Weapons have been used by humans since time immemorial. In war, hunting and self-defense. Mikhail Kalashnikov is known as the creator of small arms. Suffice it to recall that he designed the famous AK assault rifle.
Starting conditions
Many stories, fairy tales and frankly fantastic works have been written about how children's hobbies determine the future fate of a person. Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov from childhood paid attention to how various machines and mechanisms work. It is difficult to explain why the boy, who grew up and developed in the countryside, in the bosom of nature, had an interest in complex metal products. He was greatly impressed by the car, which brought a movie projector to the village and played movies on weekends evenings.
The future designer of small arms was born on November 10, 1919 in a large peasant family. In total, the mother had nineteen babies, but only eight survived. Mikhail was the seventeenth in a row. Parents at that time lived in Altai in the village of Kurya. When the boy was twelve years old, collectivization began and the Kalashnikov family was dispossessed and exiled, as was customary, to the northern district of the Tomsk region. In these places, Mikhail graduated from the seven classes of a rural school and returned to his native Altai.
At the front and in the rear
In 1936, Kalashnikov moved to Kazakhstan and got a job as a mechanic in a depot at the Matai railway station. Here he received his first skills in handling metal-cutting machines and other equipment. A couple of years later, Mikhail was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army. To serve as a fighter got into the tank troops. After taking courses Kalashnikov. received a military registration specialty as a tank driver and was awarded the rank of sergeant. Already in the first year of service, Mikhail designed a motor resource meter for a tank. But the war began, and all business had to be postponed.
In the fall of 1941, in the battles near Bryansk, Kalashnikov was seriously wounded. I had to stay in the hospital for almost six months. During this period, Mikhail managed not only to come up with an original submachine gun, but also to make a prototype. The pistol was not accepted for service, but the inventor was sent to the Research Proving Grounds. Here, since 1942, Mikhail Timofeevich was engaged in the creation of various types of small arms. In March 1947, the Kalashnikov assault rifle was put into service.
Recognition and privacy
The Kalashnikov assault rifle has become a global brand. Today he is famous on all continents. The Motherland highly appreciated the designer's contribution to the country's defense capability. Mikhail Timofeevich was twice awarded the honorary title of Hero of Socialist Labor.
The personal life of the famous gunsmith developed without any special incidents. He was married twice. In the first marriage, a son appeared. In the second - two daughters. Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov died in December 2013 after a long illness.
