Legends of weapons: AK-47 Bashny.Net

Prague, 1968
Soldiers of the Soviet Union, armed with machine guns, during the Prague Spring - military action in socialist Czechoslovakia, during which Soviet troops were suppressed attempts at reform.




Zagros Mountains, northern Iraq, 1979
Preliminary design of the Kalashnikov assault rifle was the winner at the National competition of designing the machine in 1947 (hence the number 47 in the title), and two years later went to the automatic conveyor mass production. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union began to spread their arms and technological innovations almost 20 spheres of influence, including Iraq. Photo: Kurdish girl in northern Iraq uses machine to protect your family from attack Iraqi military.


Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, USA, 1973
Known for its high quality, excellent shooting machines, even if they pull out of the mud. More than 10 countries have begun to "clone" the machine, and this kind of weapons began to appear all over the world. In the photo: a member of the American-Indian tribe waving an AK-47 during the Wounded Knee Massacre, which was the last major armed conflict between the Dakota Sioux Indians and the US Army, and one of the last battles of the Indian Wars.


Abadan, Iran, 1980
Over the years, Bulgaria - once a respected supplier of weapons in the Soviet Union - is mired in unscrupulous arms trade. During the Iran-Iraq war, which killed about half a million people, Bulgaria sold AK-47 to both sides. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Bulgaria sold machines rebels in Congo, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Imam Sri Lankan soldiers and Hutus, who are responsible for genocide in Rwanda.


Western Cambodia, 1981
The girl from the order of the Khmer Rouge poses with a Kalashnikov assault rifle in the jungle. In the late 1970s as a result of actions of the radical Marxist movement has killed more than 1, 5 million Cambodians.


Bucharest, Romania, 1989
Ironically, this member of the anti-communist movement also uses the AK-47 to catch members of the secret police during the overthrow of Nicolae Ceausescu - Romanian Communist dictator.


Solentiname Islands, Nicaragua, 1984
Woman and child in the exercise conducted by local socialist defense forces, and aimed at combating the counter-revolutionaries, acting with the support of the United States who were trying to overthrow the leftist government.


Kabul, 1992
United States - have been for years one of the main buyers of the AK-47, or at least similar to their machines. In the '80s they have supplied the Chinese and Egyptian b / y Kalashnikovs anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan. Photo: Shia Muslim guards a checkpoint in Kabul.


Izhevsk, Russia, 2002
Although manufacturers AK-47 proud that America fell in love with this machine so that even went to piracy, they are very unhappy with the fact of illegal mass production of the legendary machine that is reflected in their income. Sale of pirated copies, some of which went for a quarter of the cost of the original, jeopardizes the work of Russian arms manufacturers. At the factory in Izhevsk (pictured) in 1991 employs 12 000 people, and today - here there are only 7 000. Analysts estimate that revenue from global sales of these machines ranges from 70 to 105 million dollars.


Hamer village, Ethiopia, 2009
Efiopets demonstrates their weapons.


Basra, Iraq, in 2004
United States has provided more than 165,000 Kalashnikov automatic Iraqi security forces from 2003 to 2006 - a huge number for the black market. The recent situation on the black market weapons in Iraq very clearly reflects the nature of price changes. Shortly after the invasion of the country, when Saddam Hussein's soldiers laid down their arms, and looters ransacked armories, weapons prices have fallen sharply. In the summer of 2003, when the market there are numerous buyers of weapons - from the newly released offenders to freedom to Sunni insurgents and Shiite military - prices shot up again. In the photo: an armed member of the army of Muqtada al-Sadr Mahdi protects the central Sunni mosque where the Friday prayer.


Bar Kambar Khel, Pakistan, 2008
Pakistani Taliban jump out of the truck near the border with Afghanistan. Leader of the "Taliban" Mullah Mohammad Omar once called US President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to a duel on the AK-47. US again began supplying counterfeit machines Afghan war, this time in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban.


Dhushamareb, Somalia, 2009
Sufi Muslims on religious lesson. Usually peaceful and tolerant Sufis in Somalia has only recently taken up arms to defend themselves from attacks by the Islamist group al-Shabab, who want to seize power in the southern areas of the country. So far, these moderate in their views people defend center of the country, are becoming more support and prevent any attempt to invade their territory.