Care for a Kalashnikov- umbrella?!
Posted: 2003-02-23 12:16am
"Care for a Kalashnikov Umbrella?
By Nabi Abdullaev
Staff Writer Anyone who ever dreamed of owning a Kalashnikov will be able to pick one up at shops across Europe and the United States in a few months -- Kalashnikov umbrellas, knives and perhaps even sport utility vehicles, that is.
The family of the inventor of the world's most famous assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has authorized German engineering company MMI to use the well-known Kalashnikov name on a variety of not-so-deadly goods.
MMI, which produces renowned Solingen knives, will give a company named after Kalashnikov and run by his grandson, Igor, a third of its profits in exchange for the rights to the name, said Kalashnikov's spokesman, Nikolai Shklyayev.
MMI has an annual turnover of 7 million euros (about $7 million), the German newspaper Die Welt reported.
In addition to slapping the Kalashnikov brandname on umbrellas and Solingen knives, MMI is considering putting it on a vodka cocktail, tennis rackets, aftershave and sport utility vehicles, Die Welt said.
Mikhail Kalashnikov and MMI officials could not be reached for comment.
Shklyayev said the deal was struck late last year. "It was solely an initiative of his family," he said by telephone. "Mikhail Timofeyevich himself feels no need to get money from foreigners. He makes enough without it."
He denied news reports that Kalashnikov had found himself in dire financial straits and been forced to sell the rights to his name, saying the 83-year-old gun designer owns a four-room apartment and has a $500 monthly pension.
Kalashnikov lives in Izhevsk in the Urals republic of Udmurtiya and continues to design guns at the local weapons plant that first produced his AK-47. About 100 million units of his AK-47 have been produced worldwide since he invented it in 1947. Although Kalashnikov received a patent for his gun only 50 years later, in 1997, he has received a number of state prizes and been elevated to the rank of general.
Shklyayev said the Kalashnikov company was set up by Kalashnikov's daughter and grandson and that Kalashnikov is only a small shareholder in the firm."
I love capitalism.
By Nabi Abdullaev
Staff Writer Anyone who ever dreamed of owning a Kalashnikov will be able to pick one up at shops across Europe and the United States in a few months -- Kalashnikov umbrellas, knives and perhaps even sport utility vehicles, that is.
The family of the inventor of the world's most famous assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has authorized German engineering company MMI to use the well-known Kalashnikov name on a variety of not-so-deadly goods.
MMI, which produces renowned Solingen knives, will give a company named after Kalashnikov and run by his grandson, Igor, a third of its profits in exchange for the rights to the name, said Kalashnikov's spokesman, Nikolai Shklyayev.
MMI has an annual turnover of 7 million euros (about $7 million), the German newspaper Die Welt reported.
In addition to slapping the Kalashnikov brandname on umbrellas and Solingen knives, MMI is considering putting it on a vodka cocktail, tennis rackets, aftershave and sport utility vehicles, Die Welt said.
Mikhail Kalashnikov and MMI officials could not be reached for comment.
Shklyayev said the deal was struck late last year. "It was solely an initiative of his family," he said by telephone. "Mikhail Timofeyevich himself feels no need to get money from foreigners. He makes enough without it."
He denied news reports that Kalashnikov had found himself in dire financial straits and been forced to sell the rights to his name, saying the 83-year-old gun designer owns a four-room apartment and has a $500 monthly pension.
Kalashnikov lives in Izhevsk in the Urals republic of Udmurtiya and continues to design guns at the local weapons plant that first produced his AK-47. About 100 million units of his AK-47 have been produced worldwide since he invented it in 1947. Although Kalashnikov received a patent for his gun only 50 years later, in 1997, he has received a number of state prizes and been elevated to the rank of general.
Shklyayev said the Kalashnikov company was set up by Kalashnikov's daughter and grandson and that Kalashnikov is only a small shareholder in the firm."
I love capitalism.
