Or, some bureaucrat who has a sense of historical accuracy!
The AK-47 was, in fact, the Soviet answer to the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44), which the German forces used from 1944.
Determined to find an equally effective weapon, the Soviet Union launched a competition, which was won by Mikhail Kalashnikov.
Having been wounded at the Battle of Bryansk, Kalashnikov began designing weapons. But the AK47 (notice the 47) didn't come into service until 1947 and while the AK was not a exact copy of the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44), ALL of the requirements for a assault rifle found in the StG44 were produced in the AK47. The StG44 was a game changer!
Of course the Russians don't want to admit that the StG44 was the inspiration for their AK47!
Determined to find an equally effective weapon, the Soviet Union launched a competition, which was won by Mikhail Kalashnikov.
For historical purposes, that is probably the most observational accurate statement that can be made.
Kalashnikov had access to the German factory, very complete sets of blueprints, a stock of finished parts and the designers themselves, as prisoners of war.
Obviously a huge influence on his work.