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Description
(This entry represent fictional alternate history timeline)
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The A-59 is Soviet-made adaptation of the Armalite AR10 rifle, originally designed by American engineer Eugene Stoner and submitted to new US Army's infantry rifle that is lost to T48 (or FN FAL to the rest of NATO-aligned countries) due to innovative composite barrell rupture. USSR got interested in the design and aquired specifications from Armalite under presmise (to evade Cold War-related export control measures) that they were going to produce civilian hunting rife.
However, the design was actually used to produce an automatic rifle that would serve as a replacement for venerable, but aging SKS self-loading carbine. To that end Stoner's original design was tweaked into shorter barreled select fire weapon with collapsing stock and muzzle brake, designed for 7,62x39mm intermediate cartridge instead of .308 full powered rifle cartridge. Side-charging handle was implemented and aluminium alloy was replaced with forged steel for easy of manufacture. Christened A-59, rifle was put in full production and adopted by the Soviet Armed Forces in mid 1959.
Armalite (pressured by US Dept. of Defense) tried to claim patent violation, but this was refuted since they had not secured any patents for the weapon in Soviet Union or Warsaw Pact countries.
A-59 received generally postive reception from Soviet Army's soldiers and officers and served rather venerably in Soviet-Chinese Amur river border conflict, Rhodesia UN-scantioned peacekeeping mission and War in Afghanistan. In mid 1980s it began being gradually replaced as Soviet Armed Forces standard infantry rifle by the new Tikhomirov LVT-84 laser rifles.
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Technical specs:

Caliber: 7,62x39mm M43
Action: gas operated, rotating bolt, air cooled
Magazine: 24-rounds detachable box magazine
Fire modes: semi-auto, 3-round bursts
Weight: 3,2 kg empty
Effective range: 400 meters
Bullet muzzle velocity: 715 meters per second

Description
(This entry represent fictional alternate history timeline)
-------
The A-59 is Soviet-made adaptation of the Armalite AR10 rifle, originally designed by American engineer Eugene Stoner and submitted to new US Army's infantry rifle that is lost to T48 (or FN FAL to the rest of NATO-aligned countries) due to innovative composite barrell rupture. USSR got interested in the design and aquired specifications from Armalite under presmise (to evade Cold War-related export control measures) that they were going to produce civilian hunting rife.
However, the design was actually used to produce an automatic rifle that would serve as a replacement for venerable, but aging SKS self-loading carbine. To that end Stoner's original design was tweaked into shorter barreled select fire weapon with collapsing stock and muzzle brake, designed for 7,62x39mm intermediate cartridge instead of .308 full powered rifle cartridge. Side-charging handle was implemented and aluminium alloy was replaced with forged steel for easy of manufacture. Christened A-59, rifle was put in full production and adopted by the Soviet Armed Forces in mid 1959.
Armalite (pressured by US Dept. of Defense) tried to claim patent violation, but this was refuted since they had not secured any patents for the weapon in Soviet Union or Warsaw Pact countries.
A-59 received generally postive reception from Soviet Army's soldiers and officers and served rather venerably in Soviet-Chinese Amur river border conflict, Rhodesia UN-scantioned peacekeeping mission and War in Afghanistan. In mid 1980s it began being gradually replaced as Soviet Armed Forces standard infantry rifle by the new Tikhomirov LVT-84 laser rifles.
-------
Technical specs:

Caliber: 7,62x39mm M43
Action: gas operated, rotating bolt, air cooled
Magazine: 24-rounds detachable box magazine
Fire modes: semi-auto, 3-round bursts
Weight: 3,2 kg empty
Effective range: 400 meters
Bullet muzzle velocity: 715 meters per second