Wednesday, Sep 22, 2004
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By Steven Morris and
LONDON, SEPT. 21. The scene: A club in London's West End that is used to welcoming show business types and footballers. The cast: Marketing experts, shareholders out to make a quick buck, plus a smattering of Russian hostesses known as the ``Nikita'' girls. Oh, and one rather diminutive General, a hero of the Soviet military, dressed in full military regalia, sipping vodka and fascinating all and sundry with the story of how he invented the most famous rifle of all time. But General Mikhail Kalashnikov, 83, was not in London last night to discuss the AK-47, weapon of choice for terrorists, gangsters and revolutionaries across the globe. In one of the most bizarre, and some might suggest tasteless, of marketing exercises, Gen. Kalashnikov is lending his famous name to a brand of vodka, which is officially launched today. The General claims he wants his name to be linked to something not connected with violence. Kalashnikov Vodka is the brainchild of British entrepreneur John Florey, who got the idea of approaching the General while representing the Russian chess grandmaster, Gary Kasparov.
Not just a figurehead
It took Mr. Florey two years to track down the General and persuade him to lend his name to the vodka, made at a distillery in St. Petersburg. The General, however, is not just a figurehead. He has had points to make about every aspect of the product, from the design of the bottle to the spirit inside. He did not make a fortune from the rifle: the Soviet way was not to encourage its troops to patent their designs. He was, anyway, not rich enough to pass up the chance of becoming the chairman and face of the grandly named Kalashnikov Joint Stock Vodka Company plc. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
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