Robbert van Strien

The AK-47:
Twenty-first Century Pitchfork

What makes the AK-47 assault rifle today’s

‘people’s gun’? Robbert van Strien takes us
into the illustrious world of insurgency.

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 ‘When that window roles down he rehabilitated amongst other wounded sol-
And that AK comes out; diers. Their favourite pastime: discussing the
You can squeeze your little handgun merits of various weapons. Kalashnikov, born
Until you run out; in a family of farmers in a remote part of Russia,
Or you can run for your back up did not contribute much to these discussions,
If the machine-gun shells don’t tear your but he did take in every word. He started read-
back up.’ ing up on arms design, began to make sketches
— 50 Cent, Heat of possible designs, and formed his ambition: to
design a weapon for the Red Army, a gun that
Few artefacts are as numerously present in the would serve to defend the Motherland.
modern world as the AK-47 assault rifle. Over After being granted a convalescent leave,
sixty years old today, the assault rifle designed Kalashnikov started to construct a submachine
in the Soviet Union is unrivalled in sheer quanti- gun, using the railway depot in Matai as a
ties. Praised for its availability, ease of use, stur- workshop. The gun would prove to be his ticket
diness and destructive power, the AK-47 still to a more formal training as an arms designer,
proves to be the weapon of choice for a diverse and Kalashnikov wound up as an arms designer
crowd — equipped not only by the armies of at the Research Proving Grounds for Firearms
various nations, but also by an obscure multi- and Mortars in Schurovo, a village some sixty
tude of guerrillas, gangbangers, criminals, free- miles southeast of Moscow. There, in 1946, he
dom fighters, child soldiers, religious extremists took part in a contest to design an automatic
and the like. rifle, an avtomat, for the new M1943 cartridge.
In fact, the AK-47 seems to fit better in After being subjected to a variety of harsh tests,
the hands of the dissident than the ruler, the Kalashnikov’s design was selected for further
oppressed rather than the oppressor, the development. Eventually, the Avtomat Kalash-
criminal rather than the law. Its long association nikov, completed in 1947, was chosen as the
with opposition groups culminated in the AK- winner of the competition.
47’s supporting role in Osama Bin Laden’s first The above is an approximation of the
public address after the 9/11 attacks, but it had narrative of the AK-47’s origin. Or, at least, the
acquired the iconic status of ‘the people’s gun’ version of the narrative that is best known and
well before the era of Al-Qaida. most repeated. It has it all: the peasants’-son-
Why is the AK-47 so prominently present turned-hero-of-the-people, the devotion to the
in modern history? Why does it appear to be so motherland, the optimized design process. It
inextricably linked with oppositions, to always cannot be called true. Rather, it is a ‘photo-
carry the message of resistance? Why is it so shopped’ version of the AK-47’s narrative,
very successful, much more successful than augmented with many layers of fable and myth.
any other gun — not in practical terms alone, After years of military secrecy and Soviet
but as a symbol, a vessel for meanings? propaganda, followed by years of repetition,
Before continuing, it must be noted that exaggeration and confusion, the history of the
the designation AK-47 has become synony- world’s most famous weapon is positively
mous with a family of closely related assault obscured. However, it is possible to reconstruct
rifles, but in fact is the official name of only the its history to a certain extent.1
first version of the rifle. The updated designs During the Second World War, it became
and the many, many copies of the gun are, for clear that the Red Army was poorly equipped in
the sake of readability, referred to as AK-47 in comparison to its German counterpart. Most of
most publications about the weapon — this the Russian soldiers were provided with
paper will be no exception. bolt-action rifles or carbines with a magazine
capacity of five rounds.2 The German soldiers
Avtomat Sovetskogo Soyuza increasingly came equipped with a new type of
During the Battle for Bryansk, in the war weapon, dubbed the StG.44 Sturmgewehr: a
against Nazi Germany, young Mikhail compact, versatile weapon capable of both
Kalashnikov, sergeant in the Red Army, was single-shot medium-range marksmanship and
wounded. He was hospitalized in Yelets, where automatic suppression fire.3

