KALASHNIKOV

Mikhail Kalashnikov, an experienced tank commander in the Soviet Army, is seriously injured in a battle. He can't go back to the front yet still wants to fight for his country; but how? At the front the 29-year-old noticed that the army's sub-machine guns often jammed. That led to unnecessary deaths. In the sanatorium he recovers and, at the same time, tinkers with a model of a new weapon. After unsuccessful attempts he manages to bring his idea to the attention of military commanders. They permit him to take part in a modern weapons competition. The AK 47 he developed and which bears his name today was soon thereafter mass produced and subsequently played a key role in the outcome of the Second World War, along with other new military technology. One of several recent feature films from Russia that focuses on the development of successful military technology and thus celebrates the heritage of Russian engineering in conjunction with disciplined perseverance. MM