Drawing of a German rifle on the monument to Kalashnikov. Sculptor Shcherbakov will change the monument to Kalashnikov with a German rifle. Small arms of the Wehrmacht

The opening of the monument to Mikhail Kalashnikov by Salavat Shcherbakov seems to have become the main news event of this week. First, they discussed the ethics of erecting a monument to the designer of the most common small arms in the world, then switched to the artistic merits and demerits of the sculpture. Numerous experts spoke on the topic, up to the most important of the main ones. Yuri Loza criticized Andrei Makarevich, who criticized the monument, and practically put an end to this issue.

What is there to criticize, I do not really understand

Yuri Loza, singer, composer

But it was not there. Yesterday, military historian Yuri Pasholok discovered a drawing of the German StG-44 assault rifle on a sculptural composition in honor of Russian designer Mikhail Kalashnikov. It was found on the side surface of the monument next to samples of weapons created by the Soviet designer. What adds to the evil irony is the ongoing debate on the Web that Kalashnikov simply stole his design from the Germans, knocked out this secret from the German gunsmith Hugo Schmeisser, who worked in captivity, and appropriated it for himself.

Looking for an expert

How could the explosion diagram of a German machine gun end up on the monument? You can do a simple experiment - go to Google, ask for "a drawing of a Kalashnikov assault rifle", look at the pictures, putting "large" in the search results, and find the very scheme on the first page of the results. If you go to the site, then everything is signed there correctly, and if you don’t go in, but download it right, without thinking, you can publicly disgrace yourself. Which is what was shown.

But wait, the monument was created by the Rostec State Corporation together with the Russian Military Historical Society. Didn't they have a couple of historians to check the resulting monument? Judging by the reports, there were historians, and they made models of machine guns and machine guns on a 3D printer. And what is the result? Vladimir Medinsky pompously talks about a wonderful historical monument, on which is a drawing of a German assault rifle.

By the way, since we are talking about one of the most beloved topics of debate on the Internet - did Kalashnikov steal the idea of ​​\u200b\u200ba machine gun from the StG-44? No. And there is a lot of solid evidence for that. Although they look similar on the outside, they are completely different on the inside. Did Kalashnikov see the StG-44 and its blueprints - of course he did. There are no weapon designers who create their weapons from scratch, having no idea about its structure, the latest developments and novelties. Do designers peep successful solutions from each other - of course, in the same StG-44 there are a lot of parts peeped from earlier rifles. Among other things, the authorship of Mikhail Kalashnikov also belongs to the RPK (Kalashnikov light machine gun), perhaps a more ingenious invention. It has been used without any changes since 1961 and still is.

And so it goes

It would seem that everyone can make a mistake. Well, they were negligent, they didn’t check, the consultants missed it, seven nannies had a child without an eye. The problem is that for most of the characters involved in this, it has already become the norm. On August 23, 2017, on the territory of the Prokhorovskoye Pole Museum-Reserve, the Russian Military Historical Society, chaired by Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky, erected a stele in honor of the victory of the Red Army over the armored units of the Wehrmacht in the Battle of Kursk.

And there were factual errors in the inscription on the stele. The inscription on it reads "In terms of the concentration of tanks and aircraft, the Battle of Kursk has no equal in history. It involved: more than 10,000 tanks and self-propelled guns, 6,800 aircraft, 52,000 guns and 3,200,000 people on both sides. Elite German tank units with the latest Tiger and Panther tanks.

However, none of the four divisions in which these tanks were used was destroyed. Yes, they suffered serious damage, but they were defeated only in the spring of 1945. It would seem a trifle, but this is a monument, the inscription on which will be read by thousands of people.

And there are many such examples. In 2014, a monument "Farewell of a Slav" was unveiled at the Belorussky railway station, which depicted a girl escorting a guy in uniform from the First World War to the front. And just a week later, a scandal erupted: the heraldic composition "1941" included in the monument was decorated not only with classic examples of Soviet weapons - the PPSh-41 submachine gun and the DP-27 light machine gun, but also with two German Mauser 98k rifles.

