The End Of An Era: Kalashnikov Maker To Seek Bankruptcy
Presented without comment. Well one: Zero Hedge staff is currently scouring through the firm's capital structure to determine which debt tranche Goldman is fully invested in and is about to equitize and obtain full control of the AK-47 maker.
Text of report by Gazprom-owned, editorially independent Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy on 21 September
[Presenter] Russia's largest small arms manufacturer, the Izhevsk Mechanical Works [Izhmash], could be declared bankrupt. It became know today that a corresponding petition has been received by the arbitration court of [the Republic of] Udmurtia from the enterprise.
Aleksey Gusarov reports.
[Correspondent] The Izhmash concern, considered to be the pride of the Russian defence industry, could become unprofitable. The arbitration court of Udmurtia will now study the financial documentation of the joint-stock company. If the results of the court examination recognize the bankruptcy petition as justified, the concern's restructure will begin. Bankruptcy proceedings, should they happen, will help Izhmash rid itself of debt burdens. Moreover, experts do not rule out that a new wave of unemployment will sweep over Udmurtia in this case.
I would like to recall that earlier, production came to a halt at the Molot plant [Vyatskiye Polyany Machine Building Plant Molot] in Kirov Region, a part of the Izhmash concern. This largest Kalashnikov assault rifle manufacturer now stands idle. No state order means no money to pay employees, nor to repay debts to creditors.
[Presenter] It is expected that Udmurtia's arbitration court will hold a preliminary examination of the Izhmash case on 7 October.
h/t Bankster
(2 votes)
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on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 19:32
#75874
Best assault rifle ever made. Unbelievable, this does not sound right... it's not like the world is a better place.
BTW, AKs are made in many other places, and the best ones are made in a particular country in Eastern Europe that Mr. Druden has referred to as the "boonies" before...
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:00
#75944
It's not the best assault rifle. It did what it supposes to, that is inexpensive to produce. It is at the pinnacle of its' ideological, “disposable rifles for disposable troops.”
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:01
#75959
Exactly, the m16 is far more accurate.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:31
#75981
The AR 15 will be thrown away before the AK47. That's why they give them to children, even they can do the maintenance on them. The Glock of the Rifle world.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 22:54
#76054
It isn't hard to maintain the Ar15. It does however need more lube then the AK. Both rifles will malefaction if the operator lack cleaning standard.
The AK isn’t a bad rifle. It does have very bad ergo, tho.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 05:45
#76169
AK47 is more likely to stovepipe rounds and more likely to cook off rounds if you've been firing too fast becasue it just burns more powder each round. That's why they made the brass so thick on .308 nato because it can stay in a hot machine gun longer before cooking off and why the brass is so thick on 7.62x39.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 14:38
#76612
AK-47 is a great gun if you're an ivory poacher. Navy Seals opt for the M-14 because they see the advantage of a 1000 yd gun vs 400 yd gun. Furthermore, there now is body armor that can stop a 7.62X39. Not so with the 308 Remington.
Palestinian Security Forces all opted for AR-15, AK47 was too ghetto for them.
If the Beltway Sniper had been using an AK instead of an AR, maybe three dead instead of 10.
on Wed, 09/23/2009 - 07:47
#77208
It's .308 Winchester and it's not (exactly) the same as what the military uses - 7.62x51.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:33
#75982
ok , would you like to name one that you think is better?
i am all ears...
also as an aside
interesting article in haaretz today
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1115891.html
Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security adviser to U.S. President Jimmy Carter, said today, that U.S. forces should forcibly prevent the Israel Air Force from reaching Iran to strike its nuclear facilities.
don't ask me to explain this. when all of this iran attack stuff started, our boy, the former security adviser for carter, was , as it seemed, all for this attack. now this.
something is going on now, it would seem. maybe the neocon war hawks are stepping back from the precipice of thermo nuclear war.......one can only hope. this proposed attack on iran is national suicide and simply is insane....
the israelis are always talking shit about how bad they are, etc. the fact is all they have ever fought is some unorganized bedouin. if they want some, come and get some, is all i can say about it. and as far as their 4 little german made subs wandering around the ocean depths, would it not be so, that these minor headaches could be dealt with in a matter of minutes, perhaps even before they launch their suicide sampson option nuclear tipped cruise missles.....some of you may say......what is all of this? as i have told you before, you have no idea what is really going on out here in this old world my friends......stay tuned about all of this....
