How to produce a Kalashnikov assault rifle
Having read in the news about the troubles of the Izhmash plant, I decided to see with my own eyes how the legendary Kalash manufacturer lives and breathes today. He brought up old connections and eventually got an invitation to a closed company. Finally, my boyish dream came true - I was allowed to shoot workshops, workers and, of course, myself weapon. And while everyone around is writing about bankruptcy and the inevitable death of the plant, I suddenly clearly understood that Izhmash was more alive than all the living — I had worked for two centuries and just as many would stand. I tried to convey this feeling in my modest photo essay. So, my day in Izhevsk began as soon as I got off the train.
Many Muscovites are accustomed to thinking that there is a solid decline in the regions. I have not been in Udmurtia for a long time and did not expect to see the new St. Michael’s Cathedral here at all.
The old building in the 1937 year befell the sad fate of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow - it was destroyed. But in 2004, another cathedral was laid in the same place and built in just three years.
Of course, I could not but visit the Monument of Military and Labor Glory, dedicated to the feat of the inhabitants of Udmurtia during the Great Patriotic War. The monument is located on the square 50 years of October.
But still, the main purpose of my visit is to get to know the Izhevsk industry, in particular, the defense giant Izhmash, whose products I was taught to love in the army stronger than my own girlfriend.
Back in 1941, the center for the production of small arms was placed on the eastern outskirts of Izhevsk, on an area of 96 hectares - for understanding, it is twice the size of the Vatican, or half of the European principality of Monaco. Power "Izhmash" stretches to the horizon.
Probably some will be surprised to learn that the Kalashnikovs are assembled by hand. On the one hand, skeptics can easily complain about the lack of automation. But this did not prevent "Izhmash" for the last 60 years to produce 50 million machines.
It only seems that work flows slowly. In the best years, "Izhmash" issued 95 machines per hour. These same hands!
The barrel connects with the forearm. An employee in blue overalls admitted to me that although there are special tools to perform this simple action, he sometimes gets by with a regular hammer. But only real gurus can afford them, whose hands do not tremble.
Details are being processed. Today, the plant is testing two types of nanocoatings - one of them prevents corrosion, the second reduces friction in moving mechanisms to make it easier to recharge. All this with the knowledge of the case told me a strict woman.
The worker assembles the receiver and inserts the slide frame into it - for the first time it requires manual adjustment. Please note that we are still quite a young man. Myths about the aging of personnel dispel the following photo.
This cute girl tightens all the screws when the mechanism is already adjusted by a specialist manually. 15 students are currently working in the Izhmash design center.
A butt is attached to the object, already quite similar to a weapon, at the final stages - from the light hand of an innocuous "hostess", which is easier to imagine on a dairy farm than in the assembly shop of a defense plant.
It cannot be said that there is no automation at the factory at all. Even Vitali Klitschko would not be able to tighten all the bolts as tightly as this indifferent machine.
And here is the weapon in the hands of an experienced worker. He survived not only one general secretary and three presidents, but also several factory directors. About the previous one - Vladimir Grodetsky, who worked until the 2010 year - responds disapprovingly. He says that the main devastation fell on him: the plant lost many sites, and the salary was not paid for half a year.
His words are confirmed by the build quality controller. According to her, only for the last one and a half years the situation at Izhmash has begun to improve. Today the average salary is 16 thousand rubles. Under Grodetsky it was at the level of the subsistence minimum - 5-6 thousand rubles. And even such scanty money had to wait for months.
This employee is something like the final verifier. From her opinion depends on whether the gun leaves the shop or go for revision. Colleagues are waiting for the verdict with a sinking heart.
So do I.
But this nice guy, oddly enough, is a big boss. Alexander 21 year and he holds the position of senior master. As explained to me, the key to a fast-moving career is higher education. Sasha is studying in Izhevsk State Technical University. I have not yet decided - to stay in here or leave after studying in Germany, it really hurts my city.
