It still makes him proud to see the Kalashnikov assault rifle — better known as the AK47 — in the hands of professional soldiers and national liberation movements.

But now, aged 86, he laments that it has become the weapon of choice for terrorists, criminals and child soldiers — and, as such, the most prolific killing machine in history.

Yesterday, a week before a UN conference on the small arms trade begins in New York, he added his voice to growing calls for an international treaty that would curb sales of his own creation. “I don’t worry when my guns are used for national liberation or defence,” he told The Times. “But when I see how peaceful people are killed and wounded by these weapons, I get very distressed and upset. I calm down by telling myself that I invented this gun 60 years ago to protect the interests of my country.”

General Kalashnikov (retired) began designing his weapon in 1941 while recuperating in hospital from wounds suffered when a German shell hit his tank. He recalls brainstorming one night and scribbling down a design he hoped would improve the Soviet Army’s chances against the better-equipped Nazi forces, who were being issued with automatic rifles. To his frustration, it would not be completed until 1947 — hence the name Avtomat Kalashnikova 47 — but the weapon proved so reliable that it had become standard army issue within two years and was soon being exported to “friendly” governments and revolutionary movements.

Copies and adaptations were also produced in more than a dozen communist countries, including China, North Korea, East Germany and Poland.

As a result, there are an estimated 100 million AK47s in the world today — some ten times more than its American rival, the M16. And almost a billion rifles have been produced based on its design and parts, according to Izhmash, the company that makes the AK47 at its factory in Izhevsk in the Ural mountains.

Mr Kalashnikov, who is still chief designer at Izhmash, attributes the gun’s popularity to its simplicity and reliability, especially compared with its Western counterparts.

“Even after lying in a swamp you can pick up this rifle, aim it and shoot. That’s the best job description there is for a gun. Real soldiers know that and understand it. Look what’s happening now: every day on television we see that the Americans in Iraq have my machineguns and assault rifles in their armoured vehicles. Even their American rifles don’t work properly.”

The rifle is especially effective in jungles and deserts, so much so that the Pentagon bought thousands to equip the new Iraqi armed forces.

This year Venezuela bought 100,000 to replace its army’s American rifles — and then announced plans to open a factory producing the Russian weapons under licence.

General Kalashnikov says that he has not profited directly from any sales of the weapon: he could not patent it in Soviet times and failed to win the rights to his design after 1991.

Since the Soviet collapse, however, he has made a comfortable living putting his name to products including umbrellas, penknives, watches and two brands of vodka. Most recently, Russia’s biggest carmaker announced plans to produce an armoured military jeep version of the Lada — to be called the Kalashnikov.

Now, with his health failing, General Kalashnikov is putting his name to a campaign for tighter controls on the international trade in small arms.

Oxfam, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms launched the campaign in 2003 to get an International Arms Trade Treaty adopted at the UN conference, starting next Monday. The treaty, which has the backing of 50 countries, would prohibit the transfer of small arms to governments or armed groups responsible for grave human rights abuses.

General Kalashnikov, who is writing a statement to be presented at the conference, told The Times: “It is imperative to make a decision about introducing strict sanctions on those who violate the terms of such an international agreement.”

James Dyson, of Amnesty International, welcomed General Kalashnikov’s support. “It’s interesting that even someone who has been involved in the manufacture of these weapons is recognising that they are now being used in such an irresponsible fashion. Governments should act now to agree universal principles to regulate this deadly trade.”

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