Then it was like a genie out of the bottle and it began to walk all on its own and in directions I did not want.

I wanted to invent an engine that could run for ever. I could have developed a new train, had I stayed in the railway. It would have looked like the AK-47 though.

I am still ready to shake hands with anyone who designs a better assault rifle than mine.

The AK-47 is not a device of aggression ... I devised this machine-gun for the security of my country.

When I see Bin Laden with his AK-47, I got nervous. But what can I do, terrorists aren't fools: they too chose the most reliable guns.

My aim was to create armaments to protect the borders of my motherland. It is not my fault that the Kalashnikov became very well-known in the world; that it was used in many troubled places. I think the policies of these countries are to blame, not the designers. Man is born to protect his family, his children, his wife. But I want you to know that apart from armaments, I have written three books in which I try to educate our youth to show respect for their families, for old people, for history.

Life can make you do many things, even kiss a man with a runny nose.