As you may have guessed, the monument was conceived and created under the patronage of the Russian Military Historical Society, it was cast in bronze by the sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov, and opened by Vladimir Medinsky. The rifles were cut down, the correct ones were soldered in their place, but does that make it any easier?

What is written in pen...

But there was also a reconstruction of the parade of 1941, held on Red Square in November 2016, when trucks and armored vehicles of the Soviet army

However, due to the profanity with which the blogger expresses his indignation at the historical ignorance of the sculptor, "NI" has no right to reproduce the text of the blog in full.

"You can zoom in and compare in Photoshop - everything is repeated exactly to the millimeter. That is, yes, the engraving was definitely taken from this picture.The only trouble is that the picture shows the assembly diagram of the German MKb.42. You can look in weapons encyclopedia. But the military community was in charge of the execution of work on the monument! ”The blogger writes.

However, you shouldn't be surprised. Especially after the sensational blunders in postcards and posters and billboards that were sculpted for the anniversary of the Victory throughout the country.

“Just don’t say it’s them by accident. For this it is necessary to beat, it hurts and in public. It's the sculptor boys, damn it! - Pashalok wrote on his Facebook page.

The monument to the designer of small arms Mikhail Kalashnikov and his machine gun was opened in the capital on the Gunsmith's Day, which is celebrated on September 19. The monument appeared in the center of the city, at the intersection of Sadovaya-Karetnaya, Dolgorukovskaya and Arms lane. The author of the sculpture was the People's Artist of Russia Salavat Shcherbakov.

It is possible that such an overlay with a machine gun is not accidental. According to one of the popular versions, the German StG-44 rifle became the prototype for full or partial copying during the development of the AK. As arguments in favor of this version, the external similarity of the guns and the fact that the Kalashnikov assault rifle appeared at the very time when a group of leading German gunsmiths was working in Izhevsk are given. However, experts refute the version that Mikhail Kalashnikov borrowed ideas from the StG designer Hugo Schmeisser. Firstly, because in both versions of the weapon there were no fundamentally innovative elements, all of them were known from the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. The novelty of these systems was the concept of a weapon for an intermediate between a pistol and rifle-machine-gun cartridge, AK also bypassed the German model in terms of reliability, so there can be no talk of any copying. Another argument in favor of the inconsistency of the version is the fact that the AK was developed in conditions of strict secrecy and the involvement of German specialists was impossible. Another assumption is based on borrowing - the Czechoslovak rifle ZK-420 allegedly became the prototype of the Soviet machine gun and the German rifle.

There is a hypothesis that does not detract from the talent of the Soviet gunsmith Kalashnikov, but directs him in a slightly different direction. According to her, Mikhail Kalashnikov did not invent anything - he studied the systems and details of the most successful types of small arms, finalized, improved some functions and competently combined them, having designed the legendary AK-47. It was Kalashnikov who selected and tested the best combinations of elements, looked for ways to dock and implemented productive ideas. Therefore, if he cannot be called an inventor in his pure form, then he, without a doubt, remains the creator of the Kalashnikov assault rifle.

BY THE WAY

The Russian Military Historical Society will remove the diagram of the German StG 44 assault rifle from the monument to Mikhail Kalashnikov on the Garden Ring in Moscow. agency "Moscow" executive director of RVIO Vladislav Kononov. He stated that the sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov and his apprentice "got something wrong". According to him, the RVIO made a requirement only for the weapon that Kalashnikov holds in his hands - an automatic machine of his own design, Kononov called the rest "a flight of creative imagination." “It's a very small background thing. I even wonder how they saw her. We took it from sources. And where we took it, it says "Kalashnikov assault rifle." Something from the Internet,” Shcherbakov told RBC. According to Kononov, such a mistake only emphasizes how different the AK is from the StG 44, and that accusations of Kalashnikov in borrowing the design are "categorically wrong."

On the recently opened monument to Mikhail Kalashnikov in Moscow, a diagram of the German StG 44 assault rifle was carved. Yuri Pasholok, editor of Rolling Wheels magazine, drew attention to this. "Just don't say that it's them by accident. You have to beat for this, it hurts and in public. These are sculptor boys, damn it!" — wrote Pasholok on his Facebook page.

