The office has received documents against 14 officials of the ministry over the loss of 105 AK-47 guns, 18 missiles, 80 mortars and 5,000 machine gun bullets.
Two of those accused employees have fled, two of them are in detention and 10 others have been released on bail, Attorney General’s Office spokesman Jamshid Rasuli told TOLOnews.
The nomenclature appears to have gone through some translation confusion when it comes to “missiles” and “mortars”. Kabuli Police certainly don’t use mortars so it would appear that missiles might mean RPG-7 launchers and mortars might be the PG-7 rockets for them. Machine gun bullets might also be a bit of a confusion because why would a thief make out with 105 AKM rifles but no 7.62x39mm ammunition to go with? If indeed these are 7.62x54mmR “Machine Gun Bullets”? Either way, on the current black market those AKMs sell for over a thousand dollars a rifle.
Two significant thefts of small arms within the Ministry of Interior are certainly not good news. It would appear that both of these might purely be financially black market driven rather than the work of an insurgent organization such as the Taliban or ISIS-K. Either way, both involved internal cooperation and were not by a forced or armed nature of attack.
This guest post was written by Christopher Cowan, an avid reader and supporter of Silah Report.
In reviewing material for an article about the Martini-pattern rifles I came across several other pictures I took unrelated to the subject of that article. These include several photos taken at the National Museum as well as Nizwa Sooq.
A Chinese .177 caliber BAM-3 airgun on display for sale at Nizwa Sooq. Possibly a Chinese airgunPhoto by author.Zastava M48-pattern rifle on display in Nizwa Sooq. Note the non-corresponding Martini-Henry cartridge belt. Photo by author.A Turkish Mauser Rifle Model 1887 originally produced in Germany in 1890 or 1891. Rifle features Turkish production markings and year according to museum description. Photo by author.A Winchester 1876 Deluxe Model gifted by President Chester Allen Arthur to Sultan Sayyid Turki bin Said al-Busaied, Sultan of Muscat and Oman. According to the museum description, “the rifle features a nickel frame engraved with scenes of hunting and wild animals.” The rifle also features a walnut stock affixed with a brass label which reads “Presented by Chester A. Arthur President of the United States to His Majesty SEYUD TOORKEE EN SEYOUD Sultan of Muscat in token of friendship.” Photo by author.Assorted patterns of matchlock muskets. Photo by author.
This guest post is written by Sikander Abbas, an avid reader, and supporter of Silah Report.
Pakistan Ordinance Factories (POF) is Pakistan’s largest defense industrial complex under the Ministry of Defence Production. Founded in 1951 by the government of Pakistan, POF produces and promotes a wide range of different types of infantry and special-purpose weapons, explosives, ammunition, mortars, rockets, and other military gear for Pakistan’s military.
Chambered in 7.62x51mm (NATO), the Azb DMR-MK1 is the new medium-range Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR) and is developed by POF in 2014 which features a 20 inch cold hammer forged match grade bull barrel. The rifle was first introduced in the International Defence Exhibitionand Seminar, more commonly referred to as IDEAS in December 2014.
The rifle was producedduring the time of when there was a joint military offensive conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups in North Waziristan in 2014. The military operation was named Operation Zarb-e-Azb and according to members of the POF Production Board, the rifle is given the name Azb as a dedication to the soldiers who took part in the operation.
The sniper rifle is not a new design and it is basically a modification of Pakistani variant of H&K G3 assault rifle which is produced under license in POF. All parts are compatible and interchangeable with POF made G3A3 Rifle.
As said in the weapon description on POF website:
“With the changing nature of low-intensity operations, a strong need exists for a lightweight, accurate and semi-automatic hybrid sniper service rifle. Accordingly, a Designated Marksman’s Rifle (DMR) concept emerged. The POF DMR MK-1 meets the laid down conceptual requirements. It is manufactured from standard G3 parts and requires little deviation for manufacturing, maintenance and training. It can quickly and effectively engage fleeting multiple targets at range up to 600m.”
Technical Data:
Caliber 7.62 x 51 mm(NATO)
Operation Roller Locked Delayed Blow Back
Magazine 5/20 rounds Capacity
Overall Length 1055 mm (41.5 in)
Barrel length 508 mm (20 in) (4 Groove Rt. Hand Std.)
