https://www.yahoo.com/news/rus...nikov-112630962.html

Invented by a Communist, for use by Communists.

Moscow (AFP) - Russian officials and Orthodox priests on Tuesday unveiled a statue in Moscow of inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov, whose iconic AK-47 assault rifle has claimed countless lives worldwide.

A priest sprinkled holy water on the seven-metre tall statue of Kalashnikov gripping his deadly creation, which will now loom over motorists from a traffic island in one of the sprawling capital's central thoroughfares.

Culture minister Vladimir Medinsky praised the inventor and called the rifle -- which has been reproduced an estimated 100 million times worldwide -- a "cultural brand for Russia."

Kalashnikov had "the best traits of a Russian: an extraordinary natural gift, simplicity, integrity," Medinsky said.

Born in a Siberian village in 1919, Mikhail Kalashnikov died in December 2013 in Izhevsk, the capital of the Russian republic of Udmurtia, where he lived.

Kalashnikov came up with the idea of inventing a new automatic rifle that could work in all conditions after becoming disgruntled by the Soviet weaponry as he recovered from an injury during WWII.

Eventually that would lead to the creation of the AK-47 -- short in Russian for Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947 (Kalashnikov Automatic Rifle 1947) -- that would become the standard issue for the Soviet Union's vast armed forces.

Known for its simplicity, the gun became a symbol for independence struggles and leftist radicals around the world during the Cold War, finding its way onto the national flag of Mozambique and the banner of Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.

But Mikhail Kalashnikov never touched the fortunes from the sales of millions of the rifles that bear his name and used by the armies of over 80 countries. He stopped working only a year before his death, at the age of 93.

While his invention made Kalashnikov a household name around the globe, the man himself had a more nuanced view of his lethal creation.

Six months before his death he wrote to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, expressing regret for his role in making the world's most commonly used rifle.

"My spiritual pain is unbearable," he wrote in the letter which was later published in the Izvestia newspaper.

The erection of a monument to the gunmaker -- who met personally with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2013 -- has raised eyebrows among some Muscovites.

But the move chimes with a surge of nationalist pride under Putin that has seen the Kremlin glorify the military achievements of the Soviet period while playing down the gross abuses.

The Kalashnikov factory that makes the rifles, in decline since the death of the inventor, has since been modernised, with most of its capital coming from private investors.

It has also been transformed by a PR campaign to improve its image in Russia and abroad, even opening a souvenir store in Moscow's main Sheremetyevo Airport.

quote:

Six months before his death he wrote to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, expressing regret for his role in making the world's most commonly used rifle.

"My spiritual pain is unbearable," he wrote in the letter which was later published in the Izvestia newspaper.

That's the first I've heard of that. At one time he said, "I made the rifle to defend Mother Russia. I can't help what other people do with it."

Can you imagine the uproar if a John Browning or Eugene Stoner statue were commissioned here? There would be riots and destruction in the streets.

Jim

Nah. Gun nuts are the only ones who'd know who they were.

He said "erection". Heh-heh.

Don't tell anybody, but I found a memorial to Sam'l Colt, with TWO statues of him

I wonder what's available at the souvenir store?

riddle me this

everyone is hell bent on removing ANY and ALL references to the old confederacy in the south

statues, plaques, names of streets and buildings

since they are trying to deny the existence of all of these items, does that also mean that slavery didn't exist?

or are they just being selective in history...

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
riddle me this

everyone is hell bent on removing ANY and ALL references to the old confederacy in the south

statues, plaques, names of streets and buildings

since they are trying to deny the existence of all of these items, does that also mean that slavery didn't exist?

or are they just being selective in history...

If the Confederacy never existed that leads to the obvious conclusion that Slavery never existed either. Problem being is that when you try and erase History you fail to learn from past mistakes and in time repeat those failures.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:

If the Confederacy never existed that leads to the obvious conclusion that Slavery never existed either. Problem being is that when you try and erase History you fail to learn from past mistakes and in time repeat those failures.

Yep. It's why I tell people that the Nazi presence in Charlottesville is proof we shouldn't remove statues or memorials that point to past evils. Were we to erase all memory of the holocaust, then what is the evil of the Nazis (except in present day, their being white)? So the Nazis would just be another political party. Heck, there are people today who deny the holocaust. A trip to one of the former concentration camps really leaves little doubt. Remove those, and the looney left would soon try to erase the memory of the holocaust (so that Soros can salve his conscience).

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
riddle me this

everyone is hell bent on removing ANY and ALL references to the old confederacy in the south

statues, plaques, names of streets and buildings

since they are trying to deny the existence of all of these items, does that also mean that slavery didn't exist?

or are they just being selective in history...

What slavery?