The designer of the Russian assault gun died

The capital of the Russian armourers, the city of Tula, had a funeral ceremony, burying Igor Stechkin (79) on the last day of November. When a student, Igor Stechkin invented a gun model, which could shoot like a vending machine. In 1951 the Soviet Army was armed with Stechkin’s automatic gun, together with Makarov’s gun. Stechkin’s gun is different from Makarov’s for its good precision, a sizeable magazine for 20 cartridges, but its peculiar feature was an opportunity to fix a plastic or wooden holster-butt and shoot in bursts.

The invention of Stechkin’s gun put Russia in line with other gun powers. The gun is not good for assassins due to its long barrel and big size. But this is a very good weapon for the Internal Affairs forces, Federal Security Service, Russia’s Armed Forces. Stechkin’s gun was born again after the beginning of the conflict in Chechnya, where only Kalashnikov is more popular than Stechkin. All Chechen field commanders have a Stechkin, as well as their enemies.

The father of the Russian gun finished his life in need, receiving a common pension. The central gun design bureau assigned some money to Stechkin short before his death – 3000 rubles, which is $100.

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/society/2001/12/15/34846.html

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