The AK-74 (Russian: or "Kalashnikov automatic rifle model 1974") is an assault rifle developed in the early 1970s, by Russian designer Mikhail Kalashnikov as the replacement for the earlier AKM (itself a refined version of the AK-47). It uses a smaller 5.45×39mm cartridge, replacing the 7.62×39mm chambering of earlier Kalashnikov-pattern weapons.