Mikhail Kalashnikov , the Russian gun designer whose AK-47 rifle became the weapon of choice for many national armies and guerrillas around the world , died Monday , the Kremlin announced on its website . He was 94 . Kalashnikov designed his first machine gun in 1942 after suffering injuries as a tank commander for the Soviet Union 's Red Army during World War II , but it was n't until 1947 -- after years of tweaks -- that the AK-47 was introduced for Soviet military service . The weapon , recognizable by its banana-shaped ammunition magazine , became known for its simple effectiveness . It was easy to use and maintain , and it was reliable in extreme conditions , be they hot , cold , wet or sandy . From the early 1950s , it became the standard weapon for Soviet and Warsaw Pact countries , according to IHS Jane 's . The gun also proved popular with paramilitary groups : It was so successful in Mozambique 's successful rebel movement of the 1960s and 1970s that its image appears in the national flag . Russia stopped producing AK-47 models in the late 1960s , but production of variants continued there and in other countries . The Guinness World Records book recognized the AK-47 -- AK being a Russian acronym for `` Kalashnikov 's machine gun '' and 47 standing for its debut year -- as the world 's most common machine gun . Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday `` expressed his deepest condolences to the family of Mikhail Kalashnikov in connection with his death , '' a post on the Kremlin 's website read . In 2009 , Kalashnikov told CNN that two main qualities described the AK-47 : simplicity and reliability . `` It is very important because a soldier does n't have university degrees , '' he said . `` He needs a simple and reliable weapon . Just as an academic , for that matter , in a combat situation . There 's simply no time to figure how to operate a complicated weapon and press many buttons when the enemy is advancing on you . '' He said the question he hated most was whether he felt sorry about the hundreds of thousands of people that were killed as a result of his invention . He had a standard answer : . `` I 've designed my weapon to defend the borders of our Fatherland , and let it continue to serve this purpose . '' In 2011 , Izhmash , the Russian manufacturer of the AK-47 family of weapons , said it was abandoning the design in favor of a new one for its next-generation assault rifles . Kalashnikov 's 90th birthday , in November 2009 , was celebrated in Russia nearly like a national holiday . In a televised Kremlin ceremony , then-President Dmitry Medvedev decorated him with the country 's highest order , the Hero of Russia .
Mikhail Kalashnikov developed AK-47 after serving as Soviet tank commander in World War II . Guinness recognized AK-47 as the world 's most common machine gun . Simplicity , reliability were hallmarks of gun , Kalashnikov told CNN in 2009 .