Mikhail Kalashnikov Passes Away.

[Leemaster777]

He's a hero of engineering, the AK is an icon of "cheap and dependable" engineering.

I do not think he is to blame for others misusing it and selling it to terrorists.

However elegant, novel and efficient his craft, they were weapons were made to kill, regardless of who held them.
Even so, I have respect for his ingenuity and practical thinking.

Rest in peace, Mikhail.

Agreed. Guns are made for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill. But within the same breath, he didn't pull the triggers of the guns he invented, the people holding them did.

He's not a hero or a villain. He's an engineer, and a damn good one at that. And for the loss of a brilliant mind, I mourn.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm interested in how others view the man and his legacy.

He made death easier. I'm not exactly bereaved.

Ehhh, not really, his wasn't the first assault rifle. The soviets just used his design as a form of currency, so now they are all over.

I didn't say it was the first, I said it made death easier.

 

[Worgen]

I'm interested in how others view the man and his legacy.

He made death easier. I'm not exactly bereaved.

Ehhh, not really, his wasn't the first assault rifle. The soviets just used his design as a form of currency, so now they are all over.

I didn't say it was the first, I said it made death easier.

Ehhh, not really. I mean it was just a natural progression of guns, really if you want to blame someone for making death easier then blame maxim, the inventor of the machine gun. That gun really made death easier. I have heard that Maxim hoped it would cause wars to be so costly that no one would wage war, I'm not sure how true that is though.

 

[Grottnikk]

A bit off topic, but did you know a lot of the AKs out there aren't really AKs but rather just cheap knockoffs? There are dozens of companies that manufacture copies or derivatives. There are probably more fakes than real AKs. Kalashnikov himself was rather ticked at the fact, and said that they weren't up to the high standards of his original design.

As for his death, I hope he rests in peace.

 

[legend of duty]

damn neighbors I would fire my guns in remembrance it wasn't for them

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

He made a great gun, and from an engineering standpoint was a brilliant engineer. I am sad to see him go. I don't blame him for any of the death that came from his inventions because were he not there they would be doing the same shit but with worse guns that jammed more often. He didn't create the demand. His weapons are just some of the best on the market.

 

[WolfThomas]

A bit off topic, but did you know a lot of the AKs out there aren't really AKs but rather just cheap knockoffs? There are dozens of companies that manufacture copies or derivatives. There are probably more fakes than real AKs. Kalashnikov himself was rather ticked at the fact, and said that they weren't up to the high standards of his original design.

Yeah, the ak47 has also had a lot of variants made. Most of the ones you see in media are AKMs, AK74s or Chinese type 56s.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm interested in how others view the man and his legacy.

He made death easier. I'm not exactly bereaved.

Ehhh, not really, his wasn't the first assault rifle. The soviets just used his design as a form of currency, so now they are all over.

I didn't say it was the first, I said it made death easier.

Ehhh, not really. I mean it was just a natural progression of guns, really if you want to blame someone for making death easier then blame maxim, the inventor of the machine gun. That gun really made death easier. I have heard that Maxim hoped it would cause wars to be so costly that no one would wage war, I'm not sure how true that is though.

It does make death easier though doesn't it? That's why it's so popular. Cheap and easy to kill with.

 

[Worgen]

I'm interested in how others view the man and his legacy.

He made death easier. I'm not exactly bereaved.

Ehhh, not really, his wasn't the first assault rifle. The soviets just used his design as a form of currency, so now they are all over.

I didn't say it was the first, I said it made death easier.

Ehhh, not really. I mean it was just a natural progression of guns, really if you want to blame someone for making death easier then blame maxim, the inventor of the machine gun. That gun really made death easier. I have heard that Maxim hoped it would cause wars to be so costly that no one would wage war, I'm not sure how true that is though.

It does make death easier though doesn't it? That's why it's so popular. Cheap and easy to kill with.

The only reason its so cheap is because the soviets used it as currency and gave it to everyone, aside from that the only thing the ak has going for it is that its really reliable, other wise there are a lot of other rapid fire weapons around.

 

[Alssadar]

Dasvidaniya, Mikhail.
For a man never dies until his legacy falls: for your work, may you never be forgotten.

"I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence," he told The Associated Press in 2007.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm interested in how others view the man and his legacy.

He made death easier. I'm not exactly bereaved.

Ehhh, not really, his wasn't the first assault rifle. The soviets just used his design as a form of currency, so now they are all over.

I didn't say it was the first, I said it made death easier.

Ehhh, not really. I mean it was just a natural progression of guns, really if you want to blame someone for making death easier then blame maxim, the inventor of the machine gun. That gun really made death easier. I have heard that Maxim hoped it would cause wars to be so costly that no one would wage war, I'm not sure how true that is though.

It does make death easier though doesn't it? That's why it's so popular. Cheap and easy to kill with.

