Kalashnikov manufacturer eyes branded clothing line

Article 1

http://themoscownews.com/sports/20120521/189749287.html

Russia wins world hockey championships

by Evgeniya Chaykovskaya at 21/05/2012 13:39

Russia won all 10 games at the Ice Hockey World Championships in Helsinki, the first country to do so since Soviet Union in 1989.

Slovakia, which won the world championship in 2002 at the expense of Russia, could not repeat the upset and was thrashed 6:2.

The game started in the best possible way for the Slovaks, who went 1:0 up one minute into the game after towering defenseman Zdeno Chara’s powerful shot from the blue line flew over Russian goaltender Semyon Varlamov’s shoulder in the far corner of the net.

That just seemed to make the Red Machine angry, and in the middle of the first period Alexander Syomin equalized after a beautiful pass from linemate Alexander Ovechkin.

Alexander Perezhogin increased Russia’s lead at 27 minutes, Alexei Tereshenko scored Russia’s third at 34 minutes, and Syomin got his second at 36 when he sent the puck in the top of the net after an assist from Pavel Datsyuk.

In the beginning of the third period Datsyuk added Russia’s fifth goal, and even Zdeno Chara’s second could not dampen the Russians’ spirits.

“We were disappointed to lose the game, but not in how we finished the tournament,” Chara told IIHF.com. “It’s a privilege to play in the final and I tried to tell the guys to enjoy the moment. You never know when you get a chance to do that again.”

Evgeni Malkin was the last to score with less than two minutes on the clock, giving Russia a 6:2 win and its third World Champions title in five years.

Before the final siren even sounded, the team mobbed Varlamov and started their celebrations. Legendary goalie and head of Russian Hockey Federation Vladislav Tretiak was giving out the medals and hugging the players.
“It was a good tournament for us,” said Nikolai Kulyomin. “We played like a team, every game, every shift.”

“We were prepared for the final game,” said Russia’s coach, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov. “I reminded my team that the Slovak team is very strong. It won against the Czechs, against Canada. We played really well throughout the whole championship.”

Long after the players boarded the plane to Moscow, celebrations were heard both in Helsinki and in Russia.

On the way to the final, Russia gave the hosts and defending champions Finland a battering in the semi-final on Saturday. After going 1:0 down, the Red Machine got incensed and responded in style. Malkin tied the score at 15:33, and then gave Russia the lead with 55 seconds left of the first period. In the middle of the second period the forward was injured and had to leave the ice to get treatment. Ovechkin scored a third in the middle of the second period, before Malkin returned to complete his hat-trick. One minute into the third period, Denis Kokarev made the score 5:1, and Shirokov added a sixth. Finland forward Mikael Granlund scored the hosts’ second, but it was too little too late.

Article 2

http://themoscownews.com/business/20120518/189742724.html

Kalashnikov manufacturer eyes branded clothing line

by Alina Lobzina at 18/05/2012 13:45

The legendary brand of automatic rifle, the Kalashnikov, might become a fashion symbol, as the arms manufacturer mulls extending its range of products to non-military goods.

Factory Izhmash, which has been producing the famed weapon since 1948, has been in talks with the Kalashnikov family over the ownership of the brand, RIA Novosti reported on Thursday.

“The practice of using a weapon’s brand name for accessories and clothing is being used by world’s leading manufacturer Beretta … We are evaluating the prospects of this scenario for the Kalashnikov brand,” the company’s director general, Maxim Kuzyuk, was quoted in an official press-release.

The Izhevsk-based factory has been having financial problems, an audit carried out by state-run corporation Rostekhnologii, the company’s main stake-holder, found in 2010.

The modernisation of the 200-year old factory was launched shortly after, but the latest version of the Kalashnikov rifle, demonstrated earlier this year, drew criticism.

The extended control over the brand is to allow the factory to put an end to levy-free use of the name by souvenir manufacturers all over the world, Izhmash’s spokeswoman Yelena Filatova told RIA Novosti.

“If ownership rights for the brand belonged to Izhmash, we could develop it [the brand] more efficiently and secure guaranteed income for the family of Mikhail Alexeyevich Kalashnikov,” Kuzyuk said, according to the press-release.

“The extended usage of the brand would be focused on high-tech produce, which comply with Kalashnikov’s values – reliability and failure-free operation,” Kuzyuk said.

“Izhmash is against the fact the cheap souvenirs are being manufactured under this brand,” he added.

Italian company Beretta could be a role-model for the new use of the brand. The world’s oldest weapons manufacturer also offers lifestyle goods, apparel and accessories for outdoor activities and hunting.

Currently, Izhmash has the rights to use the name Kalashnikov only together with a graphical image of the automatic rifle and for naming their military produce, according to the press-service.

The family of the 92-year old small arms designer was not available for comments, RIA Novosti reported yesterday.

Article 3

http://themoscownews.com/russia/20120517/189737176.html