Major General Mikhail Kalashnikov is best known for creating the AK-47 and the AK-74 assault weapons as well as the Dragunov Sniper Rifle series, and the RPD and RPK light machine guns as varriants of the Ak series.
He served in the Soviet Armed Forces during World War II as a tank commander.
The original article can be found at Mikhail Kalashnikov and the edit history here.