You see, with [designing] weapons, it is like a woman who bears children. [...] For months she carries her baby and thinks about it. A designer does much the same thing with a prototype. I felt like a mother - always proud. It is a special feeling, as if you were awarded with a special award.
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À propos de l'AK-47
Mikhaïl Kalachnikov Citations
I made it to protect the motherland. And then they spread the weapon [around the world] - not because I wanted them to. Not at my choice. Then it was like a genie out of the bottle and it began to walk all on its own and in directions I did not want.
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À propos de l'AK-47
Mikhaïl Kalachnikov: Citations en anglais
For Patriotism and Profit (2001)
Contexte: I was in the hospital, and a soldier in the bed beside me asked: "Why do our soldiers have only one rifle for two or three of our men, when the Germans have automatics?" So I designed one. I was a soldier, and I created a machine gun for a soldier. It was called an Avtomat Kalashnikova, the automatic weapon of Kalashnikov — AK — and it carried the date of its first manufacture, 1947.
"Kalashnikov, 90, decries 'criminal' use of rifle" by Dmitry Solovyov, at Reuters (26 October 2009) http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLQ148454
"The Man Who Invented The AK-47 Has Died — Here's His Greatest Regret" by Adam Taylor, in Business Insider (23 December 2013) http://www.businessinsider.com/mikhail-kalashnikovs-death-and-his-greatest-regret-2013-12#ixzz2oW7igOTn
“I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists.”
As quoted in "Kalashnikov: 'I wish I'd made a lawnmower'" by Kate Connolly, in The Guardian (29 July 2002) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jul/30/russia.kateconnolly
Contexte: I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists. … I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work — for example a lawnmower.
For Patriotism and Profit (2001)
For Patriotism and Profit (2001)
As quoted in "AK-47 Inventor Says Conscience Is Clear" by Joel Roberts at CBS News (6 July 2007)
As quoted in "AK-47 Inventor Says Conscience Is Clear" by Joel Roberts at CBS News (6 July 2007) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ak-47-inventor-says-conscience-is-clear/
As quoted in "Organization Design: A Guide to Building Effective Organizations", by Patricia Cichocki and Christine Irwin, Kogan Page Publishers (Mar 3, 2014)