Kalashnikov

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Russia's Kalashnikov Statue Had Embarrassing Error

Workers have to remove part of Moscow monument just days after it was unveiled

(Newser) - Just days after a monument honoring AK-47 designer Mikhail Kalashnikov was unveiled in Moscow , workers have removed a part of it that showed a German weapon that many believe inspired the renowned assault rifle. The monument features a towering statue of Kalashnikov and an adjacent sculpture of St. George fighting...

Creator of One of World's Deadliest Weapons Gets Huge Statue

Monument to Mikhail Kalashnikov and his AK-47 unveiled in Moscow

(Newser) - The AK-47 has been called "the Coca-Cola of small arms." It's said to be responsible for 250,000 deaths every year and believed to have killed more people than all other modern weapons combined. On Tuesday, a 30-foot monument dedicated to its designer, Lt. Gen. Mikhail T....

Kalashnikov Now Makes Drones, Boats, Clothing

US sanctions have forced a new business strategy

(Newser) - Get ready to see the Kalashnikov name on everything from drones and motorboats to menswear. Just three years ago, 40% of the Russian company's gun sales came from the US. Then in 2014, Russia was hit with US sanctions that put Kalashnikov $5.2 million in the red and...

Kalashnikovs Soon to Be Made in Florida

Kalashnikov USA gets approval for factory in Pompano Beach

(Newser) - Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles will be soon be made in Florida. Pompano Beach recently gave Kalashnikov USA permission to assemble the guns in the city, CNNMoney reports. UPI reports that the company will build a factory there, and the Sun-Sentinel adds that the 40,000-square-foot facility will ultimately bring 54...

New EU Sanctions Hit Maker of AK-47
New EU Sanctions Hit
Maker of AK-47

New EU Sanctions Hit Maker of AK-47

EU freezes assets of 24 more politicians, rebel leaders

(Newser) - The European Union today moved to further punish Moscow for its intervention in Ukraine—in the form of a new set of sanctions . The EU announced it will ban the export of technology for military use to Russian arms-maker Kalashnikov (maker of the AK-47) along with eight other companies, restrict...

Banned by Russia Sanctions, AK-47s Flying Off Shelves

Gun buyers are clearing out dealers' inventory

(Newser) - Gun control advocates may have been thrilled with US sanctions on Russia that banned imports of AK-47s, but they probably didn't count on the huge jump in US sales of the assault rifle that resulted. Gun dealers have run out of inventory after consumers rushed to stockpile Kalashnikov AK-47s...

Dying Kalashnikov Wrote of His Guilt
 Dying Kalashnikov 
 Wrote of His Guilt 

in case you missed it

Dying Kalashnikov Wrote of His Guilt

Russian daily: He wrote of 'unbearable ... spiritual pain'

(Newser) - In our own obituary of AK-47 inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov last month, we included this quote: The rifle was invented "for the protection of the Motherland," he said. "I have no regrets and bear no responsibility for how politicians have used it." It turns out "no...

Who's Buying Russia's Kalashnikovs? Americans

US consumers now buy as many AKs as Russian soldiers, police

(Newser) - When you think "Kalashnikov," you probably think of Russia. But these days the Russian factory that makes the AK-47 is relying heavily on demand from American gun aficionados, the New York Times reports. US sales of the "Saiga," the civilian model of the AK, rose 50%...

French Ship Grabs 11 Pirates Off of Somalia

Navy intercepted two assault vessels and a 'mothership' today

(Newser) - A French naval vessel has intercepted 11 armed pirates off the coast of Somalia, according to a Defense Ministry spokesman, who says the pirates were traveling in two assault vessels and a so-called "mothership" loaded with provisions, Kalashnikovs, rockets, and rocket launchers. He says all 11 are Somali nationals.

AK-47 Turns 60
AK-47 Turns 60

AK-47 Turns 60

(Newser) - In 1941, while hospitalized for wounds received fighting the Nazis, Russian soldier Mikhail Kalashnikov designed a rifle that combined the best of the American M1 and the German StG44.  The "Avtomat Kalashnikov," first produced in 1947, became known as the AK-47.   It is prized by...

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