The VC, who did use corrosive ammo, cleaned them with water, dried them as well as they could...coated them in used motor oil - they had no fancy lubricants - and barried them in plastic till they were needed again. When evening came, the weapons were dug up, wiped down with extra attention to the bore and gas tube, and put to work. And they worked very well indeed.
Not only the AK, but most all com-block weapons in general, were designed for long life and to be used hard by relatively untrained people. What the others have said here is pretty correct. The AK will keep on shooting with a bare minimum of maintenance. If, however, you were to maintain an AK the same way you MUST maintain an AR, the AK would probably last several lifetimes!
Some gunwriter, I don't remember who, wrote a number of years ago that long after all other weapons have failed to function, Russian designed rifles will still be in use and in fine working condition in some far corner of the world.
