19th of September is the Gunsmith’s Day in Russia. This year, the most notable celebration event was the unveiling of Mikhail Kalashnikov statue in Moscow. A number of Russian defense industry and government officials attended the ceremony.

The ceremony was accompanied by a military orchestra and honor guard. The statue was also blessed by a priest of Russian Orthodox Church. Yelena Kalashnikova, Mikhail Kalashnikov’s daughter, removed the curtain from the pedestal of the statue thus officially unveiling it.

Among other speeches of attendees, one of the most notable was Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky’s speech. Particularly, in his speech, he told that Kalashnikov rifles are the “cultural brand of Russia”. Indeed, AK-47 is one of the distinctive and most recognizable symbols of Russia.

Below is a short video from the ceremony.

And here is the full version of the ceremony video:

The sculptor of the statue is Salavat Shcherbakov. The statue is located near the crossroads of Sadovaya-Karetnaya and Dolgorukovskaya streets. It was made thanks to efforts of the Russian Military Historical Society and with the assistance of Moscow City Duma and Rostec state corporation.

Besides the newly erected one, there are Mikhail Kalashnikov statues in Ijevsk, in Russian Federal Military Memorial Cemetery, on the campus of Izhevsk State Technical University after M.T. Kalashnikov, and in Russian military base in Armenia.