AK-47 Inventor Honoured with Moscow Statue

A small crowd gathered on a busy junction in central Moscow for the unveiling of a statue of Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK-47 rifle, on Tuesday morning, September 19.

Culture minister Vladimir Medinskiy spoke about Kalashnikov before a priest blessed the statue with holy water. Medinskiy said, “He is the embodiment of the very best Russian attributes: extraordinary natural giftedness, simplicity, honor, organizational talent. All this enabled him to create a whole line of weapons for the defense of our country, of which the Kalashnikov automatic rifle is a true cultural brand of Russia.”

According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov, a favorite with Russian authorities, was commissioned to create the piece. Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Storyful