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 22:47
#76049
The Ar15 is the best rifle in the world. It is used by the best warriors in the world. No one has developed a better rifle then it.
Keep in mind the mechanical limits of small arms more or less have been reached. Newer rifles are just rehash of old designs. Take for example the SCAR. It’s an AR18 with a new body but the same soul.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 02:44
#76142
You say:
"the israelis are always talking shit about how bad they are, etc. the fact is all they have ever fought is some unorganized bedouin. if they want some, come and get some, is all i can say about it."
Pretty sure that in 1967 Israel pre-emptively attacked Egypt and won a battle against 100,000 troops including over 900 tanks, 1000 APCs, and 1000 artillery peices.
Just sayin....
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 15:27
#76699
Ever heard of the seven day war? Israel took on all of its neighbors at the same time and won! They had air supperiority after the first day and the Egyptians sued for peace!
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 23:20
#76071
It works always...and without maintenance. In a bad situation in the middle of nowhere...I will take up the AK 47 on the M16 as a no brainer.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 06:11
#76179
Like any autmatic gas operated weapon, the wear rate is proportionate to how often the weapon is fired CLEAN. The 16, and 47 both wear out fast when their dirty. I'll take an A-bolt 8mm Remminton mag.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 23:07
#76063
who are the "boonies"?
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 07:22
#76194
Actually the best assault rifle ever made is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vz._58
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 07:55
#76207
Incorrect. Anybody at a gun show will tell you that the best are Norinco, made in China.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 07:59
#76209
Not sure about the "best" comment. Are you a gourmand, too?
This is overall good news for the world--it means that the insane war machine may actually be abating. The arms industry is a gigantic waste for the most part. A waste of raw materials and a waste of labor.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 19:28
#75877
Hey you got cross linked here:
http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/andros/2009/0921.html
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 19:38
#75886
"...resulting in a dramatic pop in the regional stock market, where three Atari 2600 machines trade 10 shares of the one listed stock."
Your intros are consistently filled with funny as shit stuff. This one is a gem. It makes my continuing financial education a pleasure. Really.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:03
#75901
Agree that the comments are hilarious.
I did some google searching and it looks like there isn't a TCP stack available for Atari 2600. As far as I'm aware, C64 or maybe the Atari 800 PC are about as ghetto as you can get and still have a working TCP stack, to be used for maximum trading profits!
For what it's worth, C64 has a functional GUI web browser with mouse support: http://www.armory.com/~spectre/cwi/hl/
:D
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 06:07
#76176
There was a move afoot to port the modified BSD stack in the early 90's, but nothing much came of it.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 13:14
#76513
does 9600 baud count as 'flash' in that part of the world?
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:11
#75909
Hi DH--just got back from Toronto and am off to the west coast for 3 weeks. Also just got a Kindle and it is kinda wonderful since I can read ZH at no cost on 3G.
Question: Any great books you can recommend--I've got about 20 in the cue for the 1st chapter read. Willing to take any recommendations in the non-fiction realm of late (which I have read many but it is my way). Any help, greatly appreciated!
Kindly,
Howard
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:24
#75973
I just finished the one by the Time economics reporter, "the myth of the rational market"....struck me as more of a historical summary of economists and the evolution and divergence of the rational market camp and behavioral economic camp...
lot of references to black/shoals (spelling I know) and the thinking behind the math, which would likely be of interest to you re: your options expertise.
edit: author is Justin Fox
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:26
#75977
If you haven't already read it - In The heart Of The Sea. The first written account of a whale attack on a ship - Moby Dick was roughly based on this story. A great seafairing yarn - even if you aren't into that kind of reading. Story is set during the peak of the whaling trade, around Nantucket Island. If you decide to pick it up, let me know what you think.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:39
#75988
to change your life forever. read the little book,
waters flowing eastward by Mme. Paquita de Shishmareff
the wife of a former czarist officer, who witnessed the fall of russia to the communist.
or if you are fluent in german, french, or russian, read
200 years together, by the greatest author and historian of the 20th and early 21st centuries....Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
for some reason it is not in english yet, but maybe someday huh?.....