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 More than a comparison of types of guns, the M1943, laid the fundament for the AK-47: a
difference between the German and Soviet new rifle had to be designed to fire it.
guns comes down to a comparison of am- In 1945, a contest was organized to
munition. While the Red Army, like the armies design this weapon. Mikhail Kalashnikov and
of most nations, was committed to powerful his design team joined in, as did others. In the
cartridges, Germany was the first to see the ad- summer of 1947, the prototypes were tested —
vantages of a smaller round.4 A powerful round none were accepted outright.9 Three designs,
with a large charge of propellant is needed to including the rifle made by Kalashnikovs’
fire a heavy bullet, shooting it far, accurate, and team (dubbed the AK-46), were ordered to be
with a big impact — smaller ammunition means reworked.10 Kalashnikov's team made many
a smaller range, a less precise trajectory, and drastic changes to their prototype, and this
a smaller impact of the bullet. Traditionally, ar- is the point when the AK-47 was designed.11
mies clung to the idea of infantrymen shooting The AK-47 won the contest, and was put into
at one another from great distances: situations production from 1949 onwards.12 In the years
in which high-powered ammunition was neces- to follow, many features of the rifle and the pro-
sary. A German study had shown that most duction process were fine-tuned and altered, by
modern infantry fighting occurred at ranges contributors who have remained anonymous.13
of fewer than 400 meters, making the classic After the collapse of the Soviet Union and
high-powered ammunition unnecessary.5 consequentially of the rigid system of state-
A choice in ammunition has a big influence on controlled information, one Soviet armorer
the design of the gun required to fire it: a pow- wrote an article in which he coined the nick-
erful cartridge needs a large, strong body, and name ‘ASS47’, short for Avtomat Sovetskogo
a heavy, long barrel; due to its recoil and conse- Soyuza: the automatic designed by the Soviet
quential muzzle climb, it is difficult to maintain Union.14 The AK-47 should not be understood
a good aim when shot in rapid succession. as the product of a single persons’ work, but
Furthermore, bigger ammunition means more rather as a product of collective conception,
weight per cartridge, meaning that one soldier the outcome of a process that began with the
can carry fewer rounds of bullets; and more development of an intermediate cartridge, and
material is needed to make each cartridge. was carried out by a big collective.15
A short round, on the other hand, only requires
a relatively small rifle, with a relatively short Using the AK-47
barrel. It can be shot in rapid succession with Leaving aside the question of who contributed
less chance of the weapon overheating, or what to the AK-47’s design, the fact remains
the muzzle rising too much. Less material is that the end-result is terribly impressive. There
needed to produce the rifle and the cartridges, are a number of qualities that set the AK-47
making it cheaper. Furthermore, a compact rifle apart from its competitors; that make it so suc-
can be yielded in narrow spaces with relative cessful in many respects. All of these qualities
ease, while a long-barrelled rifle is impractical play a role in the eventual rise of the AK-47 as
to use in buildings or densely forested regions. the universal icon it is today.16
Finally, a short round makes it easier to handle One of the most remarkable aspects of
the rifle — soldiers would need less training in the AK-47 is its ease of use. One particularly
marksmanship. enthusiastic author notes that it took him only
The 7.9x33 calibre developed by the 4 and a half minutes to teach an inexperienced
Germans in 1938 — the so-called Kurz, or man how to load, aim, fire and unload the
‘short’, ready in 1940 — was 33 millimetres gun.17 Its straightforward design, with only nine
long, much shorter than its’ contemporaries.6 moving parts, makes the AK-47 both easy to
This placed it somewhere in between the produce and easy to operate.18 This is no coinci-
ammunition fired by rifles and by pistols.7 dence — the gun was designed to be as simple
The Red Army began to develop a similar as possible, to be used by the average Soviet
intermediate-size cartridge: a .30 calibre, 56 layman.19 Its low weight and low recoil further
millimetres in length.8 This cartridge, the ensure that most people can handle the gun:

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 Fig. 1. 106-year-old Armenian woman sitting in front of her home guarding it with an AK-47 in the village of
Degh, near the border of Azerbaijan. Accessed through www.imgur.com/r/pics/NaWMPjQ on 28 July 2013.

