Kalashnikov 'feared he was to blame' for AK-47 rifle deaths

[LAGC]

The inventor of the Kalashnikov assault rifle apparently wrote to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church before he died expressing fears he was morally responsible for the people it killed.

Mikhail Kalashnikov, who died last month aged 94, wrote a long emotional letter to Patriarch Kirill in May 2012, church officials say.

He said he was suffering "spiritual pain" over the many deaths it caused.

Kalashnikov had previously refused to accept responsibility for those killed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25709371

Interesting article... the AK-47 (and its variants) definitely changed the landscape of modern warfare.

Curious that the proliferation of his 65-year-old invention caused him such mental anguish in his final days...

But how much can the inventor truly be blamed? If not the Kalashnikov, surely some other automatic rifle would have filled the void... maybe not as simple and elegant of a design, maybe not as rugged and inexpensive, but equally efficient killing machines none-the-less.

Doesn't it all still boil down to human nature and malicious intent? Or is the tool truly to blame in this case?

It is thought that more than 100 million Kalashnikov rifles have been sold worldwide.

It definitely had an impact, that's for sure...

[Niceguy1]

1. human nature

If it wasnt his rifle it would have been something else

[NYC_SKP]

2. Not unlike Alfred Nobel, the "Merchant of Death":

Who established the Nobel prize out of a sense of guilt, it would seem:

Alfred Nobel was born on 21 October 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden, into a family of engineers. He was a chemist, engineer, and inventor. In 1894, Nobel purchased the Bofors iron and steel mill, which he made into a major armaments manufacturer. Nobel also invented ballistite. This invention was a precursor to many smokeless military explosives, especially the British smokeless powder cordite. As a consequence of his patent claims, Nobel was eventually involved in a patent infringement lawsuit over cordite. Nobel amassed a fortune during his lifetime, with most of his wealth from his 355 inventions, of which dynamite is the most famous.

In 1888, Nobel was astonished to read his own obituary, titled The merchant of death is dead, in a French newspaper. As it was Alfred's brother Ludvig who had died, the obituary was eight years premature. The article disconcerted Nobel and made him apprehensive about how he would be remembered. This inspired him to change his will...

More at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize

Except for the prize part.

[Kelvin Mace]

3. Are we speaking pragmatically or morally?

But how much can the inventor truly be blamed? If not the Kalashnikov, surely some other automatic rifle would have filled the void

Yes, pragmatically speaking, someone else would have stepped in and created the weapon. But from a moral point of view, anyone who creates an instrument of death is responsible for its use. People can make all the arguments they wish about defensive use, hunting, etc, but the principle point of AK-47 was to kill people as efficiently as possible.

The man succeeded, and the blood is on his hands.

[ileus]

4. He was wrong...He developed a tool that was misused.

[Kaleva]

5. Some elderly, when they approach death, do feel remorse for what they have done.

Whether that is warranted or not in this case can be debated.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

6. re: "...Or is the tool (or its inventor) truly to blame in this case?"

Is the inventor of beer responsible for DWI related deaths? No.

"It doesn't break, jam, or overheat. It'll shoot whether it's covered in mud or filled with sand. It's so easy, even a child can use it; and they do. The Soviets put the gun on a coin. (Well, not really.) Mozambique put it on their flag."

[Eleanors38]

7. The Winchester Mansion with doors & halls to no where.

[otohara]

8. Spiritual Pain Is Better Than No Pain

The word "pain" associated with guns is forbidden at The NRA.

[DonP]

9. I guess "Garand Thumb" doesn't count then

[oneshooter]

11. So according to you

I should suffer " Spiritual Pain'' from the use of firearms that I have no control over?

[Eleanors38]

12. Your post is more apt in GD.

[Helen Highwater]

10. This reminds me of the alleged 'deathbed conversion' of Darwin

that was made up for proselytizing reasons.