The final touches are made - the trunks are polished to a shine. Now "Izhmash" can show the goods face. Export contracts have always helped the company to stay afloat even in the most difficult years - the products of the plant are supplied to 27 countries of the world. Now a large batch of AK can buy Indians. But they want machine guns to have interchangeable barrels and shoot cartridges of different caliber. "Izhmash" is ready to fulfill these requirements.
I propose a game: let's count the number of trunks on the cart.
The head of Izhmash, Maxim Kuziuk, conquered me by letting me enter his office without hindrance and take a picture of him at work. I could not stand it and asked if it was true that the company could close. Kuzuk answered in figures: after Izhmash passed under the wing of the state corporation Russian Technologies, revenue increased by 40% compared to 2010, salary increased by 21%, and some designers receive 50% bonuses from salary. Does it look like a dying factory? I think he was even a little offended.
For this young female worker, one cannot say that she works in a depressed production. She is engaged in engraving on weapons, that is, she is responsible for the aesthetic component of production. You also need to fight or hunt with a soul.
I asked to write something for memory, and the student engraved the names of the months on an iron piece in 10 minutes.
But what professional heights she will ever reach if she practices and studies a lot.
Even the Americans got their guns on the Saiga-12 rifle - they recently purchased a batch to arm their cops. In 2011, Izhmash earned about 15 million dollars in sales in the USA on sales of hunting and sports weapons.
Before you sell a weapon, you need to experience it. My peer Alexander Ivanovich is a great authority in this area. We can say that he ate the dog on the checks of the Kalashnikovs, for many years he did not miss a single defective sample.
"Kalash" in fire does not burn and does not rust in water. First, Ivanovich thoroughly wets the machine under artificial rain ...
Then it freezes in conditions that you would not want the enemy to ...
And heats it in the oven ...
But this is not the end of the torment of AK - in the final, he will have to shmuck about three to five times on a concrete slab.
And after all this, the weapon shoots as if nothing had happened! If the end of the world happens in 2012, and after a couple of centuries, our descendants dig up Kalashnikov in the Izhevsk region, they need to be careful - after all, it will remain in working condition.
In general, from the day spent at the factory I got a lot of pleasure. I met a lot of smiling people at Izhmash, even though I am not a president or a minister - for me, no one built Potemkin villages.
When I came out through the passageway to the fresh air, I saw the same industrial landscape, but already in the evening light. It was time to go home - to share with people the truth about "Izhmash."
Many Muscovites are accustomed to thinking that there is a solid decline in the regions. I have not been in Udmurtia for a long time and did not expect to see the new St. Michael’s Cathedral here at all.
The old building in the 1937 year befell the sad fate of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow - it was destroyed. But in 2004, another cathedral was laid in the same place and built in just three years.
Of course, I could not but visit the Monument of Military and Labor Glory, dedicated to the feat of the inhabitants of Udmurtia during the Great Patriotic War. The monument is located on the square 50 years of October.
But still, the main purpose of my visit is to get to know the Izhevsk industry, in particular, the defense giant Izhmash, whose products I was taught to love in the army stronger than my own girlfriend.
Back in 1941, the center for the production of small arms was placed on the eastern outskirts of Izhevsk, on an area of 96 hectares - for understanding, it is twice the size of the Vatican, or half of the European principality of Monaco. Power "Izhmash" stretches to the horizon.
Probably some will be surprised to learn that the Kalashnikovs are assembled by hand. On the one hand, skeptics can easily complain about the lack of automation. But this did not prevent "Izhmash" for the last 60 years to produce 50 million machines.
It only seems that work flows slowly. In the best years, "Izhmash" issued 95 machines per hour. These same hands!
The barrel connects with the forearm. An employee in blue overalls admitted to me that although there are special tools to perform this simple action, he sometimes gets by with a regular hammer. But only real gurus can afford them, whose hands do not tremble.
Details are being processed. Today, the plant is testing two types of nanocoatings - one of them prevents corrosion, the second reduces friction in moving mechanisms to make it easier to recharge. All this with the knowledge of the case told me a strict woman.
