DON'T LOSE ACCESS:
Your IP access to ForeignPolicy.com will expire on June 15.
To ensure uninterrupted reading, please contact Rachel Mines, sales director, at rachel.mines@foreignpolicy.com.
Passport
This Souvenir AK-47 Purchased in the Moscow Airport Will Make Your Trip to Russia Unforgettable
Kalashnikov is now going to sell fake assault rifles at Moscow's largest airport.
What better way to remember a trip to Russia than with a fake Kalashnikov assault rifle, now available for purchase at the Moscow airport?
The Russian gunmaking company announced Friday that it will soon open a souvenir shop at Sheremetyevo International Airport, where T-shirts, pens, umbrellas, and, yes, fake AK-47s will be available for purchase. There will also be “I Love AK” T-shirts for sale, because, hey, why not? Some 31 million people passed through the major airport last year.
“Kalashnikov is one of the most popular brands that comes to mind for most people in the world when they hear about Russia,” Vladimir Dmitriev, the company’s marketing chief, said in a news release.
That’s because the AK-47 is one of the most popular rifles in the world, and notoriously used by rebel groups everywhere from Colombia to Central African Republic. It was the first rifle ever produced by the Kalashnikov company and entered the gun market in 1948.
Even though it’s just about the last item any airport security officer would want to see a passenger carrying on a plane, the gunmakers claim the fake ones will be evidently made of plastic and easy to distinguish from the real deal.
“[W]e are pleased to provide the opportunity for everyone to take away from Russia a souvenir with our company brand,” Dmitriev said.
Photo credit: LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images
Comments