These pistols were ordered on contract by the Imperial Russian government for Imperial General Staff Academy graduates. After a number of years of service, only the best officers could enter this academy. The right of the slide is marked with a Russian contract logo consisting of a pair of crossed Mosin-Nagant rifles above number "1576". A small amount of these pistols are known to have been traded or brought back by U.S. servicemen who served in Russia during the Allied intervention after World War I.