Weight (Empty Magazine) 4.94 Kg
Effective Range 600m
Accuracy 2 M0A at 100 Meter
Sights Telescopic sights
Butt Stock Plastic Fixed Butt Stock
Azb DMR is cost-effective, easy to produce, deploy and maintain and is compatible with a range of scopes, night vision and thermal optics.
Being a medium range, lightweight and with great accuracy, this DMR is ideal to cover incursion teams in close operations as well as in urban warfare.
Since its production, the rifle is used by military and other law enforcement agencies in Pakistan. The rifle also took part in several international defense exhibitions and is offered for exports.
This guest post was written by Jeffrey Reardon, an avid reader and supporter of Silah Report.
In the past one hundred and eighty years, Afghanistan has been the target of multiple foreign invasions. From the British, (1839-1842, 1878-1880 and 1919) Soviet (1979-1989) and United States (2001-Present) involvement in Afghanistan. As such, we have a unique opportunity to see the small arms of yesterday back in action. Let’s look at one such example today.
An American Marine of personal acquaintance was assigned to a Police Mentor Team (PMT) apart of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines. These units were responsible for mentoring and training the Afghan National Police (ANP). The PMT duty consisted of patrolling to different ANP checkpoints. The PMT would spend a few days at each checkpoint then move on to thier next scheduled checkpoint. This Marine also happened to be an avid military surplus collector. This assignment would give him many opportunities to meet new people and see a myriad of Curio and Relics (C&R) in Afghanistan. In 2010, while in Garmsir, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, that’s exactly what happened to this Marine.
While on patrol with the ANP unit, this Marine noticed the unmistakable silhouette, of a Luger pistol that one of the ANP members was carrying. Naturally, the Marine was curious and just had to have a look at this interesting piece of military history.
In this picture, we can clearly make out the DWM rollstamp. The Deutsche Waffen- and Munitionsfabriken (German weapons and ammunition factories) was created in 1896 by, Ludwig Loewe & Company. They combined their weapons and ammunition facilities under one company. Simultaneously, Loewe transferred all shares it owned in other weapons producing companies to the newly formed DWM. These included, lesser know production facilities along with the Waffenfabrik Mauser and Fabrique National(FN). This pistols date is a little obscure in the picture. However, I was told this example is dated 1916. Just during WWI, from 1914-1918, there were approximately 2,000,000 Luger pistols made.
In this picture, another Marine poses with Luger. Here, we can see clearly see the front sight is missing. We can only guess as to what happened and how long it’s been missing. This goes along with my theory that this particular Luger is more if a badge of honour and sign if rank. Although, it would certainty get the job done in close quarters. Not having a front sight at all will put you at a disadvantage for the Marine Corps 25 meter pistol qualification.
As evident by the pictures, there is absolutely nothing left of the original finish. Which would have been a very beautiful and high gloss blue oxide on the major components. With small pieces such as the trigger and takedown lever being strawed. This process turns the metal a soft, golden colour which closely matches that of dried hay or, “straw.” In all actuality, this is exactly what one would expect. After all, it is almost a century old. Very easily a veteran of two world wars and countless other conflicts. It’s current location in southern Afghanistan, with its frequent sand storms, certainly does not help.
The Marine function tested the pistol. On a Luger, this is accomplished by grabbing the top of the toggle link and pulling up. With an empty magazine in place, the slide will stay fully locked back in then open position. I was assured that it is in operable condition. Although, the Marine did not test fire it.
There are, by this point, more than a few things I’m curious about. One question I would love to know the answer to is, to know if the ANP had the holster and spare magazine? If he didn’t, what was he using for a holster? If he wasn’t in possession of the spare magazine, was he worried about the lack of capacity?
I was told that the ANP officer was very proud of his pistol. He made it known that he was not at all interested in selling it. I often wonder, by what route did that pistol get to Afghanistan? How did that ANP officer acquire it?
Sadly, we will never know the answers to these questions. We can only be happy that our beloved military surplus small arms are still serviceable after all this time.
The Firearm Blog reports that Iraqi Technical Directorate for Military Production (TDMP) has released a new anti-materiel rifle during the International Defense Exhibition (IQDEX 2018) held in Baghdad, Iraq. Let’s take a closer look at the published images and see what we can notice.
The chassis of the rifle looks to be made of two identical pieces of metal (most likely aluminum) with milled cuts to make it lighter. The two halves are probably assembled by the screws which heads are visible on the rifle. If so, then there must be a third inner part, too.
