Posted on 06/26/2013 8:03:13 AM PDT by archy
Legendary gunmaker Kalashnikov flown to Moscow for treatment
Mikhail Kalashnikov, world famous inventor, with an AK-47 assault rifle. (RIA Novosti / Vladimir Vyatkin)
Russia 93-year-old Mikhail Kalashnikov has been flown to Moscow for hospital treatment on an Emergencies Ministry plane after being taken ill in his home city of Izhevsk. The iconic gunsmith is said to be in a serious condition.
The inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle endured the flight well and has been sent to undergo medical treatment in a Central military hospital in the Russian capital, reports Itar-Tass.
Kalashnikov had been admitted to a cardiology hospital in the city of Izhevsk, in the Urals, after suffering a pulmonary thrombosis, when doctors “decided to send Kalashnikov to a Moscow’s clinic for medical supervision,” said Emergencies Ministry’s spokesperson Irina Rossius.
A flying hospital complete with a team of doctors and hi-tech equipment was sent to bring Kalashnikov who also suffers from a heart condition to the capital.
At the end of May Mikhail Kalashnikov spent almost a fortnight undergoing tests in an Izhevsk hospital.
While in hospital the arms designer agreed to transfer the rights to use the Kalashnikov brand name to the Izhmash weapons factory, Russia's largest producer of military automatic and sniper weapons.
The engineer’s health is said to have worsened in December 2012. After a routine check up on December 20 Kalashnikov had to stay in intensive care for some time.
The weapons designer has until recently regularly attended work at the military plant in Izhevsk named after him.
taken ill
radiation poisoning?
“Taking ill” is an occupational hazard of being 93, I would guess.
yeah true, I read it as 39, my dyslexia
Not as likely as the Russian *Soldier's sickness.*
Wow, i am shocked and he is only 93..Does anybody die of old age anymore?
Finger off the trigger! You figure the guy with one of the most prolific names related to firearms would know about proper firearms handling.
That’s what you drink when you just don’t care anymore. I don’t like vodka in general, and I’d never drink Russian vodka. I’d rather stay completely sober while everybody around is getting wrecked on the worst vodka you can find.
How many rounds have you got in that magazine comrade K
“...Finger off the trigger...”
No, he has it pointed in a safe direction...right at the Lenin portrait.
Anyone who has ever been under an AK-47’s fire - and lived - can never forget it.
evidently not enough
He does; he was a Russian tank sergeant. The American way of doing things is not the only way of doing things, and the Russians are nowhere near as concerned about accidents in training as we are. To say nothing of the previous Soviet way of doing things.
He just might have enough experience with firearms to know whether it’s loaded or not.
"This is the AK-47 assault rifle, the preferred weapon of your enemy; and it makes a distinctive sound when fired at you, so remember it."
Concur. It's even more unforgetable if you were fortunate enough to reply with an AK family weapon...which I have, twice [RPK and a PK machinegun.]
My preference in such circumstances would be Kossu. But there are those who would consider tequila a close cousin.
Likely not if they hang around with MikTim and his toys.
Only if you live long enough.
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