The Kalashnikov assault rifle stands out vividly on the state emblems of Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, East Timor and Mozambique. Together with the Apple computer, it is included into the list of ten inventions, which have changed the face of the 20th century. Three monuments to the best Worldʼs firearm are installed in the Democratic Peopleʼs Republic of Korea, Egyptʼs Sinai Peninsular and at the Hero of the Soviet Union Gavriil Kirdishchev border-guard outpost of Nalychevo in the Kamchatka Region.
Before the Great Patriotic War, Kirdishchev used to protect the border on Kamchatka, and he was awarded the top military order in July, 1944, fighting at the Belorussian front. Border guards were protecting the rear of the Soviet Army. In the summer of 1944, 30 servicemen under command of Junior Lieutenant Kirdishchev, chief of the 8th outpost of the 13th border guard regiment, clashed with a group of 300 Hitlerʼs soldiers. As a result of the gunfight, the infiltrators were liquidated, but the commander was badly injured and then died in a medical-sanitary battalion. For this act of bravery he was awarded the Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously.
The outpost, named after him, is located at a 50-kilometer distance from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski. The coastline here is deserted, and its protection requires a considerable effort, so a reliable and tested weapon is the primary need. Nowadays, the territory around the village of Nalychevo is declared a natural park and is specially protected by the state.
In 2006, Mr. Kalashnikov flew to Kamchatka and launched preparation for events, devoted to the 60th anniversary of the AK-47 assault rifle and the 200th anniversary of the Izhevsk design school of firearms. The great designer laid a capsule with an instruction to future generations into the foundation of the monument to his own masterpiece. It reads, ‘And let anyone, who ever takes my assault rifle in his hands, will recall the old time commandment minted on the blades of swords of Russian warriors, which says “Don”t take it out without a need, and don”t place back without glory!”.
As his colleagues and friends recall, Mr. Kalashnikov treated border guards with a special respect. The Izhevsk plant even produced a special, “green” version of the assault rifle. An enlarged copy of one of those is now on the concrete pedestal imitating grey natural stone. It differs from a standard AK-47 model by a dark green buttstock, foregrip and handguard made up of a special plastic.
The history of this design product is unusual. Once the leadership and the political directorate of the border guard forces addressed the Izhevsk plant with a request to produce a batch of assault rifles, which may be decorated with some commemorative plaques and provided for winners of socialist competitions. But the engineers decided to change the whole design and start production of weapons specifically for border guard forces. Besides, they camouflaged it better, having made it green.
Before the Great Patriotic War, Kirdishchev used to protect the border on Kamchatka, and he was awarded the top military order in July, 1944, fighting at the Belorussian front. Border guards were protecting the rear of the Soviet Army. In the summer of 1944, 30 servicemen under command of Junior Lieutenant Kirdishchev, chief of the 8th outpost of the 13th border guard regiment, clashed with a group of 300 Hitlerʼs soldiers. As a result of the gunfight, the infiltrators were liquidated, but the commander was badly injured and then died in a medical-sanitary battalion. For this act of bravery he was awarded the Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously.
The outpost, named after him, is located at a 50-kilometer distance from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski. The coastline here is deserted, and its protection requires a considerable effort, so a reliable and tested weapon is the primary need. Nowadays, the territory around the village of Nalychevo is declared a natural park and is specially protected by the state.
In 2006, Mr. Kalashnikov flew to Kamchatka and launched preparation for events, devoted to the 60th anniversary of the AK-47 assault rifle and the 200th anniversary of the Izhevsk design school of firearms. The great designer laid a capsule with an instruction to future generations into the foundation of the monument to his own masterpiece. It reads, ‘And let anyone, who ever takes my assault rifle in his hands, will recall the old time commandment minted on the blades of swords of Russian warriors, which says “Don”t take it out without a need, and don”t place back without glory!”.
As his colleagues and friends recall, Mr. Kalashnikov treated border guards with a special respect. The Izhevsk plant even produced a special, “green” version of the assault rifle. An enlarged copy of one of those is now on the concrete pedestal imitating grey natural stone. It differs from a standard AK-47 model by a dark green buttstock, foregrip and handguard made up of a special plastic.
The history of this design product is unusual. Once the leadership and the political directorate of the border guard forces addressed the Izhevsk plant with a request to produce a batch of assault rifles, which may be decorated with some commemorative plaques and provided for winners of socialist competitions. But the engineers decided to change the whole design and start production of weapons specifically for border guard forces. Besides, they camouflaged it better, having made it green.