The folding stock looks to be simply shaped from an aluminum plate of a certain thickness. Note that the receiver also looks to be a very simple one. It is probably machined from a cylindrical steel bar. If my assumptions are correct, then this rifle must be quite easy to manufacture.
If you look closer, you can notice the magazine in the top image. It is obstructed by the watermark and blends with the background, but it is still visible. Its size suggests that it is chambered either in .50 BMG or in 12.7x108mm or maybe even a larger caliber.
The rifle has a large muzzle break normally seen on anti-material rifles. The bipod is probably used for demonstration purposes only. Such a weak looking design probably wouldn’t work with the heavy and violently recoiling anti-materiel rifle.
The new TDMP rifle also has a top Picatinny rail. In the above image, you can also see the fluted bolt of the rifle with an extractor groove cut in it. The small part bolted to the left side of the receiver should be the extractor and bolt disassembly lever – a pretty common design seen in many bolt action rifles.
So far these images are the only information available on this rifle. Stay tuned to learn more about this rifle.
The integration of female soldiers in IDF combat roles is a much-debated topic in Israel the last decade or so. Today we will ride on the wayback machine to a time when the place of women in military service was very different.
In the December 8 1982 issue of the IDF weekly magazine, Bamahane, a short news piece was published with bold letters titled: “The end of discrimination! A major victory to the women’s liberation movement; a Galil assault rifle developed especially for female soldiers!”
The paper includes several pictures taken of an IDF female soldier ‘modeling’ a bent barrel Galil AR and further explanation states that the most problematic issue with designing a feminine rifle is that regular rifles keep colliding in the soldier’s breast whenever it was carried and practice in foot drills.
According to the news piece the development of the gun took two years and was tested by 350 female soldiers that were “carefully selected for their outstanding physical characteristics”
That ‘news piece’, as you might guess by now, wasn’t a real news report. It was the weekly satiric column called ‘על הגבול’ which literally means ‘On The Border’ but the more accurate translation means ‘Borderline’.
The prop gun was manufactured by none other than Yisrael Galil , the inventor of the Galil, for the satiric column.
The gun was a modified Galil AR with an absurdly bent barrel and vertical foregrip attached instead of the regular foregrip. The bolt carrier lacks a gas piston and there was no gas tube. All removed to achieve the described breast clearance. In one of the photos, the rifle is lacking a buttstock.
The gun was issued with a 12 round magazine, presumably to lighten the load on those top-heavy girls in uniform. The magazine is in fact a blank magazine used to propel rifle grenade.
The column summarized that since the rifles were introduced into military service they already proofed their value and the developer is flooded with purchase orders.
On the 10th March, Broń. Milmag, the Polish defense magazine, posted an intriguing photograph on their facebook page. The photograph had the short caption, which once translated, reads: “Syria Ad2018. 9-MM MACHINE GUN STERLING MK 4 / l2a3 used by a government soldier.”
Plenty of surplus World War Two weapons including the StG-44, MG42, Mosin-Nagant, K98ks and even French MAS-36s have been sighted in Iraq and Syria during the regions current multi-sided conflict. Sightings of the Cold War era- Sterling submachine gun, however, have been few and far between.
The Sterling submachine gun was developed by George Patchett at the Sterling Arms Company during the latter half of World War Two. Following extensive testing in the late 1940s and early 1950s the British Army adopted Patchett’s submachine gun to replace the Sten gun. It entered British service as the L2A1 in 1953, evolving quickly to its final form the L2A3. The L2A3 was produced commercially by Sterling at their plant in Dagenham, UK from 1956 until 1988 with an estimated 211,000 produced.
The Sterling was subsequently sold commercially and licensed for overseas production in both Canada (leading to the C1 Submachine Gun) and India (leading to the 1A Machine Carbine). Sterling successfully marketed the commercial version of the L2A3, the Mk4, to over a dozen countries around the world from Malaysia, to Libya, to Iraq.
The weapon featured in the photograph appears to be in remarkably good condition. Following some digging I was able to find what I believe to be the original posting of the photograph online. Posted on Twitter by @Edward_Sn0wden on the 9th March. The twitter post includes a second photograph showing the Sterling’s magazine housing and markings. The photographs are credited to Alexander Kharchenko but sadly no location is mentioned. The caption suggests that the weapon might be a captured trophy.
From the available photographs the weapon appears to have a matte, rather than crackle paint, finish – this is either an original contract choice or a later armory refurbishment. The weapon is also fitted with an original Sterling produced commercial production 34-round curved double stack, double feed magazine – one of the most reliable submachine gun magazines ever developed.
