The AK-47 is the most used fire arm in the world, with there being over 100 million rifles around the world, and the creator of this simple rifle died on December 23 of 2013. Mikhail Kalashnikov died at the age of 94 and was the designer of the AK-47. Kalashnikov designed his rifle to fight the more technological advanced Nazi's during World War II. The rifle never saw combat during the Second World War because it was not put into service till 1949, but it has become the choice of weaponry among revolutionaries, terrorist, rebels, and many governments around the world. 
The rifle is easy to use and maintain, which is the primary reason why it has been chosen by so many. The rifle doesn't jam in jungles or desert environments, and because of this very reason why it was common for US troops during the Vietnam War to ditch their standard issue M-16 rifles and pick up an AK-47 off a dead Viet-Cong or North Vietnamese soldier, because the M-16 would frequently jam in the jungle environment of Vietnam, while the AK-47 continued to fire. The rifle was spread fast because of how cheap it was too, making it easy to afford for up and coming revolutionaries in Third World countries. The Soviet Union also heavily spread the rifle around. The Soviet Union would give their large quantities of the rifle to nations that supported them during the Cold War and it became the standard rifle among the nations in the Warsaw Pact. The significance of the rifle can also be seen in the national flag of Mozambique.
People have asked Kalashnikov if he regrets designing the weapon, because of how widely used the rifle is, and his response he said "I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence," which he said in 2007. However around near the end of his life, letters he wrote express the regret he had for creating the rifle that has been used to take so many lives (more about the letters). Around when he turned 91 Kalashnikov went to the church frequently and spent much of his time their. The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church said that "If the weapon is used to defend the Motherland, the Church supports both its creators and the servicemen using it." And when it comes down to it, Kalashnikov could not control who could or could not use his rifle and for what purpose.
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Mikhail Kalashnikov - http://imgick.syracuse.com/home/syr-media/pgmain/img/post-standard/photo/2013/12/mikhail-kalashnikov-dead-at-94-9d4ced3cb62fbec5.jpg
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