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 15:06
#76663
Anti Semetic screed. A wrap of the Potocols of Zion. Why post this here?
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 00:06
#76091
as long as timmy and the beard are guiding this ship, check out "the grapes of wrath" for an in depth look at what our future holds.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 07:39
#76201
"Suicide: The Forever Decision"
Maybe you can have a productive trip to the west coast after reading this book on your Kindle or iPhone. (at 3G) It would be wonderful if you and Cheeky could get some ideas from this book, on your 3G Kindle.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 08:17
#76216
Ghost Wars. Awesome non-fiction about the shit CIA did in Afghanistan/Pakistan/Saudi Arabia since the 70s.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 15:03
#76658
Dr. Zhivago, Crime and Punishment, Anna Karenina, Dead Souls. Russian all.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:57
#75954
LOL that one was a classic. I'm assuming GS upgrade will come anyway? I'm glad TD and crew can keep their sense of humor, I'm about to lose mine.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 19:51
#75891
Be careful what you jest lest it come true.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:25
#75893
I think there might be something wrong with my brain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPNfWFbiCOQ
Avenge me, avenge me called out the father in
Red dawn (part 3).
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:03
#75900
The woodgrain on a Polish folder is a beautiful thing . . .
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:33
#75929
In Connecticut, polish is a very unique brandy. We
call our liquor stores package stores. So we say, go to
the package store and get me a pint of Polish.
Everyone knows what that means, even though the
words package and Polish dont exist in the store.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:04
#75902
go long AKs
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:59
#75946
I would not go long on AK. Ak has been losing market shares around the wold to AR15.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:36
#75985
AK = Power, ease of use, durability
AR = Precision
Different tools for different jobs really. If I want to stop an engine, I won't like the AR so well.
I think there is something I do not understand about all this.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 23:00
#76059
The Ar15 is very durable very reliable. I own both. I own 7 AR with a lot of stripped receivers. I own 2 AK.
Durability and reliability isn't the same. Durability you have to give it to the AR because it isn’t made out of 1mm sheet metal. Reliability, the AK has a small edge because it doesn’t require as much lube as the AR.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 23:27
#76075
We could do this all night friend. Does not seem wise to be specific about what one has in terms of arms. Watch this, you decide:
Best rifle in the world:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQzh7A5Gam8
AK baybay!
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 23:44
#76082
I’ve been debating the AR vs AK for a long time.
All you need to look is who use them. The best warriors in the world use AR not AK. You look at the independent contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. What do they use? AR.
I have personal experience in both of them and I can tell you that AK does jam and it does break. I don't need a stupid show to tell me which is the best. It is a rifle that is made out of 1mm sheet metal that you can buy from a hardware store.
Here is a video in Iraq where the AK jammed and then KB!
http://rpginn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=605&Itemid=39
1mm AK flat. Fold it up and you got an AK receiver.
http://www.copesdistributing.net/product_info.php?cPath=32_34&products_i...
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 00:04
#76088
I have two words for you Doll-- Chamber brush.
I'll go check your videos.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 00:25
#76096
"AK-47 Blows Up On A Security Contractor At A Range In Fallujah"
Chinese ammo? :-) Ouch!
If you have no support for 11 months in the field, which one do you want?
If you are in the US with a nice AC and your armorer right there to handle any probelms that come up, which do you want?
Okay, I'll fess up. I have an AR. For a girl gun, it is pretty good. I like that it lacks kick. It was kind to learn on.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:09
#75903
Picture of the month. Make sure you scroll down to see the before pictures.
http://www.dealmakersblog.com/the-sickest-fix-flip-everwith-a-43k-profit/
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:10
#75905
which boonie ?