not only soldiers, but civilians as well.20 Disturb- long.24 Good maintenance further increases the
ingly, even children can handle the AK-47.21 lifespan of an AK-47.25
Another aspect that sets the AK-47 apart All these aspects — ease of use, universal
is its universal applicability. Relatively short and application, and great durability — are funda-
light, it can be transported easily, and yielded mental to the iconic status the AK-47 has today.
in narrow spaces.22 This ensures its owner a However, the gun would not be the symbol it is
degree of mobility and flexibility valuable in without one most perplexing aspect: its sheer
many contexts. With the choice to shoot single overabundance.
bullets or automatic bursts, the gun is equally
capable to mark off targets a few hundred me- The AK-47’ Spread
ters away, lay down suppression fire, or wreak Rather than a rifle to defend the Russian moth-
havoc in confined spaces.23 erland, the AK-47 found employment in the
Finally, the AK-47 is extremely durable. hands of a wide variety of groups. Its spread
Again, this is no coincidence: it was designed started soon after it was taken into production.
to last. Instead of fragile and small components, The Soviet Union provided allied nations or
the rifle is made up from bulky parts. Instead ideological partners with AK-47s as a means of
of close and precise fittings, the different parts waging the Cold War.26 But the Soviets did not
were all designed with excess space and open- export the rifle alone; more importantly, they
ings. This ensured that the rifle could with- shared the blueprints for the gun, and plans
stand plenty of wear and tear, and impressive for its production with the countries involved
amounts of dirt, before failing to operate. Even in the Warsaw Pact. Soon after, copies of the
without regular cleaning and care, the gun lasts AK-47 started to be produced in East Germany,

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Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and other coun- leaked away, and found their way to the black
tries.27 The Chinese demanded the plans as well, market.40 From there on, they were distributed
and they, too, started production of their own all over the world, to anyone with the funds to
indigenous version of the gun.28 We could add arm himself or others (fig. 1).
that the AK-47 was not subject to patent, and It is difficult to estimate just how many
the rifle could be freely copied.29 AK-47s are currently in use across the globe;
China and the Eastern European coun- but there is no doubt they are abundant.41 AK-
tries, in turn, passed on the gun and its plans 47s and ammunition are obtainable virtually
to others. The AK-47 found its way to North everywhere; there are stockpiles of both newly
Korea via China: the North Korean version, the produced and second-hand (or third-, or tenth-)
Type 98, is still in service in the North Korean rifles on every continent, and AK-47s can be
army.30 Czech rifles were shipped to Egypt in bought for a few hundred dollars.42 Fluctua-
1955; by the 1960’s, the Egyptians had reverse- tions in the AK-47’s price on the black market
engineered the gun, and were producing their are used as an indicator of regional stability.43
clone, the Misr AKM, for their own army and On the long run, a high price indicates social
the export market.31 Militant groups in the stability, while a low price may indicate a labile
Middle East that relied on terrorism to fight environment.44 On the short run, changes in
the newly founded state of Israel soon whole- price (often preceding elections and the like)
heartedly embraced the AK-47.32 The Iraqi and may indicate imminent problems: the higher
Iranian armies (and their respective fifth col- the price, the higher the demand must be.45
umns) fought each other with their own copies
of AK-47’s during the First Persian Gulf War.33 Twenty-First Century Pitchfork
The large-scale distribution of Kalashnikovs by All of the above makes the AK-47 an ideal
the Americans in Afghanistan during the 1980’s weapon for insurgents; but we may add a few
Soviet occupation is well known these days, as reasons here why it did, indeed, become the
is its grim repercussion.34 insurgents’ preferred weapon.
The Soviet Union did not mind losing con- For one thing, the AK-47 has historically grown
trol of the AK-47’s spread, even when it ended in the role of the dissidents’ weapon. It was
up in the hands of groups not necessarily close shipped out to groups opposing the West,
to the Soviets’ ideals. The availability of stand- fighting ‘wars of national liberation’.46 For in-
ardized ammunition and replacement parts in stance, to the North Vietnamese Army in 1967,
countries surrounding the Soviet Union would or to a number of revolutionary groups in Latin
be a logistical blessing, should full war on the America through Cuba.47 Often, AK-47s are sup-
continent break out.35 plied to insurgent groups in order to destabilize
During the Cold War, the countries a certain region or government — as is the case
involved in the Warsaw Pact were urged to pro- in Liberia, where Joseph Kony’s army of child
duce the AK-47. As cogs in planned economies, soldiers was armed with AK-47s by the Suda-
the factories producing the AK-47 were given nese government.48 In many of the bloody con-
priority, and were assigned the most skilled flicts in Africa, the AK-47 played a crucial role
workers and the best resources.36 The some- — so much so, that it was given the nickname
what paranoid mind-set of many of the commu- ‘Africa Killer’; ‘Kalash’ has become a popular
nist governments ensured that the AK-47 was boy’s name in some African countries.49
produced in absurd quantities.37 Warehouses The affiliation of Muslim extremists with
were filled with AK-47s: not only for the military, the AK-47 began in Egypt, where in the 1940’s
but also for the police force and the secret king Farouk I founded groups of guerrilla war-
police.38 Additional arsenals were established riors to fight Israel.50 The unconventional form
to be equipped to factory workers, to create a of warfare used by these groups of individual
civil defence in the event of Western invasion.39 insurgents fits the AK-47’s abilities well.51 With
By the time the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Sudan producing their
and Eastern Europe where speckled with poorly own copies of the AK-47, it is now in wide use
guarded stockpiles of AK-47s. In the chaotic with Middle Eastern terrorist groups.52 In Iraq,
years that followed, the majority of these rifles several statues commemorate the AK-47.53 It

