_Soviet_Union

 

[mheslep]

The AK-47 was not developed until 1947 and I don't believe any of the standard issue weapons of WW II were Kalashnikov's doing.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Kalashnikov

Apparently he designed did his early rifle designs during the war, in keeping with his stated motivations quoted above ("blame the Nazis"). So I modify my above hypothetical to "if the AK had been adopted during the war, the Soviet losses might have been lower"

 

[edward]

Kalashnikov was apparently quite troubled by his famous weapon in his later years.

From his letter to the Russian Orthodox Church:

The pain in my soul is unbearable. I keep asking myself the same unsolvable question: If my assault rifle took people's lives, it means that I, Mikhail Kalashnikov, ... son of a farmer and Orthodox Christian am responsible for people's deaths," he said in the letter.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ak-47-designer-kalashnikov-wrote-penitent-letter/

 

[nsaspook]

Last regrets of the dying.