Photo: Yuri Pasholok/Facebook

There is a historical myth according to which Kalashnikov copied his assault rifle from the German StG 44 rifle. This rifle was developed in 1942 by designer Hugo Schmeisser. Both automata are really similar in appearance, but they have many differences in the internal structure and principle of parsing.

September 22, 10:46 Sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov said he was ready to make changes to his work, but so far he is not sure if a mistake was really made.

"We cannot yet find a specialist who claims that this drawing is not an AK-47. I will be really grateful to him if he tells me where the mistake was made. But as long as I am confident in the drawings on which we did this, we communicated with the museum, it says AK-47," Shcherbakov said.

He stressed that if there was still an error in the drawings, changes would be made to the monument. “We will definitely do this, it happens. For example, we understand that a strand does not lie like that in a portrait, then we change the monument,” the agency’s interlocutor explained.

The monument was unveiled on Tuesday at the intersection of Sadovaya-Karetnaya and Dolgorukovskaya streets in Moscow. The height of the monument was 7.5 meters; in the course of work, some of its details were clarified, for example, the model of the machine gun that Kalashnikov is holding in his hands. In the artistic composition, the figure of the globe and the image of St. George the Victorious are indicated as symbols of peace and victory "over the forces of evil."

RIA News"

"We want to thank the person who noticed this drawing, because until today we were not experts in the construction of automatic machines. And now we have pointed this out to the sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov. He is on site and is going to dismantle this slab, since he and his apprentice It is important to understand that the military historical society is the customer of the monument, and we had only one wish for weapons - for the model of the machine gun that Mikhail Timofeevich holds in his hands. Everything else is a flight of creative imagination of the sculptor and his assistants, so let them figure it out, they will now correct this mistake," Kononov said.

In addition, as Kononov explained, the incident refutes the myth that M. Kalashnikov was not an independent designer, but relied on the developments of the German designer Hugo Schmeisser.

“And thanks to a mistake made through the fault of the sculptor, everyone who wants to see that the StG and the Kalashnikov assault rifle are completely different assault rifles, and it is categorically wrong to accuse Mikhail Kalashnikov of borrowing,” the director of the RVIO noted.

Agency "Moscow"

Salavat Shcherbakov, the author of the Kalashnikov monument, admitted in a conversation with RBC that a mistake “could have crept into the project.”

“This is a very small background thing. I even wonder how they saw it. We took it from sources. And where we took it, it says “Kalashnikov assault rifle”. Something from the Internet,” the sculptor explained.

Shcherbakov also noted that "if there is a mistake," then it "is corrected very easily."

The sculptor said that he and his colleagues are now trying to contact the expert who reported the error. “There is no political reason that one of us slipped this,” Shcherbakov stressed.

"We are already contacting everyone. We will calmly find out everything. The biggest negative thing about this is the behavior of the press and the public. It's just some kind of bacchanalia. And the question is a worker. We once made a star on uniform for a general a little smaller. We corrected it . Mistakes happen," said the sculptor.

On the sculptural composition dedicated to the Soviet designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, they found a drawing of the German automatic rifle StG 44. A historian drew attention to the scheme of the Third Reich assault rifle on the bas-relief on Facebook. “Just don’t say it’s them by accident. For this it is necessary to beat, it hurts and in public. These are sculptor boys, damn it! ”, The caption to the published photo reads.

The StG 44 assault rifle (Sturmgewehr 44, aka MP 43 / MP 44) was developed by designer Hugo Schmeisser during World War II. Until 1945, about 420 thousand copies were made.

“So far we have no data on the error. We have seven automata depicted, the eighth automaton is in the hands of . In addition, we have plumbing and drawing tools. If there is a mistake, we will fix it. Now the most important thing is to separate what is happening from the political chatter,” he said.

According to Shcherbakov, he would like the historian Yuri Pasholok, who discovered the error on the monument, to personally contact the sculptor, "so that I understand what and where the error is." “At the same time, someone says that this specialist from social networks does not really exist. If there is a specialist and he is right, then we will be very grateful and will make certain corrections, ”the author of the monument noted.

