The Kalashnikov Museum Virtual Tour: Part 1c -
entering military Museum of Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of AK-47

Pic.1c-11 The bronze sculpture of Mikhail Kalashnikov, created by sculptor Vladimir Kourochkin (a native of the city of Penza), graces the museum's spacious entrance area. In fact, the initial plan was to install only a bust of the designer, but the sponsors felt that Kalashnikov deserved a life size portrayal and generously financed the sculptor, who was approved by Kalashnikov himself. Vladimir Kurochkin comments: "Despite having the rank of Lt.-General (retired), Mikhail is a civilian at heart, so I decided to portray him wearing plain trousers, loose shirt and a jacket". Kalashnikov appreciated the sculptor's approach - at the museum opening banquet he warmly embraced Vladimir and told him: "You know, I really like the hermit-like appearance that you've given me". Pic.1c-12 Pic.1c-13 Pic.1c-14 Entrance door The building has two levels: the upper floor is occupied by the exhibition, and on the ground floor there are the conference hall, the Kalashnikov Fund Headquarters, Kalashnikov's own apartments, a cafe, technical library, public information center, a cinema hall, and gift shop. There is a firing range under construction, which will be open to the general public, and a gun shop is also planned. Let's enter the museum. Pic.1c-15 To the left: entrance door, to the right: personnel only door.

Pic.1c-16 Pic.1c-17 Opposite the entrance is the stairway leading upstairs and downstairs. To the left from the entrance door: the booking office and gift shop (both are in the same kiosk), and the museum guards' office. Pic.1c-18 AK-47 key chain made of high quality optical glass, limited edition. Currently, the assortment in the gift shop is quite limited - the only things related to Kalashnikov are his books, a key chain (made of high quality optical glass), replicas of the 85th anniversary medal and a Kalashnikov CD-ROM (bilingual multimedia presentation - its content is partly used in the museum's information kiosks). The remainder consists of books in Russian on various topics related to small arms design and other weaponry, plus wooden souvenirs from the Udmurt Republic (mostly curved boxes). The key chain and the 85th anniversary medal are limited editions, and the museum claims that once they're gone, there will be no further production. Pic.1c-19 85th anniversary medal, front side. Pic.1c-20 85th anniversary medal, back side. Pic.1c-21 Kalashnikov CD-ROM, front side. Bilingual (in Russian and in English) Pic.1c-22 Kalashnikov CD-ROM, back side. Bilingual (in Russian and in English)

Pic.1c-23 To the right from the entrance door: the coat check and museum cafe. Visitors may stop by in the cozy four table cafe, and enjoy a shot of Kalashnikov Vodka - or a glass of juice. Pic.1c-24 Coat Check + Lost and Found Pic.1c-25The Museum cafe. Highlighted area in the bar denotes the variety of Vodka Kalashnikov offered to visitors.

Pic.1c-26 To enter the exhibition, follow the stairways upstairs. Pic.1c-27 Pic.1c-28 Pic.1c-29 Pic.1c-30

Pic.1c-31 The temple-like structure of the central exhibition hall never fails to impress a visitor - a very high cathedral ceiling, lots of space and very few objects displayed. It's especially impressive on sunny days - when the jalousie in the dome window opens, sunlight saturates the hall. Music and ever changing images projected onto the wall help to set the mood - visitor is immersed in the most exciting technical ideas throughout world history and the people behind them them (Arhimed, Leonardo da Vinci - the list goes on). Famous Russian gunsmiths and the weapons they designed are also shown here.   The hall is dominated by three huge crosses painted black, red and white - these are the colors of the flag of the Udmurt Republic. Black is a symbol of the earth and stability, red - of the sun and life, white - of space and moral purity. The eight-pointed solar sign - a legendary guarding symbol- protects the man from misfortunes. The few rifles on display present the continuity of Russian small arms craftsmanship - these are displayed as art objects rather than weaponry. Pic.1c-34 Pic.1c-35 Pic.1c-36 Pic.1c-37 Pic.1c-38 Pic.1c-39

Pic.1c-40 The door to the Kalashnikov Hall There are three doors leading from the central hall to the exhibition halls - the door straight opposite the stairway leads to the hall devoted to the Izhevsk Arms Factories, and the doors on either side of the stairway lead to Kalashnikov hall - to the beginning and to the end of the exhibition, respectively. So, it's about time for us to come have a look at the main exhibition, too. Please come right this way. Pic.1c-41 Pic.1c-42