"I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists." — Mikhail Kalashnikov

For years, I had a top secret clearance and never left Russia. Just once did I go to Bulgaria with my wife for a holiday at the Golden Sands resort, but I could not mention my real name. I was allowed to travel abroad only in the early 1990s.

I tried a dozen different modifications that were rejected. But they all served as a path to the final design.