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:27
#75924
The AK is the perfect example of good enough. Piece of shit in my opinion which functions without fail in many environments.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:28
#75980
easy to assemble, has few moving parts, works in any env, reliable, was actively produced since 1947 thats over 60 years without any modifications to the original design - o yea, it is piece of shit.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:28
#75925
I am truely saddened by this news. If we can bailout banks, auto makers, newspapers, etc... we should certainly lend a hand to the maker of the AK-47. Hasn't some of the TARP money been repaid? The American taxpayers could get a discount on a brand new AK-47 in some sort of "Cash for Kalashnikov" program. Throw in a couple thousand rounds of 7.62x39 hollowpoints, and this is a government program I could support.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:38
#75987
They already did this, it was called the Obama Election. Prices doubled and tripled.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 23:28
#76077
Guess AKs aren't included in CPI basket of goods?They would skew the whole deflation argument.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 00:29
#76097
So would ammo.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 13:20
#76523
"Cash for Kalashnikov"
lol
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:34
#75932
does that mean the General's Vodka is next?
http://www.kalashnikovvodka.com/the_vodka/index.php
If Goldman ends up with both the AK's and vodka plants.. I'm building a bunker.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:46
#75992
>> http://www.kalashnikovvodka.com/the_vodka/index.php
Isn't the internet great?!
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:49
#75940
via alphaville
Burning of the Quants, redux
Posted by Paul Murphy on Sep 21 22:40.
http://www.ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/09/21/73061/burning-of-the-quan...
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:54
#75949
reported last week but seems it's now a family affair
Monday, September 21, 2009 Report: Toll 'Brothers' Selling Stock in Company
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/industrials/toll-bro...
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:57
#75953
This reminds me of a conversation I had with some nice older folk. They were telling me how several years ago they had bought stock in Fruit of the Loom and Singer (sewing machines). Both these companes are still around. Both are making money. But somewhere along the way these nice folks holdings dropped in value until they were worth zero.
So it will go with the AK company as well. Equity investors take a bath, the company goes on. In itself I don't lament that equity can go to zero while the company lives on. But in the broader context of our ponzi economy it just seems like another way the little guy gets shafted. It seems like most equities only exist to provide a bagholder for the company's real owners.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 20:59
#75956
You about to float away up there in ATL?
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:16
#75969
Freakin monsoon season dood! Weather says rain thru Sunday, that'd be 3 weeks straight of rain. School was cancelled across the state, like half of every workplace couldn't even make it in today, n 2 people friggin died cause their cars got swept into rivers. The one thing Superman and I have in common is we need sunshine to live, n I'm friggin dying here.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 22:00
#76006
Steak:
Where the Fuck do you live, guy ?
Dave in Canada.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:22
#75975
Latest Reuters Headlines
The hand of Iran in Afghanistan 5:00pm ET
U.S. counterterrorism officials say the shadowy, elite Qods force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard is providing training and weapons to Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Full Article
McChrystal: More troops or war's lost
Moment of truth nears for Obama
Blog: Obama's tough choices
Blog: Afghan mistakes, but what next?
Full Coverage: Afghanistan, Pakistan
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:25
#75976
What you are saying is that Graham and Dodd is on the "Steal Me" table outside the bookstore and Peter Lynch's hair finally caught on fire. Why buy earnings when you can get 900% from AIG, or 20000% from DDRX, or get a pop in your bonds when CDL misses a payment, or 73% in a day from WaMu pink, or 200% in a day from LEH, or....
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:18
#75971
This is a strategic move on the part of Goldman. They're going to need as many guns as they can get. Call it vertical integration. As one who has a good deal of experience firing a fully automatic AK (47 and the light version 74), I can tell you that even a pinhead wanker at 85 Broad can handle one without too much difficulty.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:27
#75978
They make good guns...have one of them.
However, the Czechoslovakia AKs are similarly priced and higher quality.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:46
#75994
As some of you may have surmised, my obsessive nature has recently turned to the procurement of "tactical arms". While shopping for an AR-15, I was surprised to find that there were at least 20 manufacturers of the same gun - and probably more. same with the AK-47. I just assumed that one company made the AR and one company made the AK, but not true. Lots of competition out there. Not to mention that the the AR-15 has become way more "tacticool". The AK - in any incarnation - has proven to be the more reliable weapon, however. BTW, I think that my contributions to this sight are probably commensurate with my user name.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 22:06
#76012
its true. in vietnam, the us soldier prized chi com ak 47's when he could get one. takes a licking and keeps on ticking
and the m 16, oh it jams about evertime you put a magazine in it. now the military is saying that after 40 some odd years, they think the 223 round is too small and doesn't have enough power. well no shit shirlock..........so in iraq, the prized weapons are ak's, rpk's and of course the m 14
oh and another aside here.
it is ok with the zerohedge censors if i post some attempt at humor for a monday night, at alex jones expense?
http://fallofalexjones.com/
this guy is pure non com poop....
