Kalashnikov statue unveiled in Moscow

The Associated Press reports:

The new statue of Mikhail Kalashnikov cradling his signature AK-47 assault rifle unveiled Tuesday in Moscow commemorates one of Russia’s most renowned and reviled inventions. By some estimates, the AK-47 and its versions account for about one-fifth of the world’s firearms ….

The AK-47’s distinctive profile with a banana clip makes it one of the world’s most recognizable firearms. It appears on the flag of Mozambique, the flag of Hezbollah and its barrel is shown on Zimbabwe’s coat of arms.

UPI has more, including about some of the debate about the statue:

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 mildly. This is trash. It’s loathsome,” said local resident Natalya Seina, according to U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe.

But the AK-47 has been the standard issue rifle for members of the Russian military and some say honoring the inventor is akin to honoring the military.

“[Kalashnikov] created this weapon to defend his motherland,” said Russian Orthodox minister Father Konstantin, who sprinkled holy water on the statue.

And Salavat Shcherbakov, the artist who created the statue, said it “represents the victory of good over the forces of evil.”

Thanks to Matt Egloff for the pointer.

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/09/20/kalashnikov-statue-unveiled-in-moscow/