Gun maker Kalashnikov to participate in Arms Show in Minsk :: Charter'97 :: News

Gun designer Mikhail Kalashnikov will take part in the MILEX 2005 international arms show slated for May 17 to 20 in Minsk, Belarus, a spokesman for Russian company Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday.

Rosoboronexport, the state-owned intermediary in arms export, is the organizer of the united Russian exposition at the show, the spokesman said.

Mikhail Kalashnikov is to represent the Union of Russian Armorers, which president he is.

At the arms show, the legendary gun maker is to make a report on Russian small arms on the global market.

Rosoboronexport`s spokesman underlined that there had been about 100 million Kalashnikov assault riles and machineguns made throughout the world, while US-made automatic rifle M-16 had numbered only about 12 million.

"Owing to its ease of operation, high reliability and effectiveness, the Kalashnikov assault rifle has been fielded with more than 50 militaries across the globe. This a proof of the high credibility of the weapon as well as Russian small arms as a whole in the world," the Rosoboronexport spokesman noted.

In all, the gunsmith has developed over 150 weapons - both small arms and hunting guns.