Cmmon Gun all use AK47

Created by a young constructor Mikhail Kalashnikov, the automatc rifle AK-47 has become something of a cult and a symbol of military operations all around the world.

Soldiers armed with the assault rifles during the “Prague Spring” – force action in socialist Czechoslovakia when the attempts of reforms were suppressed by Soviet forces.

Prague, 1968 (Josef Koudelka / Magnum)

Kurd girl uses AK-47 to defend herself and her family from Iraqi soldiers.

Northern Iraq, 1979 (Alex Bowie / Getty)

ember of a Native American tribe waves the rifle during the Wounded Knee massacre, the last large-scale armed conflict between Dakota Indians and the US army.

South Dakota, USA, 1973 (Bettmann / Corbis)

Abadan, Iran, 1980 (Henri Bureau / Sygma / Corbis)

Кhmer Rogue member girl sitting with a Kalashnikov rifle in the jungle. In the late 1970-ies as a result of a radical marxist movement more than 1,5 million Cambodians were killed.

West Cambodia, 1981 (Alex Bowie / Getty)

Ironically this member of the anti-communist movement also uses AK-47 to catch the Secret police members during the ovethrow Nicolae Causescu – Rumanian communist dictator.

Bucharest, Rumania, 1989 (Christophe Simon / AFP / Getty)

Woman and her child in the course of war games held by local socialist defensive forces aimed at the struggle against counter-revolutionaries.

Solentiname, Nicaragua, 1984 (Larry Towell / Magnum)

In the 80-ies the USA supplied Afghan anti-Soviet fighters with used Chinese and Egyptian AK-47 assault rifles. On the picture below: a Shiite boy guards a control point.

Kabul, 1992 (Steve McCurry / Magnum)

At the factory of Izhevsk in Russia about 12000 employees used to work in 1991, nowadays only 7000 remain. The reason is the high interest to the legendary assault rifle which boosted the industry of its copies each costing about 25% of the price of an original one.

Ethiopian man boasting of his weapon.

Ethiopia, 2009 (Michael Hanson / Aurora / Corbis)

After soldiers of Saddam Hussein laid down the arms and the marauders plundered the ammunition depots the prices for AK-47 went down. In summer 2003 when a lot of buyers on the arms market appeared again – from the recently released criminals to Shiite fighters and Suuni military men – the prices shot up.

Armed man guarding a Suuni mosque during the Friday prayer. Basra, Iraq, 2004 (Abbas / Magnum)

Pakistani Taliban fighters jumping off the truck.

Pakistan, 2008 (Lynsey Addario / VII Network)

Sufi muslim at a religion class. Peaceful and tolerant Sufi has taken up arms only recently to defend themselves from the Islamite group Al-Shabaab which tries to seize power in Somalia South territories.

Somalia, 2009 (Michael Kamber / Polaris)

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Source : English-Russia