RUSSIA: The creator of one of the world's most famous guns, the AK-47 assault rifle, launched another weapon yesterday - Kalashnikov vodka.
Lieut Gen Mikhail Kalashnikov, who invented the AK-47 after being shot by German soldiers during the second World War, said he wanted to continue "the good name" of his gun.
"I've always wanted to improve and expand on the good name of my weapon by doing good things," he said. "So we decided to create a vodka under my name. And we wanted that vodka to be better than anything made, up until now, in both Russia and England."
The Kalashnikov rifle has become the weapon of choice for guerrillas and gangsters across the world. But Kalashnikov said: "I did not create the gun for international conflicts, I created it to protect the borders of my country. It is not my fault that it has been spread all over the world."
Promoters of Kalashnikov vodka, which is 82 per cent proof, say it is "made from grain harvested in Russia and water drawn from Lake Ladoga north of St Petersburg" and is best drunk with friends.