"Optimists these days learn English, pessimists learn Chinese, but realists learn how to operate an AK-47."
The Russian company that manufactures the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifle has fallen on hard times. A halt in orders from the Russian military and a flood of cheaper knockoffs have driven it into bankruptcy. But the firm hopes to revive its fortunes with new models and a global branding campaign.
Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy prime minister in charge of Russia's defense industry, likes to toss out pithy statements while traveling and making public appearances, ones meant to revive Russians' pride in their country.
Rogozin often draws on anecdotes from his time as Russia's ambassador to NATO. In Brussels, he says, he heard the following more than once from his Western colleagues: "Optimists these days learn English, pessimists learn Chinese, but realists learn how to operate an AK-47." It's the umpteenth rehashing of an ancient joke, and it wouldn't be entirely off-base to suspect Rogozin came up with the line himself. But the bon mot went over particularly well during Rogozin's visit to the Izhmash factory in the western Russian city of Izhevsk, where he intended it as balm for the souls of local workers. Indeed, employees here have an interest in the fate of the AK-47 assault rifle because behind Izhmash's harmless-sounding company name stands Russia's largest arms manufacturer -- and the birthplace of the famous Kalashnikov.
This automatic weapon, known in Russian simply as an "avtomat," even receives the highest praise from Americans, Rogozin reported. Elite US military units use it, he added, even though the US Congress generally prefers to purchase only American-made weapons. Private collectors have also come to embrace this assault rifle, he continued, noting that US sales of the weapon jumped by 50 percent last year. He also mentioned how Afghanistan is still asking Moscow for Kalashnikovs "even though they have 140,000 well-armed NATO soldiers within their borders."
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Russian Kalashnikov Maker Fights Bankruptcy with New Weapons Models - SPIEGEL ONLINE
The Russian company that manufactures the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifle has fallen on hard times. A halt in orders from the Russian military and a flood of cheaper knockoffs have driven it into bankruptcy. But the firm hopes to revive its fortunes with new models and a global branding campaign.
Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy prime minister in charge of Russia's defense industry, likes to toss out pithy statements while traveling and making public appearances, ones meant to revive Russians' pride in their country.
Rogozin often draws on anecdotes from his time as Russia's ambassador to NATO. In Brussels, he says, he heard the following more than once from his Western colleagues: "Optimists these days learn English, pessimists learn Chinese, but realists learn how to operate an AK-47." It's the umpteenth rehashing of an ancient joke, and it wouldn't be entirely off-base to suspect Rogozin came up with the line himself. But the bon mot went over particularly well during Rogozin's visit to the Izhmash factory in the western Russian city of Izhevsk, where he intended it as balm for the souls of local workers. Indeed, employees here have an interest in the fate of the AK-47 assault rifle because behind Izhmash's harmless-sounding company name stands Russia's largest arms manufacturer -- and the birthplace of the famous Kalashnikov.
This automatic weapon, known in Russian simply as an "avtomat," even receives the highest praise from Americans, Rogozin reported. Elite US military units use it, he added, even though the US Congress generally prefers to purchase only American-made weapons. Private collectors have also come to embrace this assault rifle, he continued, noting that US sales of the weapon jumped by 50 percent last year. He also mentioned how Afghanistan is still asking Moscow for Kalashnikovs "even though they have 140,000 well-armed NATO soldiers within their borders."
more
Russian Kalashnikov Maker Fights Bankruptcy with New Weapons Models - SPIEGEL ONLINE
