AK-47 Inventor in Serious Condition

IZHEVSK, December 16 (RIA Novosti) – Mikhail Kalashnikov, the 94-year-old inventor of the world’s most popular firearm, the AK-47, remains in a Russian hospital in serious condition, a local health official said Monday.

“His condition is serious but stable. All the necessary treatment and diagnostic procedures are being carried out,” said a spokesman for the health ministry of Udmurtia, Kalashnikov’s home region.

In June, the famed weapons designer underwent an operation in Moscow to have a pacemaker fitted. He was discharged in early September.

About six weeks later Kalashnikov was admitted to a hospital in Udmurtia’s regional capital Izhevsk. In the latest update on December 4, the health ministry said his condition was stable and that he was undergoing health checks and convalescence procedures.