We are lucky enough to have a second photograph showing the weapon’s markings in full: ‘STERLING SMG 9m/m MK4 (L2A3) KR15368’. The serial number, beginning with ‘KR’ dates the gun as a pre-1972 Sterling and refers to Kenton Redgrave, the Sterling company’s long-time director. The serial number dates the weapon, according to the serial number ranges, listed in The Guns of Dagenham (1996) by Peter Laidler, to 1957. This date would fit with the 1956-63 Iraqi contract which supplied 13,241 Mk4s to Iraq, first to King Faisal II’s military, and then to the Iraqi Republic, following a coup that deposed Faisal in 1958. The Iraqi Sterlings later saw action during the Iran-Iraq War and to a limited degree during both the Gulf War and during the 2003 Iraq War.
While rare the Sterling has been spotted in the region before, three years ago CJ Chivers, the New York Times investigative conflict journalist and author of The Gun, shared a photograph of a Mk4 with a straight Sten magazine in use by the Mahdi Army in Sadr City, Iraq.
While investigating the photograph above, an Iraqi fighter came forward and told me about his ‘heirloom’ Sterling Mk4 which had belonged to his father, an Iraqi soldier killed during the Iran-Iraq war. Interestingly, this Iraqi heirloom Mk4 dated from June 1964, suggesting that the Iraq contract may have extended beyond the 1963 end date indicated by Laidler.
The Iraqi gentleman also advised that the Sterling was known to him, and possibly regionally as the ‘غدارهمصريه’, which translates to ‘Egyptian Contract’ or Egyptian Submachine Gun. It seems that the Sterling has come to be confused with, or at least associated with an Egyptian submachine gun. While the Egyptian Army did purchase a number of commercial Mk3 Sterlings in 1954-5, Egypt never produced a copy of the Sterling, instead opting to copy the Carl Gustav m/45 to create to the Port Said, produced by Al Maadi.
How a Syrian government soldier might have come into possession of what is likely an Iraqi Sterling submachine gun is one of war’s intriguing mysteries. Regardless of how he acquired it appears to be in excellent condition for a 50 year old weapon.
Recently disclosed photographs supplied to Silah Report have suggested that the local GoIRA supported militias are armed with more than the standard Kalashnikov self-loading rifles often seen throughout the country. One example of these forces is the Afghan Local Police, or ALP. Although these forces are seen as cost-effective, many local Afghans compare them to the days of the War Lords that roamed the country in the Civil War.
The photograph below depicts five 5.56x45mm NATO M4-patterned carbines in configurations that are identical to that of the ANA Commandos. This includes the AN/PEQ-2 TPIAL mounted at the 12 o’clock position on the Picatinny rail, the Trijicon 4x RCO day optic, the MaTech BUIS, and even the spray painted rifle in the center. Also present is a 40x46mm NATO M203 UBGL mounted to the carbine at the bottom. Notice on the painted carbine the coupled STANAG magazine inverted from a usual “rounds up” position.
As indicated by this photograph, a small arms inventory such as this is consistent with what the ANSF Commandos are generally issued.
This photograph was provided by the same source and features a similar magazine coupling technique as illustrated above. What appear to be UTG rail covers and what is most likely a Harris bipod copy appear to be third party modifications from the standard issue. Myna Bird perched on the 6-inch barrel comes unissued.
MaTech BUIS as in use.
However in this angle present are Streamlight TLR Picatinny mounted weapon lights, in addition to Kalashnikov patterned rifles, which are rarely in use by ANSF Commandos, if at all. Although rare, there are some TLRs that have been spotted among the group.
Although contextual information about the photographs are scare, a source has suggested that the militia checkpoints are perhaps funded by a shadow entity with a large supply budget. Such as the “Kandahar Strike Force” that was indeed set up by the CIA. In Afghanistan, this is immediately assumed to be the “CIA”, but until we have further information, we cannot venture more into the origins of these carbines.
According to several Russian sources, the OSV-96 anti-materiel rifle was spotted again in Syria (see the above image). It is used by the special forces of the Syrian army. It’s been spotted in Syria starting from the very beginning of the Syrian war. Back in 2012, The Firearm Blog reported about this rifle in Syria.
The 12.7x108mm cartridge of the OSV-96 rifle
The scope on the rifle is most likely a Russian POS 12×50 (ПОС 12х50). This scope is frequently seen with the OSV-96 rifles.
