AK-47 (Russian: Калашников, romanized: Kalashnikov) is a 2020 Russian biographical film about the experiences of Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle.
Elena Kalashnikova, the designer's daughter and a consultant to the Kalashnikov Concern, took part in the production of the film. The film was directed by Konstantin Buslov, and stars Yura Borisov, Olga Lerman, Artur Smolyaninov, and Eldar Kalimulin.
The premiere took place in Russia on February 20, 2020, by Megogo Distribution.
Contents
Plot
The film begins with a sequence (supplemented by subsequent flashbacks) in which Mikhail Kalashnikov, a young farmer's son from Altai, is seen secretly working on a functional toy rifle. In 1941 the adult Kalashnikov is serving as a tank commander in the Red Army during World War II and is seriously wounded in the Battle of Bryansk while engaging a German anti-tank gun. While being evacuated, he witnesses a companion's encounter with a group of German soldiers in which his new submachine gun jams due to design faults.
On his way home, Kalashnikov visits Matai Station in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, where he was dismissed from an engineering position for using depot resources to build private weapon designs. His former superior, Pavel Krotov, refuses to let him assemble a new design inspired by his war experience. Kalashnikov gets approval from a passing high-ranking officer named Basarov and successfully assembles a new submachine gun with the aid of the Station's personnel. He is arrested presenting it to Basarov, but the officer admires the gun's innovative design and has it evaluated. Kalashnikov is released and presents his gun to General Pavel Kurbatkin, the district commander of Central Asia, who approves him for a national arms design competition.
