Pictured: in the foreground, to the left — V.V. Putin, to the right — M.T. Kalashnikov. In the background — A.A. Volkov, president of the Udmurt Republic, behind him — A.V. Gordeyev, minister of agriculture of Russia.
The city people from Izhevsk may be proud that for many years already Vladimir Putin finds time to visit the city on a regular basis. For the first time Mr. Putin visited the Udmirtian capital back in 1999, when he took the helm of the Russian government. That visit was connected to a memorable date, which was Mikhail Kalashnikov’s 80th jubilee. In 2005, Vladimir Puitin held a televised phone-in with city people of several Russian cities, and Izhevsk was one of them. The teleconference connected Moscow and the Izhevsk central square.
The next visit of the President to Izhevsk occurred in several years, in May 2010. Vladimir Putin visited the Izhmash plant, where he held a staff meeting, devoted to innovations in the area of firearms. A large-scale exhibition of firearms was arranged at Izhmash for the visit of the Prime Minister. Exhibits were provided by more than 15 Russian arms manufacturers. The exhibition demonstrated around 100 types of assault rifles, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, unmanned systems and other types of weapons. The head of the government was also familiarized with the program on modernization and re-equipment of Izhmash, and shown the first re-equipped workshops.
In line with a well-established tradition, Vladimir Putin found time to have another meeting with Mikhail Kalshnikov. The famous designer thanked the Prime Minister for his close attention to the industry and asked to establish a Gunsmith Day to be marked by the country. Mr. Kalashnikov’s idea was supported by the Union of Russia’s Gunmakers. Mr. Putin promised that there will be such a day in the calendar for sure, and it really came up — in December 2011 Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree, which established the 19th of September to be the Gunsmith Day.
In the autumn of 2010 Vladimir Putin came back to Izhevsk to visit the plant of Izhstal and Izhavto together with German Gref, the head of Sberbank. The representatives of the country’s leadership took part in the opening of a complex at Izhstal, had a meeting with employees of the enterprise.
Another visit of the President to Izhevsk happened in 2013, on the Gunsmith Day. Vladimir Vladimirovich came for the presentation of the Kalashnikov Group, i.e. the new holding, which unified large production enterprises. After the event, Vladimir Putin met with Mikhail Kalashnikov, congratulated him on the Gunsmith Day and gave him a presidential watch as a present. The President’s visit to the Udmurtian capital was completed by an attendance of Izhmash and inspection of new prototypes of firearms.
And after Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov died, the President of the Russian Federation visited Izhevsk more than once, continuing to closely monitor the development of arms production, the life of the city and the republi
In the summer of 2006, Vladimir Putin came to Izhevsk with a working visit. The head of the Russian government arrived in the capital of Udmurtia just for several hours, but in this short timeframe, he managed to have a working meeting, devoted to important issues of agriculture, to visit a pig-breeding collective farm, and to come to the memorial and exhibition complex named after Mikhail Kalashnikov. Inside the building of the museum, Mr. Putin met and spoke to the legendary designer, who presented his new book to the head of the government.
The city people from Izhevsk may be proud that for many years already Vladimir Putin finds time to visit the city on a regular basis. For the first time Mr. Putin visited the Udmirtian capital back in 1999, when he took the helm of the Russian government. That visit was connected to a memorable date, which was Mikhail Kalashnikov’s 80th jubilee. In 2005, Vladimir Puitin held a televised phone-in with city people of several Russian cities, and Izhevsk was one of them. The teleconference connected Moscow and the Izhevsk central square.
The next visit of the President to Izhevsk occurred in several years, in May 2010. Vladimir Putin visited the Izhmash plant, where he held a staff meeting, devoted to innovations in the area of firearms. A large-scale exhibition of firearms was arranged at Izhmash for the visit of the Prime Minister. Exhibits were provided by more than 15 Russian arms manufacturers. The exhibition demonstrated around 100 types of assault rifles, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, unmanned systems and other types of weapons. The head of the government was also familiarized with the program on modernization and re-equipment of Izhmash, and shown the first re-equipped workshops.
In line with a well-established tradition, Vladimir Putin found time to have another meeting with Mikhail Kalshnikov. The famous designer thanked the Prime Minister for his close attention to the industry and asked to establish a Gunsmith Day to be marked by the country. Mr. Kalashnikov’s idea was supported by the Union of Russia’s Gunmakers. Mr. Putin promised that there will be such a day in the calendar for sure, and it really came up — in December 2011 Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree, which established the 19th of September to be the Gunsmith Day.
In the autumn of 2010 Vladimir Putin came back to Izhevsk to visit the plant of Izhstal and Izhavto together with German Gref, the head of Sberbank. The representatives of the country’s leadership took part in the opening of a complex at Izhstal, had a meeting with employees of the enterprise.
Another visit of the President to Izhevsk happened in 2013, on the Gunsmith Day. Vladimir Vladimirovich came for the presentation of the Kalashnikov Group, i.e. the new holding, which unified large production enterprises. After the event, Vladimir Putin met with Mikhail Kalashnikov, congratulated him on the Gunsmith Day and gave him a presidential watch as a present. The President’s visit to the Udmurtian capital was completed by an attendance of Izhmash and inspection of new prototypes of firearms.
And after Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov died, the President of the Russian Federation visited Izhevsk more than once, continuing to closely monitor the development of arms production, the life of the city and the republi
