A Journey Back in Time to see the history of AK47

by Ishtiaq Hussain (Pakistan)

A leap into the unknown Russia

It does not matter if you like or dislike weapons as a whole, Izhevsk, Russia has few attractions and they are extremely proud of their history (which they should) so, not coming to the arm's museum is like not going to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, Mount Everest in Nepal or the Paramides in Egypt... Although I do have to admit that Izhevsk is not close to the grandioseness of any of these cities. When I was a child my hometown people in Pakistan were using Kalashnikov-AK47 in every dispute between the tribes. From that time I started thinking about the production history of AK47. But finally, the dream change into reality and I visit Kalashnikov-AK47 museum in Izhevsk, Russia. The museum has a long collection of weapons, must of them designed by Kalashnikov that can be very informative. You get to understand the motivation at the time to build this rifle and (in my case, as a scientist and engineer) you marvel a bit for the simplicity of a design that has lasted all these years. If you are not interested in history nor weapons, then the visit is going to be rather short. Walking around can be achieved in as little as 20 to 30 minutes, as typical of regional Russia, the vast array of labels and boards are written in Russian with little to no subtitle for English speakers. There are, however, some English guides, I did not get one of these because it was their resting day... I would recommend you to request one in advance or ask when the guide is going to be there... luckily for me, I was with the team of my 'World Festival of Youth and Students' that kindly worked as my personal guide. If you have ever felt curious about what it feels to fire an AK47... you will be able to do it here. I must say, I am not a big fan of weapons, but I did enjoy a bit the museum and I was amazed we spent two hours and a bit in there. Time went by pretty fast.