Renowned rifle inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov dies

[King_Porus]

The inventor of the iconic AK-47 assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has died at the age of 94. His ingenuity earned him widespread admiration, but his legacy became more controversial when his weapons were used in some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts.
"Mikhail Kalashnikov's entire life is a shining example of dedication to serving your country," said a statement from Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
"For many generations of Russians his name became a symbol of the glory and reliability of our weapons, and a source of national pride."
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed "deep condolences" over the death of the engineer.
Kalashnikov who continued working well into his nineties, had been suffering from heart and intestinal problems, and on November 17 was admitted into intensive care in Izhevsk in central Russia - where the plant that produces the eponymous rifles is located. The official cause of death will be revealed following a mandatory autopsy.
A public funeral will be organized by the regional administration, in consultation with surviving relatives, though no date has been named so far.
Patriot, genius, villain?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

"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 lawnmower."
"My rifle started and ended more revolutions than any other weapon in history."

What's your take on it TWC? Was this peasant-turned tank mechanic and inventor a hero or was he a cruel bastard who brought pain and suffering to the world? I wonder how many lives were taken and saved with his rifles and their numerous variants.
Either way I think we should all down a fifth of Vodka and start a revolution in memory of this icon. RIP

edit: Just so people know, I'm not saying he was evil or that he was great, I was asking a question for you to decide.

[Sharpe]

RIP
*Warning: Explicit Lyrics*

[Comrade_Rory]

Posted about this on Facebook saying it was a sad day and got some moron saying "I fail to see how it's a sad day? He was hardly a hero or significant"

It's a sad day when it's considered weird to pay your respects via the internet to somebody who came from nothing and spent their lives serving their country in one way or another but it's perfectly normal for the whole internet to cry when this weeks halfwit celeb dies from a drug overdose or in a car crash.

[Maximinus Thrax]

"A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Kalashnikov designed the most effective weapon of his time. He was a legend, nevertheless. All that he did was to serve his country as best as he could.

[Stavroforos]

The most admirable part of this is that he didn't invent a weapon to get rich, but to serve his Motherland. His contribution to the world will be with us probably after most of us here are dead too.

[Condottiere 40K]

Kalashnikovs don't shoot people; people shoot Kalashnikovs.

[Miroslav Klose]

As Eddie Izzard said:

Gun's don't kill people, but the gun helps.

[Markas]

"I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work – for example a lawnmower."

I've gone through three lawnmowers in the past three years, Mikhail. Would it have killed you to go down to your shed and do something other than distill homemade vodka?

[Sir Winston Churchill]

I don't see how he's a villain just because he was Russian or because he invented the AK-47. Do we vilify the guy who invented TNT? The Gatling Gun? The airplane? The tank? The nuke?

He is the creator of the most used and reliable assault rifle in history. You could stomp on the thing then throw it into a bog for 3 days, dig it out, and it would still fire without a hitch. RIP.

[Condottiere 40K]

You don't see the guys who invented the Colt revolver, the Winchester rifle or the Gatling gun vilified; except by Indians and Confederates, and they don't count.

[Påsan]

Do we vilify the guy who invented TNT?

"The merchant of death is dead!"

[The Despondent Mind]

Why would anybody consider him a villain I don't get it . If he didn't invent AK 47 people would simply kill each other with other weapons , what difference does it make .

I guess he's just a honest dude who wanted to help his country by designing a descent infantry weapon .

[Kirila the Kitten]

My Respect for my Comrade!

[beckyolt]

cruel bastard who brought pain and suffering to the world? I wonder how many lives were taken and saved with his rifles and their numerous variants.

If it wasn't AK-47's, it would've been FALs, M4s or any other weapon. I don't get how Kalashniokv is guilty of all those deaths in any way. A weapon is just a tool. If someone wants to kill another person they'll do it anyway, with any tools at his/her disposal.

[King_Porus]

RIP
*Warning: Explicit Lyrics*

A worthy anthem for the dead, never thought I'd say that about a Dre song

Posted about this on Facebook saying it was a sad day and got some moron saying "I fail to see how it's a sad day? He was hardly a hero or significant"

It's a sad day when it's considered weird to pay your respects via the internet to somebody who came from nothing and spent their lives serving their country in one way or another but it's perfectly normal for the whole internet to cry when this weeks halfwit celeb dies from a drug overdose or in a car crash.

I agree, this guy was truly a hero. His life's work was his country's well-being and protection. I too find it amusing when everyone on my facebook feed is freaking out about some dead celebrity, no offense to them, but I don't see why everyone needs to freak out about some drug addict who took one too many or crashed their speeding car. A more worthy role-model is the peasant who taught himself to become the one of the greatest engineers, mechanics, and inventors of the last century.

I don't see how he's a villain just because he was Russian or because he invented the AK-47. Do we vilify the guy who invented TNT? The Gatling Gun? The airplane? The tank? The nuke?

He is the creator of the most used and reliable assault rifle in history. You could stomp on the thing then throw it into a bog for 3 days, dig it out, and it would still fire without a hitch. RIP.

Actually they did vilify the guy who invented TNT. His name was Alfred Nobel and his guilt over the use of his explosives got him to donate a ton of money to create the Nobel Prizes (that's why the Peace prize in particular is highly regarded).
I wouldn't say it was Nobel's fault that his invention was used for killing instead of mining, nor would I say it's Kalashnikov's fault that his rifle (the best in the world) was used by what America and some other nations would call terrorists. After all, terrorism is in the eye of the beholder and I'm sure some people think of them as revolutionaries and martyrs.