65
 has become somewhat of a code to display an rejected refined, streamlined designs and opted
AK-47 in video messages; it immediately sends for utilitarian- and robust looking weaponry.56
a message of affiliation and determination.54 Though hard to verify, this does seem plausible;
Public displays of AK-47s in the hands of jihad- at the very least, one could observe that the
ist and the like have really solidified the role of American alternative to the AK-47 — the M-16,
the AK-47 as the insurgents’ weapon. the ‘first plastic machine gun’ — was designed
Furthermore, the aesthetics of the AK-47 to look modern and high-tech.57
play a role. With its steep front sight post, With its distinct, crude aesthetics and ir-
its gas tube parallel to the barrel and its odd, refutable silhouette, the AK-47 in the hands of
banana-shaped ammo clip, the AK-47 can never those confronting Western forces, sent off a
be mistaken for another gun: its profile is very powerful message. The ‘anti-imperialistic gun’
recognizable, and this has perhaps made the acted as a standard, as a declaration of affilia-
path to becoming a symbol more easy.55 tion.58 In a war that was fought through image
What is more, the crudeness of the design as much as armed conflicts, the technical supe-
in contrast with the more refined looking riority of the AK-47 over the Western M16 was
weapons yielded by professional armies sends a great victory for the Soviet Union.59 The ro-
of a message of resistance: highly trained bust plywood forearm and shoulder stock, the
and expensively equipped armies versus poor, stamped steel body with little detail; the overall
oppressed and motivated fighters. clunky-ness of the design: the AK-47 looks
One author notes that this crude aesthetic like a tool as much as a weapon; a twenty-first
is intentional, that the Soviet design philosophy century pitchfork in the hands of the masses.

Kunstlicht, Anna de Jong and Robbert van

Strien would like to thank Ron Knip and
Mathieu Willemsen of the Legermuseum for
welcoming us in the depot of the museum,
and their kind permission to photograph a
number of Kalashnikovs in their collection.

