Kalashnikov, who was in his 20s when he created the AK-47 just after World War Two, died in his home city of Izhevsk, near the Ural Mountains, where his gun is still made, the agency cited a spokesman for the province's president as saying.
The AK-47, often referred to simply as the ‘Kalashnikov’, is believed to have killed more people than any other firearm in the world and has become a familiar site on battlefields and in conflict zones around the world.
The spokesman did not give the cause of death. Kalashnikov was fitted with an electric heartbeat stimulator at a Moscow hospital in June and had been in hospital in Izhevsk since November 17, state media reported.
Its simple and durable design along with its low cost and wide availability made it a popular choice among armies, guerrillas and terrorists alike.
Kalashnikov’s most famous invention saw him celebrated as a national hero in the Soviet Union and made him a symbol of Moscow's proud military past.
At a lavish Kremlin ceremony on Kalashnikov’s 90th birthday, then-President Dmitry Medvedev bestowed on him the highest state honour - the Hero of Russia gold star medal - and lauded him for creating “the national brand every Russian is proud of”.
But Kalashnikov made little money out of the rifle and once said he would have preferred to have invented something more useful, such as a lawnmower.
Nevertheless, Kalashnikov often said he felt personally untroubled by his contribution to bloodshed.“I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence,'' he said in 2007.