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 22:21
#76030
Happy to hear the Village Idiot is heavily armed.
:)
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 21:49
#75998
Trained on the M14 in the USMC- recovered a few Aks over there. Shot them many times- very good weapon.
One could never beat the 7.62 Full Metal Jacket
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 22:07
#76013
"my contributions to this sight are probably commensurate with my user name."
Me too.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 22:09
#76018
GS will be great, they can sell small arms to the fed at a profit. Next they can buy russian nukes and swap with the fed for usa treasuries. It's good to be golden.
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 22:43
#76046
This didn't exactly make my day.
I own both an original AK (Czech Made) and a Soviet AKM-74 (shoots nato 5.56), along with 2500 rounds of 7.62x39 with the ORIGINAL green tracer.
IMHO best light infantry weapons ever made. Take a licking - keep on ticking.
And ubiquitous too - re-supply and armory work is available anywhere in the world.
However, like almost anything else - guess who the largest producer of these weapons is - can you say PRC?
on Mon, 09/21/2009 - 22:54
#76053
I figured this topic would draw out the arfcommers.
Perhaps I'll post the recent BusinessWeek feature on Glock to draw out the rest of you.
And if that doesn't work, perhaps a debate over 9 v. 45.
This site needs some BOTD.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 03:13
#76145
Oh, so now you are all experts on the use of small arms in sub optimal conditions?
Look guys, you all wear pinstripes and sit on your jacksies in front of Bloomberg all day. Lets not let the fantasy life intrude too much - this is Zero Hedge, not the A Team or McGuiver.
The closest most of you will ever get to toting an AK47 round the Wadi Rum is playing with water pistols at the beach.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 03:19
#76147
What really happened is that some totally unknown company to which Izhmash allegedly owes $13 million has filed a bankruptcy lawsuit. Seems like some sort of a PR action to me.
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=82062
I guess Izhmash just wants to get some cheap money from the state to cover the increased opex of the Russian American Armory Company (http://www.raacfirearms.com/). So they try to scare the shit out of the govt in the middle of loan negotiations with Sberbank.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 14:33
#76609
Putin's vice has just announced an 8% increase in 2010 defence spending. And yes, Izhmash is in the process of raising money (from the state-owned banks of course) due to the increase in working capital requirements.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 05:35
#76163
I would not be picking up that story to be honest. The company that is initiating the whole thing is small, and its head has taken part in several corporation raiding events and is closely connected with the criminal organizations. Ifs and buts aside its just a Russian version of a Patorini scam.
PRC ak's result in a lot of flak towards Kalashnikov that is not deserved. Lack of quality is an issue.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 07:18
#76191
I will stick with my SKS. Getting the job done since before the AK.
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 09:35
#76288
I see your AK vs. AR arguments and raise you a G3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_G3
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 09:47
#76300
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Atari2600a.JPG
Still worth more than 3 shares in Citi lol!
on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 10:01
#76317
AR-15 - Good for shooting Varmints
AK-47 et al: Good for shooting all other categories as along as the ammo is good
Now if you want an 'improved' version of the M16, go with the HK M416 which uses a piston to cycle the bolt.
Much cleaner and reliable
on Wed, 09/23/2009 - 00:25
#77096
On AK weapons family -
The best AK type weapons are made in Czech republic by Skoda and Brno
Brno was also responsible for the BREN crew-served .30 cal of WWII (BRno ENfield)
Lowest-quality AK type weapons come from China but China alone has produced more of these weapons than all others put together.
BTW these weapons are also hand-made in tribal areas of Pakistan as well -
Ubiquitous and parts/service available everywhere.