Robbert van Strien (1986) studied at the designLAB department at

the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, and received his Mas-
ters’ degree in Design Cultures at VU University Amsterdam in 2012.
He now works as an autonomous product designer, and has written
about design for a number of publications.
1 E.g., Nigel Bennett, AK-47 Assault Rifle. The Real was bathed in sand and powdered stone, until
Weapon of Mass Destruction, Gloucestershire: every opening was completely clogged; without
Spellmount Publishers, 2010, pp. 13-19. cleaning, the gun was expected to fire. The AK-47
2 With regards to my position and the quality of the performed outstanding. See: Chivers, op. cit.
source material: I am not an expert on the subject (note 2), p. 198.
of weaponry or martial history, and I cannot say 14 A number of Kalashnikov’s colleagues have
that I’ve read everything there is to read about claimed responsibility for certain distinct aspects
the AK-47. The amount of publications regarding of the rifle; additionally, allegations have been
the AK-47 is overwhelming, and the difference in made that the rifle took parts of it design from
quality of these publications is enormous. This competing prototypes, and that Kalashnikov’s
weapon's history, its features, and its cultural team had inside help from the test director. The
impact are clouded by myths, over-colouring and role of German Hugo Schmeisser, who had
confusion; in consequence, it is hard to tell fact worked on the Sturmgewehr, and was a prisoner
from fiction, and many sources conflict. With of war, forced to work in the Soviet Union until
regards to technical specifications I based myself 1952, is unclear, but it is suspected he worked on
on Gordon Rottman, The Ak-47 Kalashnikov-series the AK-47, as well. See: Chivers, op. cit. (note 2),
Assault Rifles, Oxford: Osprey Publishers, 2011; p. 152, pp. 206-209, and Rottman, op. cit. (note 2),
and with regards to the origin and the historical pp. 15-16.
context of the guns’ development on C.J. Chivers, 15 Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), p. 207.
The Gun, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010, pp. 16 Ibid., p. 154.
16-17, 150-154. 17 As mentioned earlier, some qualities can be
3 To be exact, different models from the Moisin attributed to the M1943 cartridge — from here on,
Nagant series of rifles, specifically the M1891/30, we should understand the cartridge and the rifle
M38 and M44. as existing in symbiosis. In 1959, an improved
4 Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), pp. 164-165. The version of the AK-47 was put in production. This
translation of ‘Sturmgewehr’, assault rifle, came version, the AKM (or Avtomat Kalashnikova
to be the common name for this type of rifles. Modernizirovanny, the Modernized Automatic by
Legend has it that the designation ‘Sturmgewehr’ Kalashnikov) replaced the original weapon, and is
was given to the rifle by Adolf Hitler himself, but the most produced version of the rifle. See: Ibid.,
Rottman notes this is highly doubtful. See: pp. 242-243.
Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 9. 18 Bennett, op. cit. (note 1), p. 63. Rottman gives the
5 Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), p. 161. This commitment more applicable average time of one hour. See:
to powerful, large cartridges may seem strange in Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 20.
hindsight, but was the common sentiment in 19 Jurgen Brauer, ‘Arms Industries, Arms Trade, and
military circles. From the context of the time, it is Developing Countries’ in: K. Hartley and T.
an understandable commitment: the shift to a Sandler (eds.), Handbook of Defense Economics
smaller cartridge is counterintuitive. It meant (Volume 2), Elsevier, 2007, p. 998.
spending money and resources on the develop- 20 Paul Graves-Brown, ‘Avtomat Kalashnikova’ in:
ment of cartridges that were, at least in theory, Journal of Material Culture 12(3) 2007, pp.
less lethal than the cartridges that were already 285-307, p. 301.
in production and available. 21 Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 46.
6 Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 8. 22 Ibid., p. 46, p. 51; Philip Killicoat, ‘Weaponomics:
7 Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), p. 161; Rottman, op. cit. The Global Market for Assault Rifles’ in: World
(note 2), p. 8. Bank Policy Research, s.l., 2007, pp. 3-4. Rottman
8 Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), p. 163. adds that the AK-47 can be yielded by both sexes,
9 For those confused by the strange practice of a quality appreciated by Marxist guerrillas in Latin
calibre sizes: designations between inches and America. See: Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 52.
millimetres are used together, as they refer to 23 Ibid., p. 59. As Chivers notes, the popular model
standard sizes of cartridges developed in America of the AK-47 with under-foldable stock is shorter
or the West. A .30-inch calibre is of comparable than a regulation tennis racket — short enough to
size to the 7.9-millimeter calibre. In addition, the be hidden underneath a coat. See: Chivers, op.
first number in a standard cartridge designation cit. (note 2), p. 209.
refers to the calibre (diameter) of the bullet, the 24 The AK-47 is not as accurate as a high-powered
second to the case length. rifle, and is of little use on the long range. It is not
10 Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), p. 187. as devastating as a true machine gun: as a
11 Ibid., p. 187. compromise, it does not perform a single task to
12 Ibid., p. 188. perfection, but a broad variety of tasks adequate-
13 Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 18. The final tests of ly. We might add here that in the 1950’s,
the contest were harsh, including subjection to complementary weapons based on the AK-47
extreme cold, salt water, long periods of were designed: the RPK (Ruchnoi Pulemyot
submersion in swamp water, and drops from Kalashnikova or Handheld Machine-gun by
heights onto a concrete floor. In one test, the gun Kalashnikov); the PK (Pulemyot Kalashnikov or