At the same time, according to Kononov, the fact that the oversight was discovered suggests that the StG and the Kalashnikov assault rifle are “completely different assault rifles, and it is categorically wrong to accuse Kalashnikov of borrowing”

A monument to Kalashnikov by sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov was solemnly opened at the intersection of Sadovaya-Karetnaya and Dolgorukovskaya streets in the center of Moscow on September 19. In society, the reaction to the new Moscow landmark turned out to be ambiguous. Many Muscovites are embarrassed by the figure of a well-known weapons designer and are unsure that such individuals should be immortalized. This position was indicated, in particular, by the musician.

At the same time, the artist is confused not only by the ethical side of the issue, but also by the aesthetic one. "Okay. Let Kalashnikov. But why such a mediocre, ugly sculpture?”, — says the musician. According to him, even in Soviet times, "this idol" would not have passed the artistic council. “Well, why are we disfiguring our city like that, disgracing ourselves in front of the whole world?” he concluded.

Makarevich was supported by his colleague, the singer who performed last year at the Eurovision 2016 contest. “I can't keep silent... it's disgusting to put such a monument in the center of the capital. A man with a machine gun in his hands! All authorities care so much about the psychological state of children, constantly introducing new bans, and immediately put up a monument to Kalashnikov with a machine gun in the center! What do we teach children? Fight? Make this picture Norma!? There are not enough emotions to express indignation, ”the artist wrote on his Instagram (original spelling).

“No dancer or singer will listen to the opinion of the sculptor, how he danced or sang. This is a profession, and you don’t have to get into it, ”

Shcherbakov said. According to him, even professionals behave modestly and do not absolutize everything as the ultimate truth.

The installation of the monument was timed to coincide with the Gunsmith's Day in Russia. The site published a congratulation to the workers of the military-industrial complex from Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which the Russian leader also mentioned Kalashnikov. “We are rightfully proud of Russian craftsmen, engineers, designers, whose creative genius created unique, world-famous weapons. In the military, heroic history of the Fatherland, the names of such talented gunsmiths as Pavel Zakhava, Georgy Shpagin, Mikhail Kalashnikov will forever remain, ”the text of the congratulation says.

It should be noted that the sculpture depicting the world-famous gunsmith installed in Moscow is not the first work on this topic. The previous monument to Kalashnikov was erected in 2015 at the military memorial cemetery in Mytishchi, where the designer was buried after his death in 2013.

Of course, we are no longer surprised by anything, but on the monument to Kalashnikov, opened in Moscow, they placed a diagram of the German STG-44 machine gun. Historian Yuri Pashalok drew attention to this.

The building that housed the "sharazhka" where Hugo Schmeisser worked from 1945 to 1952. In 1953 he died, and all "Kalashnikov's inventions" ceased.

From the memoirs of Hugo Schmeisser:


“If it weren’t for this idiot Misha Kalashnikov, who always got under our feet and interfered with everyone’s work, we would have invented the AK-47 not in 1952, but in 1947, as planned.
There was nothing worse and more harmful for the engineering bureau than this arrogant cretin who always climbed into our drawings with his bast shoes. Otto twice tried to strangle him, Hans - to beat him with a T-square, and Fritz - to stab him with a pair of compasses. The blockhead did not understand that he was interfering with everyone. I did my best to reassure my friends in misfortune: at least we were warm and fed, unlike our comrades at the logging site. The turning point was 1951, when Misha went on a long binge: Albert came up with the idea of ​​giving him alcohol to drink, in which we washed the springs of the test specimens. Realizing that with the help of vodka we can easily get rid of him, I, reluctantly, stole 12 liters in the laboratory, and ordered them to be handed over to Mikhail. We had nothing to clean our test specimens, but we were spared his presence. Now he showed up at the bureau once a month, unshaven and scary as hell, with trembling hands, demanding his eternal chekushka. We gave him a new can and escorted him out. By the end of the year, the test copy was ready. Misha was brought to the shooting in a children's sleigh, drunk and playing an accordion.