"If I am reborn I would again become a designer," the world's most famous gun maker told AFP on the sidelines of a global arms fair in New Delhi.

"And if Mother Teresa admonishes me in heaven then I will take her hand and say, 'Dear Mother, it is not the fault of the designer because it was built in defence of Russia and it is bad politicians who must be blamed for the arms proliferation.'"

Kalashnikov, drafted into the Soviet army in 1938, designed his first sub-machinegun while on leave after being wounded fighting the Germans in October 1941. He built a second model of the assault rifle within a year.

The Soviet military adopted Kalashnikov's AK rifles in 1949 and since then 70 million of the robust but lightweight guns have been manufactured around the world. Mozambique even has a Kalashnikov on its flag.

The self-taught Kalashnikov, who went from being a railway worker to a colonel, said he was yet to test an assault rifle which can outperform the battle-hardy AK series.

"I am still waiting for a designer who is better than me and if I find one I will shake his hand," Kalashnikov said.

But the Russian conceded he felt a "heavy heart" when Muslim fighters armed with his invention killed at least 15,000 Soviet soldiers to end Moscow's 1979-1989 occupation of Afghanistan.

"I always stood for peace. My invention was to keep Germans away from Russia but they fell into other hands," he said.

He denied that his rifle had helped fuel insurgencies such as against Indian rule in Kashmir and against Russian forces in Chechnya.

"It is not that the world would not have changed if there were no AK-47s as these people would have adopted some other weapons but I reiterate that it is the bad politicians who should be blamed for these problems," Kalashnikov said.

More than 50 armies have adopted the Kalashnikov and 20 countries have built variance, but the half-century-old technology has also been reproduced to varying standards for illegal arms bazaars across the globe.

The ageing gunmaker has been showered with awards from the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia. He said he now invested his time "managing all these medals and honours that are in my house and inspecting my bronze statue that has been put up in my town."

"I spend my days replying to hundreds of letters, most of them are positive and some are hostile. People from even the United States want my autographs and I think they are sold to collectors for 100 dollars apiece."

But Kalashnikov insisted there was more to him than the weapon synonymous with his name.

"Please don't think I spent a lifetime designing just guns. Music is better than gunfire and, also remember, I have special love for good-looking women and good wine," he said.

WAR.WIRE