The Timeless, Ubiquitous AK-47

Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1968 Designed by a young Russian tank commander named Mikhail Kalashnikov, the AK-47 assault rifle has attained iconic martial status all over the world.
Josef Koudelka / Magnum

Prague, 1968
Designed by a young Russian tank commander named Mikhail Kalashnikov, the AK-47 assault rifle has attained iconic martial status all over the world. In the photo above, Soviet-led forces, armed with the rifle, crush a reform movement in Czechoslovakia.

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