“AK-47. The very best there is. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherf***er in the room, accept no substitutes.” With these words, Ordell Robbie, Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown summarises perfectly what has been dubbed the “10 USD Weapon of Mass Destruction.” Light, powerful, functional, affordable, gas-operated, and ever so elegant, the AK-47 (Kalashnikov model automatic rifle of 1947) is the most widespread weapon in the world.
Created in 1947 by Mikhail Kalashnikov, the AK-47 is Russia’s answer to the semi-automatic assault weapon, and was an attempt at competing with the German’s World War II assault rifle. Since then, it has become the weapon of choice for numerous armies across the world – be they legitimate or not. With over 100 million out there, it is, by far, the greatest killing machine on and off the market, save for the atomic bomb.
Able to fire up to 600 rounds per minute, the main reason for the AK-47’s success is its unquestionable durability. Dragged through rain, mud, dust, and the worst of Russian winters, the gun will continue to fire without jamming. “Even after lying in a swamp you can pick up this rifle, aim it and shoot. That's the best job description there is for a gun,” says Kalashnikov, according to the Buckeye Planet website.
Available for as little as 10 USD in some war torn African countries, it has become the gun for the masses. Men, women, and, while you’re at it, children, have used it to ensure that local conflicts can drag on for years on end, and have made it the centre of modern armed conflict. The weapon adorns the flag of Mozambique, and it is found in the coat of arms of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and East Timor.
The AK-47 has played an especially important role right here in the Middle East. It is the weapon of choice for groups like Hezbollah, who feature it on their flag, and it is the weapon currently being used on the streets of Baghdad by the resistance, and, according to its creator, by the US military. “Every day on television we see that the Americans in Iraq have my machine guns and assault rifles in their armoured vehicles. Even their American rifles don't work properly.”
Local leaders have also been drawn to it. When the US army invaded one of Saddam Hussein’s many palaces in Baghdad, they found a personalised AK-47 among his prized possessions, completely plated in gold, and engraved with his name. It is believed that Hussein had presented several similar ones to some heads-of-state, though the names of the lucky recipients remain undisclosed. Sharing his reverence in the weapon, Oussama Bin Laden rarely appears in a video without his own weapon: an AK-74, the newer version of the AK-47.
Interestingly and despite its widespread success, the numerous variants that have been developed over the years, and the fact that it is often referred to as the Kalashnikov, or the ‘Kalash’ for short, its creator never received a single penny for it.
That is, until recently, when Philippe Stark, one of today’s leading designers, launched his Guns Collection Lampshades. Starck’s collection includes a table lamp made up of a gold-plated AK-47, with a black lampshade engraved with small crosses on the inside, to represent death and those that have passed. Recognising that Kalashnikov has never received any royalties for his design, Starck, somewhat sarcastically, declared, “I intend to pay [Kalashnikov] a commission for the sales of the model that replicates his invention. Poor guy. The remainder will be donated to [Doctors Without Borders], though sometimes I wonder why.” Each lamp has the words “Happiness is a hot gun” engraved on it.
The AK47’s influence on pop culture does not stop at Starck. Actually, its impact on popular culture is as important as its impact on the battlefield. The weapon has been glorified in everything from rap music and gangster films to industrial design.
It has also played an interesting role in peace initiatives. In Columbia, Jose Paredes, a local instrument maker, takes decommissioned rifles, and transforms them into guitars, as part of a United Nations programme to promote peace. “It’s a paradox to take something that kills and transform it into something to please people…It’s not what it was, and that makes you happy,” says Paredes.
The happiness that stems from not using the AK-47 for its intended purpose, or not using it at all, is shared by many. As even the famous gangster rap artist Ice Cube eulogises, “Today, I didn’t even have to use my AK. I gotta say, it was a good day.” Make music not war unless, of course, you really have to.
