Russian army stops buying Kalashnikov rifles

(CNN) -- The Russian army has ceased ordering the famed Kalashnikov rifle for its arsenal and is waiting on a newer model its manufacturer is developing.

The army already has more of the weapons than it requires, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia Nikolai Makarov told Russian media.

The inventor of the weapon, Mikhail Kalashnikov, 91, has reportedly been deliberately kept uninformed about the decision.

"We do not want to have it on our conscience and tell him such bad news. He might not live through it," Russia's Izvestia newspaper quoted an unnamed friend of Kalashnikov as saying.   Read More

Posted in: News