That’s what they’re claiming. Back in July sanctions where placed on all Izhmash & Kalashnikov Concern products. According to Kalashnikov Concern the sanctions haven’t hurt them one bit, they’ve even claimed that their production is on the rise and they have new product lines on the way.

In an article from the Russian website Military-Informant.com, Andrei Veshnjakov of Kalashnikov Concern stated, “Today our businesses are gaining pace, there is a process of renovation – and not only the industrial park, machinery and equipment, as well as product lines.”

Riiight, business as usual I’m sure. According to this article earlier this year from RT.com, another Russian based news outlet, Kalashnikov’s biggest civilian firearm market is the United States. Kalashnikov even signed a contract to sell 200,000 rifles in the U.S. and Canada back in January. Maybe those 200,000 rifles were diverted somewhere else?