17 moments

1. Birth in Kurya

   1919-11-10 · Kurya, Altai Krai, Russia

   Kalashnikov was born in the Altai village of Kurya.

2. Family deportation to Nizhnyaya Mokhovaya

   1930-01-01 · Nizhnyaya Mokhovaya, Tomsk Oblast, Russia

   Kalashnikov was among the Kalashnikov family deported after its property was confiscated during Soviet dekulakization. Historic settlement location is represented approximately; modern gazetteers inconsistently identify the former village.

3. Railway work in Alma-Ata

   1936-01-01 · Almaty, Kazakhstan

   Kalashnikov worked for two years at the Turkestan–Siberian Railway division in Alma-Ata before military conscription. The evidence supports a two-year period beginning after his 1936 move to Kazakhstan; only the start year is used.

4. Railway-depot work at Matai

   1936-01-01 · Matay railway station, Matay, Jetisu Region, Kazakhstan

   After leaving school, Kalashnikov went to Kazakhstan and began work at the railway depot at Matai station. The source gives 1936 as the year he left school and went to Kazakhstan; it does not give a month.

5. Tank-regiment posting at Stryi

   1941-06-01 · Stryi, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine

   Kalashnikov served with the 24th Tank Regiment, 12th Tank Division, stationed at Stryi before its retreat after the Battle of Brody. The source places the regiment at Stryi before its June 1941 retreat but does not specify Kalashnikov’s arrival date there.

6. Assignment to the Shchurovo weapons range

   1942-07-01 · NIPSMVO firing range, Shchurovo, Kolomna, Moscow Oblast, Russia

   Following evaluation of his first submachine-gun design, Kalashnikov was sent to the Red Army’s small-arms and mortar-weapons test range, beginning his professional weapons-design career. The named NIPSMVO range was located at Shchurovo; coordinate is a representative point for the former range area.

7. Sent to the Kirkizh plant in Kovrov

   1946-01-01 · K. O. Kirkizh Plant, Kovrov, Vladimir Oblast, Russia

   Kalashnikov was sent to Kovrov’s K. O. Kirkizh plant, where early experimental Kalashnikov assault-rifle models were made for trials. The source specifies autumn 1946 but not a month.

8. Move to Izhevsk for weapons work

   1949-01-01 · Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia

   

   From 1949 onward, Kalashnikov lived and worked in Izhevsk, the city that became the center of his weapons-design career. The evidence supports continuing residence and work from 1949; city-center coordinates are used because no single workplace is specified.

9. Sixtieth-birthday gathering in Izhevsk

   1969-01-01 · Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia

   A museum-held photograph documents Kalashnikov celebrating his sixtieth birthday with fellow weapons designers Alexander Zaitsev and Nikolai Afanasiev in Izhevsk. Exact celebration venue is not identified in the museum record.

10. Meeting and rifle comparison with Eugene Stoner

    1990-05-20 · Northern Virginia Rod and Gun Club firing range, Star Tannery, Virginia, United States

    Kalashnikov and American firearms designer Eugene Stoner compared their automatic rifles at the NORVA firing range during a Smithsonian-recorded interview session. Coordinates represent Star Tannery because the historical range’s exact site is not supplied in the archival finding aid.

11. Firing session with Eugene Stoner

    1990-05-21 · Northern Virginia Rod and Gun Club firing range, Star Tannery, Virginia, United States

    The next day at the NORVA firing range, Kalashnikov and Stoner were recorded firing various weapons. Coordinates represent Star Tannery because the historical range’s exact site is not supplied in the archival finding aid.

12. AK-47 anniversary ceremony

    1997-02-01 · Central Armed Forces Museum, Moscow, Russia

    Kalashnikov attended a Moscow ceremony marking fifty years since the AK-47 entered production and was received at the Russian Armed Forces Museum. The contemporary report is dated February 24, 1997 and describes a ceremony held the preceding Thursday; month precision is retained.

13. AK-47 sixtieth-anniversary celebration

    2007-07-06 · Central Armed Forces Museum, Moscow, Russia

    

    Kalashnikov spoke at Moscow celebrations for the sixtieth anniversary of the AK-47’s creation and was received at the Central Museum of the Armed Forces. The report dated July 7 identifies the celebration as occurring on Friday, July 6, 2007.

14. Hero of Russia ceremony

    2009-11-10 · Moscow Kremlin, Moscow, Russia

    

    On his ninetieth birthday, President Dmitry Medvedev presented Kalashnikov with the Hero of Russia medal at a Kremlin ceremony. AP Archive footage description dates the ceremony to November 10, 2009.

15. Hospitalization in Izhevsk

    2013-11-17 · Republican Clinical Diagnostic Center of Udmurtia, Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia

    As his health deteriorated, Kalashnikov was hospitalized in intensive care at the Republican Clinical Diagnostic Center of Udmurtia in Izhevsk. City coordinates are used because the cited page names the institution but does not provide its street address.

16. Death in Izhevsk

    2013-12-23 · Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russia

    

    Kalashnikov died at age 94 in a hospital in Izhevsk after prolonged illness. The reporting identifies Izhevsk but not the hospital in this quoted passage; city coordinates are used.

17. Burial at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery

    2013-12-27 · Federal Military Memorial Cemetery, Mytishchinsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia

    

    Kalashnikov’s funeral and burial were held at the Federal Military Memorial Cemetery near Moscow after a farewell ceremony attended by senior Russian officials. Posthumous physical presence: the source reports the farewell ceremony at the cemetery where he was to be buried.