M. T. Kalashnikov Museum and Exhibition Small Arms Complex was inaugurated in November, 2004.
The collection was based on Mikhail Timofeevich personal possessions contributed by him – photographs and documents, personal belongings, furniture, books, gifts, and objects of art.

The museum has been consistently making a collection of weapons including military, sports and hunting weapons of home (mainly Izhevsk) and foreign manufacture, as well as arms accessories.

At the same time, the Museum has been enriching its collection devoted to Izhevsk gun makers (designers, technologists, and skilled workers) who were employed at the city’s plants – Izhevsk machine-building plant, Izhevsk mechanical plant, and Izhevsk motor works – and made the city famous as a weapons forge of the country.

The museum collection articles have been classified and the electronic database has been created. On January 1, 2009 the museum collection amounted to over 8 000 articles, 6 463 of them belonging to the main fund.