If it wasn't AK-47's, it would've been FALs, M4s or any other weapon. I don't get how Kalashniokv is guilty of all those deaths in any way. A weapon is just a tool. If someone wants to kill another person they'll do it anyway, with any tools at his/her disposal.

I was just leaving the option open for discussion, but it's true that someone else would've invented the greatest rifle if he hadn't.

[Maximinus Thrax]

A worthy anthem for the dead, never thought I'd say that about a Dre song

[omzdog]

Tripped into his tank full of sharks with laser beams?

[caratacus]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

"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 lawnmower."
"My rifle started and ended more revolutions than any other weapon in history."

What's your take on it TWC? Was this peasant-turned tank mechanic and inventor a hero or was he a cruel bastard who brought pain and suffering to the world? I wonder how many lives were taken and saved with his rifles and their numerous variants.
Either way I think we should all down a fifth of Vodka and start a revolution in memory of this icon. RIP

edit: Just so people know, I'm not saying he was evil or that he was great, I was asking a question for you to decide.

A news report today reveals something more about the man who invented the Worlds most successful modern weapon of warfare. He designed the weapon to defend his country in a very bloody war but would have preferred to have designed a lawnmower. The World would certainly be better if there was a lot less warfare and more gardening. I hope he made his peace with God.

The inventor of the Kalashnikov assault rifle apparently wrote to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church before he died expressing fears he was morally responsible for the people it killed.

Mikhail Kalashnikov, who died last month aged 94, wrote a long emotional letter to Patriarch Kirill in May 2012, church officials say. He said he was suffering "spiritual pain" over the many deaths it caused.
Kalashnikov had previously refused to accept responsibility for those killed.The letter published by Izvestia provides a fascinating insight into the mind of the man who created Russia's most famous weapon.

Mikhail Kalashnikov spent his career designing and perfecting assault rifles. More than 100 million Kalashnikovs have been sold worldwide. The gun brought Kalashnikov fame and a string of awards. But his letter to the Patriarch suggests that, towards the end of his life, Kalashnikov felt a degree of guilt - or "spiritual pain" as he puts it - for having invented a killing machine.

It's unclear, though, how much of this he wrote himself. Izvestia quotes Kalashnikov's daughter, Elena, as saying she believes a priest helped her father compose the letter. But in a letter, published in Russia's pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia, he wrote: "My spiritual pain is unbearable. "I keep having the same unsolved question: if my rifle claimed people's lives, then can it be that I... a Christian and an Orthodox believer, was to blame for their deaths?" he asked. "The longer I live," he continued, "the more this question drills itself into my brain and the more I wonder why the Lord allowed man to have the devilish desires of envy, greed and aggression".

The letter is typed on Kalashnikov's personal writing paper, and is signed with a wavering hand by the man who describes himself as "a slave of God, the designer Mikhail Kalashnikov".

The Kalashnikov, or AK-47, is one of the world's most familiar and widely used weapons. Its comparative simplicity made it cheap to manufacture, as well as reliable and easy to maintain. It is thought that more than 100 million Kalashnikov rifles have been sold worldwide.

Kalashnikov refused to accept responsibility for the many people killed by his weapon, blaming the policies of other countries that acquired it. Russian President Vladimir Putin walks past a portrait of Mikhail Kalashnikov during a memorial ceremony outside Moscow, December 27, 2013 Russian President Vladimir Putin attended Kalashnikov's funeral in December

However, pride in his invention was tempered with sadness at its use by criminals and child soldiers. "It is painful for me to see when criminal elements of all kinds fire from my weapon," Kalashnikov said in 2008. He designed this rifle to defend his country, not so terrorists could use it in Saudi Arabia”

In his letter to Patriarch Kirill, Kalashnikov said that he first went into a church at the age of 91 and was later baptised.

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says it is unclear how much of it he wrote himself. Izvestia quotes Kalashnikov's daughter, Elena, as saying she believes a priest helped her father compose the letter.

The press secretary for the Russian Patriarch, Cyril Alexander Volkov, told the paper the religious leader had received Kalashnikov's letter and had written a reply.

"The Church has a very definite position: when weapons serve to protect the Fatherland, the Church supports both its creators and the soldiers who use it," Mr Volkov was quoted as saying.

"He designed this rifle to defend his country, not so terrorists could use it in Saudi Arabia."

Kalashnikov received many Russian state honours, including the Order of Lenin and the Hero of Socialist Labour, but made little money from his gun.

He died on 23 December after being admitted to hospital a month earlier with internal bleeding.BBC News online 13 January 2014

[Stavroforos]

It makes sense that such questions and troubles would plague him, but he ultimately couldn't be held responsible for whose hands his rifle ended up in and what they did with it.

[Copperknickers II]

It makes sense that such questions and troubles would plague him, but he ultimately couldn't be held responsible for whose hands his rifle ended up in and what they did with it.

Right. It was actually supposed to be a bottle-opener/garden ornament. It was totally unintended that people would corrupt Kalashnikov's peaceful and idyllic intentions by shooting people. And who could possibly have foreseen that making an extremely efficient and hard-wearing piece of machinery for one of the world's largest military forces might have made it extremely popular and widespread.

Indeed, I'm almost considering discontinuing my ultra-strength invisible untraceable nerve gas that I was making under commmission from Kim Jong-Un and Osama Bin Laden. It would be truly disastrous, in the unlikely event that it were to fall into the wrong hands and be used for evil. The intention is use it as a women's perfume.