67
 Machinegun by Kalashnikov); and the SVD 22), p. 12. Rottman and Killicoat both mention
(Snaiperskaya Vintovka Dragunova or Sniper Rifle 75.000.000 true AK-47s, and an additional
by Dragunova). As these were all based on the 25.000.000 belonging to the Kalashnikov family
AK-47, they shared some functionality, inter- (machine guns, sniper rifles, etc.). See: Rottman,
changeable parts, and ammunition. See: Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), p. 4; Killicoat, op. cit. (note 22), p.
op. cit. (note 2), pp. 243-244; Rottman, op. cit. 3.
(note 2), p. 39. 43 Rottman for instance notes that Venezuela has
25 Rottman shows an AK-47 taken from a Somali begun to produce their own version of the AK-47
pirate; it is entirely encrusted with rust due to its in 2010 in excessive quantities; it is foreseeable
salt water environment, but still functions. See: that these copies will, in time, find their way
Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 18. across South-America as well. Bennett adds: ‘If
26 Killicoat uses an average AK-47’s life expectancy you want one or need one, someone will sell it to
of fifty years to account for depreciation in his you.’ See: Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 37;
models on the economics of the AK-47. See: Bennett, op. cit. (note 1), p. 9.
Killicoat, op. cit. (note 22), p. 15. On a visit to 44 Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 47; Chivers, op. cit.
Afghanistan in 2008, Chivers took a photograph (note 2), p. 13. See also: Killicoat, op. cit. (note 22)
of an AK-47 produced in 1954 that was still in use. and Brauer, op. cit. (note 19).
See: Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), figure 33. 45 For instance: on average, the price of an AK-47 in
27 Rottman op. cit. (note 2), p. 47; Chivers, op. cit. the period 1986-2005 was US$ 990 in Western
(note 2), pp. 203, 340. Europe, and US$ 267 in Africa and the Middle
28 The MPiK, AKK, AKM-63, and KbK AK respec- East. See: Killicoat, op. cit. (note 22), table I.
tively. Bennett, op. cit. (note 1), pp. 76-80, 91-100, 46 Rottman gives a good example: in Lebanon, the
101-107, 112-114. price for an AK-47 doubled to $600 after the
29 The Type 56 and its derivatives. Ibid., pp. 81-86; assassination of Prime Minister Hariri in 2005,
Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), p. 217. and tripled during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War.
30 Killicoat sees this is as a crucial early advantage See: Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), pp. 47-48.
of the rifle’s eventual popularity. See: Killicoat, op. 47 Ibid., p. 48.
cit. (note 22), p. 4. Brauer adds that the AK-47 48 Ibid., pp. 48, 52.
was patented as late as 1999, and that this patent 49 Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), p. 377.
was much disregarded. See: Brauer, op. cit. (note 50 Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 72.
19), p. 998. 51 Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), p. 350.
31 Bennett, op. cit. (note 1), pp. 87-90. 52 Ibid., p. 351.
32 Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), p. 349; Bennett, op. cit. 53 Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), pp. 48-49.
(note 1), pp. 90-91. 54 Ibid., p. 73.
33 Chivers quotes Fatah-commander Abu Jihad: 55 Interestingly, the weapon yielded by Osama Bin
‘The Kalashnikov is our only language until we Laden in photographs is an atypical version of the
free all of Palestine.’ See: Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), gun: an AKSU-74 taken in the 1980’s from a
p. 350. Soviet helicopter crew. Brandishing this version
34 Ibid., p. 361. rather than a regular AKM really send off the
35 Ibid., pp. 361-362. message of Bin Laden being hard-core. The
36 Ibid., 203-204. A telling example: when Finland, AKSU-74 now bears the nickname ‘The Osama’
affiliated with neither the Warsaw Pact nor the and is quite popular. See: Chivers, op. cit. (note 2),
West, secretly tried to obtain AK-47s for its own p. 383.
army, its efforts to do so where secretly helped 56 The AK-47 is not the first to feature such a
by the Soviet Union. Ibid., pp. 249-250. banana-shaped magazine. See: Graves-Brown,
37 Ibid., p. 245. op. cit. (note 20), p. 303.
38 Ibid., pp. 342-344. 57 Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 18-19.
39 Ibid., p. 342. 58 Graves-Brown, op. cit. (note 20), p. 300.
40 Ibid., pp. 342-344. 59 Rottman, op. cit. (note 2), p. 47.
41 Ibid., pp. 341-342, 366-368. Killicoat points out 60 Chivers, op. cit. (note 2), p. 204; the image of
that the collapse of the Soviet Union surprisingly American soldiers in Vietnam who had replaced
did not cause a significant supply shock for the their M16s with captured AK-47s was painfully
small arms market. See: Killicoat, op. cit. (note effective — the malfunctioning M16 led to a
22), p. 16. national controversy. See: Ibid., chapter 7 (pp.
42 Killicoat gives a number of 100 million 263-336).
(100.000.000) AK-47s. See: Killicoat, op. cit. (note

68