"Kalashnikov created the AK-47, a cheap, simple, rugged assault rifle that became the weapon of choice for more than 50 standing armies as well as drug lords, street gangs, revolutionaries, terrorists, pirates and thugs the world over. Historians say the AK-47 and its spinoffs changed combat forever. He was 94. <a href=""http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-mikhail-kalashnikov-20131224,0,474931.story"" class=""center_label"">Full obituary</a>  
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