Editing Mikhail Kalashnikov (section)

{{Short description|Russian firearms designer (1919–2013)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
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{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Mikhail Kalashnikov
| native_name         = {{nobold|Михаил Калашников}}
| native_name_lang    = ru
| image               = Kalashnikov Mikhail (1).jpg
| caption             = 
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1919|11|10|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Kurya, Kuryinsky District, Altai Krai|Kurya]], {{Interlanguage link|Altai Governorate|ru|Алтайская губерния}}, [[Russian SFSR]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2013|12|23|1919|11|10|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Izhevsk]], Udmurtia, Russia
| known_for           = Designer of the [[AK-47]], [[AKM]], [[AK-74]], [[RPK]], and [[PK machine gun|PK]]
| occupation          = [[Small arms]] designer
| spouse              = {{Marriage|Ekaterina Moiseyeva|1940|1977|end=d}}
| children            = 4, including [[Victor Kalashnikov|Victor]]
| party               = [[United Russia]]<br>[[CPRF]] (until 2001)<br>[[CPSU]] (until 1991)
| awards              = {{Unbulleted list
 | [[USSR State Prize]] (1959)<ref name=bse/>
 | {{nowrap|[[Hero of Socialist Labour]] (1964)<ref name=bse/>}}
 | [[State Stalin Prize|Stalin Prize]] (1978)<ref name=kpss/><ref name=r3/>
 | [[Lenin Prize]] (2)<ref name=bse/>
 | [[Hero of the Russian Federation]]
 | [[Order of St. Andrew]]
 | [[Order For Merit to the Fatherland]] II cl.
 }}
| office              = Deputy of the [[Supreme Soviet]]
| term_start          = 1950
| term_end            = 1958
| termend1            = 1989
| termstart1          = 1966
| allegiance          = Soviet Union
 | branch             = [[Red Army]]
 | serviceyears       = 1938&nbsp;– 1941
 | rank               = [[Lieutenant general]]
 | battles            = {{Tree list}}
* [[World War&nbsp;II]]
** [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]
*** [[Battle of Brody (1941)|Battle of Brody]]
*** [[Battle of Bryansk (1941)|Battle of Bryansk]]
{{Tree list/end}}
}}

'''Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov'''{{Family name footnote|Timofeyevich|[[Kalashnikov (surname){{!}}Kalashnikov]]|lang=Eastern Slavic}}{{efn|{{IPAc-en|UK|k|ə|ˈ|l|æ|ʃ|n|ɪ|k|ɒ|f}} {{respell|kə|LASH|nik|off}}, {{IPAc-en|US|-|ˈ|l|ɑː|ʃ|-}} {{respell|-|LAHSH|-}};<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref><ref>{{cite EPD|18}}</ref> {{lang-rus|Михаил Тимофеевич Калашников|p=mʲɪxɐˈil tʲɪmɐˈfʲejɪvʲɪtɕ kɐˈlaʂnʲɪkəf}}}} (10{{nbsp}}November 1919{{spd}}23{{nbsp}}December 2013) was a Soviet and Russian [[lieutenant general]], inventor, [[Military engineering|military engineer]], writer, and [[small arms]] designer. He is most famous for developing the [[AK-47]] [[assault rifle]] and its improvements, the [[AKM]] and [[AK-74]], as well as the [[RPK]] [[light machine gun]] and [[PK machine gun]].<ref name=bse/>

Kalashnikov was, according to himself, a self-taught tinkerer who combined innate mechanical skills with the study of weaponry to design arms that achieved battlefield ubiquity.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/24/world/europe/mikhail-kalashnikov-creator-of-soviet-era-ak-47-weapon-is-dead-at-age-94.html?pagewanted=all&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB&_r=0| title = Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of AK-47, Dies at 94|work =[[The New York Times]]|author= Chivers, C. J. |date=23 December 2013| access-date = 25 December 2013}}</ref> Even though Kalashnikov felt sorrow at the weapons' uncontrolled distribution, he took pride in his inventions and in their reputation for reliability, emphasizing that his rifle is "a weapon of defense" and "not a weapon for offense".<ref name="NYT"/>