The worker assembles the receiver and inserts the slide frame into it - for the first time it requires manual adjustment. Please note that we are still quite a young man. Myths about the aging of personnel dispel the following photo.
This cute girl tightens all the screws when the mechanism is already adjusted by a specialist manually. 15 students are currently working in the Izhmash design center.
A butt is attached to the object, already quite similar to a weapon, at the final stages - from the light hand of an innocuous "hostess", which is easier to imagine on a dairy farm than in the assembly shop of a defense plant.
It cannot be said that there is no automation at the factory at all. Even Vitali Klitschko would not be able to tighten all the bolts as tightly as this indifferent machine.
And here is the weapon in the hands of an experienced worker. He survived not only one general secretary and three presidents, but also several factory directors. About the previous one - Vladimir Grodetsky, who worked until the 2010 year - responds disapprovingly. He says that the main devastation fell on him: the plant lost many sites, and the salary was not paid for half a year.
His words are confirmed by the build quality controller. According to her, only for the last one and a half years the situation at Izhmash has begun to improve. Today the average salary is 16 thousand rubles. Under Grodetsky it was at the level of the subsistence minimum - 5-6 thousand rubles. And even such scanty money had to wait for months.
This employee is something like the final verifier. From her opinion depends on whether the gun leaves the shop or go for revision. Colleagues are waiting for the verdict with a sinking heart.
So do I.
But this nice guy, oddly enough, is a big boss. Alexander 21 year and he holds the position of senior master. As explained to me, the key to a fast-moving career is higher education. Sasha is studying in Izhevsk State Technical University. I have not yet decided - to stay in here or leave after studying in Germany, it really hurts my city.
The final touches are made - the trunks are polished to a shine. Now "Izhmash" can show the goods face. Export contracts have always helped the company to stay afloat even in the most difficult years - the products of the plant are supplied to 27 countries of the world. Now a large batch of AK can buy Indians. But they want machine guns to have interchangeable barrels and shoot cartridges of different caliber. "Izhmash" is ready to fulfill these requirements.
I propose a game: let's count the number of trunks on the cart.
The head of Izhmash, Maxim Kuziuk, conquered me by letting me enter his office without hindrance and take a picture of him at work. I could not stand it and asked if it was true that the company could close. Kuzuk answered in figures: after Izhmash passed under the wing of the state corporation Russian Technologies, revenue increased by 40% compared to 2010, salary increased by 21%, and some designers receive 50% bonuses from salary. Does it look like a dying factory? I think he was even a little offended.
For this young female worker, one cannot say that she works in a depressed production. She is engaged in engraving on weapons, that is, she is responsible for the aesthetic component of production. You also need to fight or hunt with a soul.
I asked to write something for memory, and the student engraved the names of the months on an iron piece in 10 minutes.
But what professional heights she will ever reach if she practices and studies a lot.
Even the Americans got their guns on the Saiga-12 rifle - they recently purchased a batch to arm their cops. In 2011, Izhmash earned about 15 million dollars in sales in the USA on sales of hunting and sports weapons.
Before you sell a weapon, you need to experience it. My peer Alexander Ivanovich is a great authority in this area. We can say that he ate the dog on the checks of the Kalashnikovs, for many years he did not miss a single defective sample.
"Kalash" in fire does not burn and does not rust in water. First, Ivanovich thoroughly wets the machine under artificial rain ...
Then it freezes in conditions that you would not want the enemy to ...
And heats it in the oven ...
But this is not the end of the torment of AK - in the final, he will have to shmuck about three to five times on a concrete slab.
And after all this, the weapon shoots as if nothing had happened! If the end of the world happens in 2012, and after a couple of centuries, our descendants dig up Kalashnikov in the Izhevsk region, they need to be careful - after all, it will remain in working condition.
In general, from the day spent at the factory I got a lot of pleasure. I met a lot of smiling people at Izhmash, even though I am not a president or a minister - for me, no one built Potemkin villages.
When I came out through the passageway to the fresh air, I saw the same industrial landscape, but already in the evening light. It was time to go home - to share with people the truth about "Izhmash."
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