Is the Nikonov an innovative weapon? No. it’s beyond that. Most anything mechanical is formed after a preexisting idea, or can trace its development to another device. The AN-94 comes from— nowhere. It’s as great a quantum leap in small arms design as any of the original Browning guns. What spark of inspiration could have sent Gennady Nikonov to his desk to invent this rifle from thin air? Some have suggested a possible connection to some UFO activity in 1989 in Voronezh, Russia. Could the Nikonov be a piece of reverse engineered alien technology? We would love to think so; because there’s just no other logical explanation for this “Blackest” of black rifles.