I love my work to which I devoted by whole life and, of course, I'm proud of my achievements. However, I would have been happy to live to the days, when people would need any more neither my assault rifles nor any other weapons... Mikhail Kalashnikov

From The Publisher

 Dear Readers,

We would like to draw your attention to the publication of the Kalashnikov Arms album, describing the small arms created by Mikhail Kalashnikov, the most talented Russian designer. It is timed to coincide with a memorable event in his life: the fiftieth anniversary of the assault rifle that made the name of its creator a worldwide legend. The designation AK-47 (the Kalashnikov assault rifle Model 1947) is the most widespread weapon in the world. More than 50 armies of the world have in their arsenals firearms created by Kalashnikov or developed from versions created by him. The weapons versions described in the Album provide a comprehensive picture of his creative path, beginning with one of the first submachine guns designed during World War II to the state-of-the-art versions of small arms currently produced by Russian and foreign plants. A large number of small arms prototypes outlined in the Album reflect the gestation period from design to series production. This path was not always straight and easy. Despite errors and set-backs, the ideas of the creator were realized, owing to the efforts of his followers. Weapon systems emerged unrivaled to date in terms of their reliability and efficiency. Most of the pilot versions created by Kalashnikov were never published in Russia. Unfortunately, we could not describe in full all modified versions of Kalashnikov small arms produced by foreign weapon makers. Nonetheless, the versions described speak volumes about geography of their distribution. We would like to thank all specialists and organizations that helped groom our album for publication. In particular, we commend the Rosvoorouzhenie State Corporation for Export and Import of Armament and Military Equipment that rendered invaluable assistance in making this edition feasible. We are also indebted to our partners from Russian St. Petersburg-based Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer Troops and Communications and Izhevsk-based Izhmash joint stock company (Udmurtia Republic), a leading producer of Kalashnikov small arms. These two organizations boast the largest collections of Kalashnikov firearms in Russia. They kindly allowed us to take photos and provided skilled annotations. Alexander Degtyarev, President of Military Parade Ltd., Ph. D. (History)