Russia honors AK-47 creator with 30-foot statue
Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The Russian government unveiled a monument Tuesday to honor the inventor of one of the most highly used deadly weapons in human history: the AK-47 assault rifle.The 30-foot statue of Mikhail Kalashnikov, who created the first design of the AK-47, also known as the Kalashnikov, will stand in one of Moscow's business districts. But such a public display for the man who invented a machine that has killed countless people sparked some controversy in the Russian capital.The statue "in one of the busiest and commonly used streets in the city, reaffirms the image of Russia as a militaristic and neo-imperialistic country that feels it is surrounded by enemies," said Dmitry Shabelnikov, a lawyer and resident of the area, reported the Guardian."This is not artistic, to put it mildl...