The only reason its so cheap is because the soviets used it as currency and gave it to everyone, aside from that the only thing the ak has going for it is that its really reliable, other wise there are a lot of other rapid fire weapons around.

Then why is the AK such a big deal then?

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I'm interested in how others view the man and his legacy.

He made death easier. I'm not exactly bereaved.

Ehhh, not really, his wasn't the first assault rifle. The soviets just used his design as a form of currency, so now they are all over.

I didn't say it was the first, I said it made death easier.

Ehhh, not really. I mean it was just a natural progression of guns, really if you want to blame someone for making death easier then blame maxim, the inventor of the machine gun. That gun really made death easier. I have heard that Maxim hoped it would cause wars to be so costly that no one would wage war, I'm not sure how true that is though.

It does make death easier though doesn't it? That's why it's so popular. Cheap and easy to kill with.

The only reason its so cheap is because the soviets used it as currency and gave it to everyone, aside from that the only thing the ak has going for it is that its really reliable, other wise there are a lot of other rapid fire weapons around.

Then why is the AK such a big deal then?

The ak47 is a big deal for 2 reasons

1. It's one of the cheapest reliable assault rifles, and is easy to maintain in any climate, meaning that it it can be sold anywhere and be effective, even in the hands of complete morons with no training.

2. It shows up in movies and the media CONSTANTLY so gun people have a huge boner for it because it's iconic and anti-gun people are terrified of it because it's iconic.

Another poster above was right though, most of the AKs around the world right now aren't even Russian made AKs, they're cheap Chinese knockoffs that are of rather poor quality.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

I see him as a great inventor. History has clearly shown the AK47's design to be remarkable, and I respect that. It annoys me somewhat to see so many people brand him as evil, because of what others have done with his weapon, without realising that the AK was never designed with the intention of being a cheap murder-tool, but was designed by a man who wanted to defend his homeland.

 

[AntiChri5]

While the man may have never intended it, his greatest legacy is children killing children with his weapon. The history is fascinating but the brutal truth is that the design will continue to the instrument of atrocity for decades to come.

No, it's not. He didn't invent the firearm, just a firearm. If not for him, those killing people with AK's would be killing people with slightly different guns.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

SNIP

I know he didn't invent the gun. He just invented the poster child of modern war and gun violence.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

While the man may have never intended it, his greatest legacy is children killing children with his weapon. The history is fascinating but the brutal truth is that the design will continue to the instrument of atrocity for decades to come.

No, it's not. He didn't invent the firearm, just a firearm. If not for him, those killing people with AK's would be killing people with slightly different guns.

Brilliant engineer but come on, in the end he's just furthering death. The whole people-will-kill-people-anyway defense is shoddy.

 

[IceForce]

Brilliant engineer but come on, in the end he's just furthering death. The whole people-will-kill-people-anyway defense is shoddy.

Would you say the same about the scientists who first split the atom, and lead to the development of the nuke?

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Well I'm thankful it's not the guy who invented Tetris.

I'm interested in how others view the man and his legacy.

He made death easier. I'm not exactly bereaved.

When there are a lot of things we need dead really fast, hopefully you'll understand.

Actually, scratch that. Lets hope it never comes to that.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Brilliant engineer but come on, in the end he's just furthering death. The whole people-will-kill-people-anyway defense is shoddy.

Would you say the same about the scientists who first split the atom, and lead to the development of the nuke?

Look I hate nuclear weapons. I do. I hate them. I've seen that movie The Day After. I've read a lot of Post-Apocalyptic fiction. They're just horrible, and mutually assured destruction is just so wildly irresponsible... how many times has the world almost ended over mis-communication? And I do feel terrible for the Japanese people. I do.

However... as I understand it, against the Japanese in WWII, we were up against the whole country. I've been lead to believe that the entire population, every man woman and child was ready to fight till the bitter end (the news was even telling people to stock up on rocks in their homes)

And if that's correct, I mean, what the hell? Fuck could we do? World was fucked either way.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Brilliant engineer but come on, in the end he's just furthering death. The whole people-will-kill-people-anyway defense is shoddy.

Would you say the same about the scientists who first split the atom, and lead to the development of the nuke?

Look I hate nuclear weapons. I do. I hate them. I've seen that movie The Day After. I've read a lot of Post-Apocalyptic fiction. They're just horrible, and mutually assured destruction is just so wildly irresponsible... how many times has the world almost ended over mis-communication? And I do feel terrible for the Japanese people. I do.

However... as I understand it, against the Japanese in WWII, we were up against the whole country. I've been lead to believe that the entire population, every man woman and child was ready to fight till the bitter end (the news was even telling people to stock up on rocks in their homes)

And if that's correct, I mean, what the hell? Fuck could we do? World was fucked either way.

The other option was destroying the infrastructure and agriculture and starving them into submission. Apparently the Japanese leaders were preparing to starve the civilians to keep the military fed.

The invasion, death toll in the millions, 500,000 purple hearts and all was MacArthur's thing, nobody else was too keen.