He will go down in history as the creator of the world's most famous rifle, the AK-47, hailed by enthusiasts for its durability and lightweight firepower. Mikhail Kalashnikov said he wishes he had paid more attention to his garden instead.

Mr Kalashnikov, said if he had his time again he would try to design something useful rather than destructive - preferably a lawnmower.

"I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists," he said on a visit to Germany, adding: "I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work - for example a lawnmower."

The former Red Army officer was opening an AK-47 exhibition in a weapons museum in Suhl, eastern Germany. His comment, made to the German tabloid Bild, was reminiscent of Albert Einstein's remark reflecting on his role in the development of the atom bomb: "If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker."

Mr Kalashnikov, a peasant's son who lives in Siberia, was quick to stress he has made not a kopek from his rifle, 100m of which have been sold since production began in 1947. "The state took everything for it," he said.

He said the Germans were indirectly responsible for the design, which was adopted by the Russian army in 1949. In 1941 a fellow soldier asked him: "Why do our soldiers have only one rifle between three men, while the Germans have automatics?" "So I invented an automatic," he said. "I'm proud of my invention, but I'm sad that it is used by terrorists ... I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work — for example a lawn mower."
"Blame the Nazi Germans for making me become a gun designer ... I always wanted to construct agriculture machinery.""I created a weapon to defend the borders of my motherland. It's not my fault that it's being used where it shouldn't be. The politicians are more to blame for this."
"When a young man, I read somewhere the following: God the Almighty said, 'All that is too complex is unnecessary, and it is simple that is needed' ... So this has been my lifetime motto – I have been creating weapons to defend the borders of my fatherland, to be simple and reliable

Medals
    Medal "Hammer and Sickle" (1958,1976)
    Medal "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945"
    Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
    Medal "In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"
    Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
    Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
    Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR"
    Medal "Veteran of Labor" on behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
    Jubilee Medal "30 years of the Soviet Army and Navy"
    Jubilee Medal "40 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
    Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
    Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
    Jubilee Medal "70 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
    Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th anniversary of Moscow"