THE Kalashnikov rifle is one of the past century’s greatest inventions, Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi said as he welcomed Mikhail Kalashnikov to Libya, sources quoted by Interfax news agency said. “The Kalashnikov assault rifle is one of the most important inventions of the 20th century and will long remain so for most countries in the world, including Libya,” sources quoted Kadhafi as saying. Kalashnikov, the inventor of the Russian automatic weapon prized by armies, liberation groups and criminals across the globe, sometimes acts as unofficial ambassador for his country’s arms industry. After a reported visit to Libya this week at Kadhafi’s invitation, Kalashnikov told the revolutionary leader of his design work and those models currently manufactured at the Izhmash factory, where he worked for 50 years, sources said. The armies of 55 countries are equipped with one or more versions of Kalashnikov’s AK-47 rifle. The weapon has been produced in other communist countries, including China. Russian factories, which have made about 40-million of the guns, now produce a third generation, the AK-74M and two versions, the AK-101 and AK-105. – AFP
Friday June 29, 2001