Adieu Kalashnikov but your legacy lives on
On Friday, December 27, 2013, the remains of a man who rose from humble peasantry beginnings to become a General in the Soviet Armed Forces were interred at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery, exclusively reserved for Russia’s great heroes.
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General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov had passed on to eternity on Monday, December 23,2013 at the ripe age of 94 and though his demise may have passed unnoticed in our part of the world, his impact on our lives has been most profound. He was the inventor of arguably the most lethal and widely used weapon globally today-the AK 47 rifle.
Since inventing the AK 47 over 60 years ago, Kalashnikov has received a good dose of both praise and condemnation and rightly so. The AK 47 has served various societies in different ways. It has made ordinary people presidents and made presidents fugitives.
The man had always maintained that it was never his intention to create a weapon that would become the number one killer of all time. According to him, he had been fired by sheer patriotism and the desire to contribute to the defence of his motherland (Russia) which had then been invaded by Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
Recuperating at a Russian Field Hospital after he had been wounded by the enemy, the then Staff Sergeant began studying the enemy’s weapons and compared them with that of their forces. He was much impressed with the German Sturmgweher 44, the world’s first assault rifle and the firepower of the Soviet PPsh. He, therefore, decided to combine the strengths of the two weapons and this resulted in the birth of the AK 47. The AK 47 has since become a global icon in the annals of military history and an object of interest for many a student of weapons.
Since its invention, over 100 million pieces have been produced globally and still counting, thanks to a Soviet policy that encouraged her allies to produce their own versions of the weapon.
For those who used the weapon for liberation and anti-imperialist struggles, it remains a positive asset and is highly revered. No wonder the AK 47 is embossed on the national flags of some countries; for instance Mozambique, the Coat of Arms of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) (1984-1997), Fiji and Zimbabwe and the flag of Hezbollah.
In a similar vein, terrorists, rebels and drug dealers all over the world use the AK 47 extensively and regard it as a dependable companion.
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From the coca plantations in Afghanistan and Columbia to the jungles of Vietnam and the deserts of Libya and Chad, the AK 47 is well represented.
Its impact on other parts of the globe, particularly in India, the Americas and parts of Asia, is well documented. It continues to be in high demand in the recent Arab spring in Libya, Egypt and now Syria.
Elsewhere on the African continent, it has been particularly devastating in fuelling conflicts. Niger, Guinea, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Rwanda and a host of others have all at one time or another felt the impact of the AK 47 rifle.
The AK 47 also remains the weapon of choice for most conventional police and armed forces all over the world. In Ghana, the once dreaded 64 Infantry Regiment used the AK 47 as their assault rifle while the Ghana Police Service also use it as their operational weapon. Fulani herdsmen, illegal miners as well as highway robbers are not left out.
Generally, the main assets of the AK 47 are its portability, light weight (even child soldiers are able to handle it with relative ease), high rate of sustained fire and ability to operate under arduous conditions with little requirement for maintenance.
Surely, the curtain on the life of Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov has been drawn but his legacy, call it the legacy of freedom or death, the AK 47 rifle, will live on for a long time to come.
The writer is Head of Public Relations and Protocol, University of Cape Coast and a retired Senior Military Officer.
Writer’s e- maiil: kofikofi1977@hotmail.com