Legendary Russian gun designer Mikhail Kalashnikov agreed on Tuesday to become an aide to Dmitry Rogozin, the newly appointed deputy prime minister in charge of the country’s defense industry, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.
Kalashnikov, 92, accepted the offer, which Rogozin made during a visit to the Izhmash plant in the Volga city of Izhevsk, where Kalashnikov AK assault rifles are produced.
“I have a personal request for you – to become my advisor,” said Rogozin, who served as Russia’s envoy to NATO before being appointed deputy prime minister late last year, adding: “I will have only one advisor in Russia, and this will be Kalashnikov.”
In September 2011, Chief of the Russian General Staff Nikolai Makarov said the Defense Ministry had stopped procuring AK-74 rifles because of oversupply, indicating that new models of small arms and light weapons would replace it.
The AK-74 is the most widely used and well-known assault rifle in the world. It is used by some 50 armies around the world, as well as countless guerrilla movements.