POS 12×50 (ПОС 12х50) scope
In 2012, the rifle was also seen in the hands of forces fighting the Syrian army (see the video below).
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OSV-96 is designed and manufactured by a Russian arms company called TsKIB SOO. It is a magazine fed semi-auto anti-materiel rifle chambered in 12.7x108mm. It has a huge one-meter barrel (39.4″). However, its barrel folds 180 degrees to the right side of the rifle making its folded length comparable in size with the SVD rifle.
OSV-96 with folded barrel
The silhouettes of OSV-96 (folded) and SVD rifles. Image by modernfirearms.net
Here is also a video telling about this rifle.
And an animation of the rifle’s action by Noble Empire.
You can download the user manuals (in Russian) of the OSV-96 rifle and POS 12×50 scope by clicking HERE and HERE respectively.
A website called Warbook.info has also two posters (large jpg files) of this rifle, which you can download by clicking here and here.
“Krinkov”, where does it come from and how have we gotten to it? There are a number of theories about it, some truer than others, but we’ll examine each one, and I will provide what I have come up with so far.
The first theory is that it is Russian. At face value, this could seem true, by simply hearing the word “Krinkov” to a non-Russian speaker, it might sound Russian. However, this is by far, not the case at all. Tim from Military Arms Channel has an excellent dialogue on this, explaining that the Russians have an entirely different nickname. I’ll take an excerpt from Maxim Popenkers site, World Guns:
Since its introduction the AKS-74U, unofficially known as a “Ksyukha” (variation of a Russian woman name) or “okurok” (cigarette stub)
In addition from Max’s book Assault Rifles, we have this entry:
Since its introduction the AKS-74U, unofficially known as a “Kysusha” (a variation of a Russian female Ksenia), “Suka” (bitch), “Suchok” (small tree branch) or “Okurok” (cigarette stub)
And this is Tim from Military Arms Channel, explaining some of that from the Russian side.
Tim is correct in his explanation of what Russians would call it, but the biggest problem I have with his explanation is that he completely dismisses the role of the Afghan Mujahaden, saying that it is a “nonsense word”. In addition, he speculates that maybe the first AKS74U taken off a Russian who was named Krinkov. The theory doesn’t hold any weight because for one, Krinkov isn’t a Russian name or in any sort of Russian vocabulary. Also, the fact that Pashtun speaking Mujahideen could speak or even read Russian is very, very rare, many of them being illiterate in their own language of Pashtu (illiteracy is an extremely large problem even in current day Afghanistan/Peshawar, and was much more so in the early 1980s). Furthermore, the circumstances of the Mujahideen capturing weapons from the Russians involved very little live prisoners. We’ll get into this in a bit as well, but for the overwhelming majority of the time, the AKS74U was issued to helicopter and armored vehicle crew members. Contrary to popular belief, the amount of Russians captured in Afghanistan during the war, and the amount of Russians fleeing to the Mujahideen side was extremely low as well. Most of the time, the only way Mujahideen could get their hands on Soviet equipment was through disabled vehicles wherein the Russian occupants would already be dead, or through the corrupt selling of Russian arms to the Mujahideen by either Russians themselves, or Afghan government troops.
Most of the Mujahideen and Pashtun speakers that would have contributed to the name “Krinkov” would have been near Peshawar and in the eastern regions of Afghanistan.
The second theory is much more recent, but it originates from a gun shop in Naples, Florida. The shop was called “Krinks” and was run by a certain Paul Mahoney, who in the early 1990s was one of the first AK builders in the States to really take advantage of deactivated AKS74U kits, and put them together. The quality of them left much to be desired, but the fact of the matter is that the first mass producer of “Krink” kits in the United States was this guy Paul Mahoney with his gunshop “Krinks”. This might have certainly been one of the reasons why the name started to gain in popularity in the States, but it doesn’t help us at all in the actual etymology of the name.
My problem in the whole name origin is that we constantly see this theme of loosely attributing it to the Mujahideen, but yet there hasn’t been a single effort to get right to the source and really examine how that name might have even come about. Maybe it is ethnocentrism, maybe it is on account of laziness, maybe it is just accepting the status quo and not moving on. Either way, I’m going to present evidence that points to that fact that the name is actually a Pashtu word that has entered into our vocabulary, and is a testament to a twist in linguistics in the Pashtu language.
