Gennadiy Nikolayevich Nikonov (August 11, 1950 - May 14, 2003) was a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n gun engineer. His most famous accomplishments were probably as the designer of the AN-94

AN-94

The AN-94 is an advanced Russian assault rifle. The initials stand for Avtomat Nikonova Model of 1994....

 assault rifle

Assault rifle

An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...

, and the "straight-back bolt." Nikonov held 44 Copyright Certificates, and was awarded the titles of "The Best Designer of the Company" and "The Best Designer of the Ministry."

Early life and education

Nikonov was born in Izhevsk

Izhevsk

Izhevsk is the capital city of the Udmurt Republic, Russia, situated on the Izh River in the Western Urals. Population: From 1984 to 1987 Izhevsk carried the name Ustinov |Minister of Defense of the USSR]], Marshal of the Soviet Union, Dmitry Ustinov). The city is an important industrial center,...

. His father and mother were employed at Izhmash, a Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 arms factory. His father was a mechanic. Nikonov graduated from technical school in 1968 . At Izhmash, he took evening classes. In 1975 he graduated from the Izhevsk Mechanical Institute certified as a gun engineer.

Design career

He started work at Izhmash in the Department of the Chief Arms Designer. His first position was as a technician. In technical school, Nikonov became obsessed with underwater rifles. He won his first professional recognition by designing a trigger mechanism for an underwater rifle.

He designed various rifles, including air gun

Air gun

An air gun is a rifle , pistol , or shotgun that fires projectiles by means of compressed air or other gas, in contrast to a firearm, which burns a propellant. Most air guns use metallic projectiles as ammunition. Air guns that only use plastic projectiles are classified as airsoft...

s and sporting firearms. One of the most praised was the stylish, accurate "Izjubr" (Buck Deer) carbine - a limited edition luxury weapon. Nikonov was appointed as a senior project engineer to design single-shot bolt action rifles and fully automatic weapons. In this assignment he patented a number of mechanisms and components. One of the most significant was the "straight-pull bolt," first used in a winter biathlon

Biathlon

Biathlon is a term used to describe any sporting event made up of two disciplines. However, biathlon usually refers specifically to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting...

 target rifle

Rifle

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...

.

Nikonov also worked on research projects. In the middle 1970s he entered a post-graduate Ph.D course. From 1980 to 1985 he worked on projects for the Soviet Ministry for Defense Industry. It is said that his high quality and quantity of work helped him advance to higher positions at work.

He was married with two sons, Nikolay and Yuri. Tatiana, Nikonov's wife, works as an arms designer in the same bureau.