My work is my life, and my life is my work. I invented this assault rifle to defend my country. Today, I am proud that it has become for many synonymous with liberty.

The fact that people die because of an AK-47 is not because of the designer, but because of politics.

When a young man, I read somewhere the following: God the Almighty said, 'All that is too complex is unnecessary, and it is simple that is needed.' So this has been my lifetime motto – I have been creating weapons to defend the borders of my fatherland, to be simple and reliable.

I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists.

Things that are complex are not useful, Things that are useful are simple.

My spiritual pain is unbearable. I keep having the same unsolved question: if my rifle claimed people's lives, then can it be that I a Christian and an Orthodox believer, was to blame for their deaths?

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