To begin with, we have to examine how the existence of this carbine became known about in the United States. I’ve often heard the claim that Soldier of Fortune magazine was the first entity to bring knowledge about the AKS74U, and even the AK74 to the West. I think this claim is more of a support for Soldier of Fortune’s reputation than any actual truth. Because just by looking at the facts, the famous Soldier of Fortune article that was run about the AK74 was in 1982, and the article about the AKS74U was in the July 1984 edition of the magazine. Looking at Jane’s Infantry Weapons from that era, and before, we see entries for the AKS74U, Sometimes labeling it as an AKSU 74, an AKSU and also as an “AKR”. This name most likely originates from Ian V. Hogg, as he was tied in with various intelligence circles at the time, that somehow came up with AKR. We still see this name in 1989, with Edward Ezell’s book, Small Arms Today.
Above is from Small Arms Today, and below is from “The AK47 Story“, both by the late Edward Ezell. Above he refers to it as the AKR/Krinkov, and below the “AKSU”. Both published in the late 1980s
But going on to who actually deserves the credit of “discovering” the AkS74U, we have a sentence from the July 1984 edition of Soldier of Fortune, in which David Isby does an entire article about reviewing this new carbine, while he and an American Army Major are in Pakistan. He claims that initial knowledge of the carbine is from Ian Hogg, who in turn heard about it from a certain Peter Jouvenal. This guy was a video journalist, who has been in and out of Afghanistan since the late 1970s, and is extremely important because he captured one of the only video shots of Taliban leader Mullah Omar in person.
Below is the text from the Soldier of Fortune article detailing the origins and name of the AKS74U.
Peter Jouvenal, right, with Osama bin Laden. Probably the actual “discoverer” of the AKS74U in the West.
Within the Soldier of Fortune article, David Isby takes the name from the Afghans he was with. However, he mentions two other names “Shrinkov” and “Shesakov”. These two names are also important, but because of the linguistics involved, I’ll get to that in a second.
As mentioned earlier, the difference between this article, and any other article on the internet, is that I’m going to the actual source of the name, which is from the Pashtu speaking peoples of eastern Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The name is not a “nonsense” word, it is a Pashtun word. I’ll start this off by showing a clip from a movie called Son of a Lion. Quite an interesting movie, it was made by an Australian EMT on his own dime, after 9/11, going to Peshawar and filming a storyline about a young boy who works in the arms trade but really wants to go to school to become educated. The culture and language displayed in the movie are phenomenal, but from a firearms perspective, it gives us an in-depth look at the arms trade in Peshawar. Apart from a few actors, the rest of the movie is completely shot amid the markets and daily life of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. There aren’t any “props” or staged settings. The locations are real, and so are the small arms portrayed. But in it, we have this one scene where the main character takes a “Krinkov” out to a customer to test fire it. He also mentions the connection with Osama bin Laden.
https://youtu.be/KzN1-M37RiY?t=17m40s
Now, to understand why the reference to Osama bin Laden was even mentioned, we have to understand a little behind why the AKS74U became prominent among first the Mujahaden, and then today among families of status. As mentioned previously, the weapon was only ever issued out to crew members of helicopters and armored vehicles. Contrary to popular belief, this wasn’t a favorite of the Spetsnaz at all, although it originally started out as a proof of concept for Soviet Special Forces. It was quickly ditched for the AKS74 because the longer barrel proved to be better in the vast distances that the Spetsnaz found themselves operating in. This from an interview that I conducted with Marco Vorobiev, a Spetsnaz Veteran of the Afghan war.
Miles Vining- I noticed in some of your talks that you don’t have much love for the AKS74U?
Marco- Well its alot of fun. Lets talk about it from a far away point here. The gun is a tool in a toolbox to complete a certain job. And the job could be a regular contact fight, lets say 500-400 meters, to include maybe clearing houses or compounds. So from that regard you want something small, maybe be able to use it in close quarter combat, something really, easy to handle, easy to maintain. Well that is fine, considering if you are a police officer going through a house. It shoots 5.45 as well, so thats good for wounding. On the other hand, as a carbine, you need to be able to hit targets out to 300 meters. You can do that with an AKS74, no problem, even with an M4. But the AKSU? You might if you spray half a magazine in that particular direction. But I even have one, I shoot it for fun, I get a big old smile on my face. It’s fun to shoot, it’s just like rrrrrrrrrrp, almost like a little toy so to speak. Mikal Kalshanikov himself told me that he loved it, although he was a very anti 5.45 guy, but he was a big fan of the AKSU for some reason. But you put yourself in an actual gunfight, with people screaming everywhere, trying to get comm up, you taste the metal of adrenaline in your mouth, and now you are trying to pick out targets in the distance… it’s really hard with that gun. We were always trying to get rid of it for the AKS74.
