Kalashnikov was born 16 July 1942 in Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union, the son of small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, creator of the AK-47,[5] and Ekaterina Viktorovna Kalashnikova.

[3][4] Victor graduated in 1966 from a mechanical institute in Izhevsk in the Soviet Union.

[1] Kalashnikov began his weapon designing career in 1966 by conducting a series of tests of the AK-47 and summarizing the factors that affect its stability, durability, and reliability.

[6] He designed a number of parts and components and participated in developing self-loading hunting rifles and Kalashnikov machine guns.

He led a group which designed the Bizon and Vityaz-SN submachine guns.