 Kalashnikov: Man, Weapon, Legend.
We’ve
put this page together for everyone that can’t hop over to Saint
Petersburg to check out the new exhibition called "Kalashnikov:
Man, Weapon, Legend" at the military-history artillery, engineer-corps
and signal-corps museum. The exhibition opened in November 2004.
It is a tribute to the life and work of Mikhail Kalashnikov
who kicked off the opening with an appearance. He looked to
be in good physical condition and refreshed.
The exhibit includes such unique weapons
as the world's only Russian-made 7.62-mm 1944 self-loading carbine,
the No. 1 AK-47 assault rifle, as well as the 5.45-mm AK-74
assault rifle, which was adopted in 1974. It also has for display
many of the AK variants produced in other countries. A lot of
Mr. Kalashnikov’s personal effects such as awards and gifts
are on display from his museum. Part of this exhibition is devoted
to Kalashnikov's literary work and public activities, featuring
his books "A Gunsmith's Diary" and "From Foreign Lands to the
Spassky Gates". They are all on sale at the exhibition as well.
Unfortunately we were not able to get a copy of the film they
are showing on his life because the exclusive rights belong
to a Russian TV station.
If you are going to visit the exhibition
they have many activities and oral tours. You can take apart
and assemble AKM (AK-74) and Kalashnikov light machine-gun mock-ups
under the supervision of museum attendants. It is a very nice
exhibit and we do apologize for the poor quality of the video
(blame it on our camcorder) and the pictures (blame it on all
the glare, Plexiglas, etc.). We hope you like it! Click on the
pictures to enlarge. Best viewed using a high speed connection.
Jeffrey
www.kalinkaoptics.com
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