Thus, the weapon was strictly for crew members. And if we look at the context of the Soviet-Afghan War, the biggest hinderances for the Mujahideen, were the Hind attack helicopters, and the BMPs. In fact, if you look through Soviet photographs of the war, there is much evidence to attest to this, with helicopter crews even having thigh holsters carrying their AKS74Us. Thus, taking one of these monsters out of the fight would be one enormous victory for a small band of fighters, but more importantly, proving that you took one down would show everyone how brave or good you were. And what better way to prove it than to take a weapon that only these troops would have on them, an AKS74U? It not only proves that you were competent, but it also gives you something to defend yourself with. Even in the Soldier of Fortune article, we see just how rare and sought after these things were, even rising in price after word was passed around that an American was looking for one in Peshawar.
Now, Osama bin Laden claimed back to his Yemeni and Saudi buddies back home that he fought in the Soviet-Afghan War. But the actual truth of the matter is that he probably was never near any of the fighting, most likely staying in a rear echelon capacity, directing funds and supplies to the front (if he even did that). But, on his return to the area in the mid-1990s, we have a multitude of pictures of him, with an AKS74U by his side in the camera frame. This was very deliberate, to the point of the gun sellers in Peshawar even telling the customer that “This is the Osama gun”. Although Osama never took down a Soviet armored vehicle or Hind, the fact that he was carrying the carbine showed a status symbol, and he was able to identify much more easily with local Pashtuns who didn’t understand his Saudi background but absolutely understood his choice of weapon.
The placement of that AKS74U in the camera frame is entirely on purpose.
Somewhat off track, but this is important to understand how the name came to be, because even today, the AKS74U occupies a very lofty position as a status symbol in eastern Afghanistan and Peshawar.
A close Afghan contact from Jalalabad mentions two names for the AKS74U, the first one which is popular in Jalalabad, is “Kalakov” and the second one is “Krinkov”. If you hear somewhat of an “F” sound at the end of the word, that is because there isn’t any “V” consonant in Pashtu, speakers instead using an “F” or a “W” sound to simulate a “V”. Now, remember what David Isby said the other names for the carbine were? “Shrinkov” and “Shesakov”? Using a little knowledge of the Pashtu language, the names pair up to be the same word. There are two dialects of Pashtu, the southern, or Kandahari, and the eastern, or the Nangahari. So looking at this words, “Krinkov” and “Shrinkov” are actually the same word, just pronounced differently, while “Kalakov” and “Shesakov” are a little more different, but dropping the “la” sound, the words are also the same.
From the full form of the word on the right, going into the nickname for the AKS74U on the left, the differences between the top and bottom are in different Pashtu areas of speaking.
But how exactly did these words come about? As my friend mentioned, adding an “ov” to any word makes it Russian-ized in Pashtu. So that explains the last part of the word, and the first part is probably a bit of vocabulary added on, to signify the importance of the AKS74U as a status symbol. Because it isn’t just any old “Kalashnikov”, its a “Krinkov”, and you know I got it from that Hind I blew out of the sky a week ago. Another tidbit that my friend brought up after the camera was off, is that for some reason, in Jalalabad, the Pashtuns refers to the Kalashnikov rifle as that, a “Kalashnikof”. However, in other parts of eastern Afghanistan, the same name is actually pronounced “Krashnikof”. And this might actually be the truest jump to “Krinkof”, as going from “Kalashnikof” to “Kalakof” is very similar, as is going from “Krashnikof” to “Krinkof”. In both cases, the “L” in the first one, and the “R” sound in the second one are maintained in their nickname for the short rifle.
I hope this was an informative article and was able to really get to the point of “Why do we call it this?”. If anything, the most important part of all of this, is that the word isn’t a made up, nonsense word, but instead has very important historical and cultural attributes and an etymology that comes from a defining moment in history. There is much evidence to point to the fact that Afghanistan might just have been the straw that broke the Soviet Unions back, and this word directly came out of that struggle. In addition, it is a Pashtun invention, and is still very much alive and well in eastern Afghanistan and Peshawar.
