Last name of Russian small-arms designer Mikhail T. Kalashnikov. His seminal design was adopted by the Soviet Army in 1947 (although not fielded for a few years) as "Avtomat Kalashnikova" of 1947, or, "Automatic Rifle of (by) Kalashnikov", abbreviated to AK-47. It is a milestone in firearms design, combining an incredibly robust, soldier-proof design with
relatively light weight. The
ergonomics,
like many Soviet-era designs, are somewhat lacking. The rifle is chambered for an "intermediate-power" cartridge, the 7.62x39mm, which is comparable to the 19th-century .30-30 Winchester. In 1959, the design was modernized and upgraded and the name changed to AKM (Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovannyj; Automatic rifle of Kalashnikov, modernized). This design and its various folding-stock versions was
standard issue for all Warsaw Pact countries until 1974, when it was modified yet again to take a new (and arguably less
effective) cartridge, the 5.45x39mm, and became the AK-74. All of these rifles are generically termed "AKs" or "Kalashnikovs".
Mikhail Kalashnikov, while a Hero of The Soviet Union, made exactly zero money from the 50 million or so AKs made, and owns no part of the Ihzvesk plant that currently makes the bulk of Russia's AK models.
