The pair of revolver pistols from the Gatchina Palace and Estate Museum collection was made in Tula in 1801 by the gunsmith Ivan Polin. The most interesting thing about the pistols is not their construction (Polin made not only revolvers but also repeating and air guns), but the historical events and persons they are connected with. Their story can be deduced form inscriptions on the grip caps: ‘1812-1813 Paris 1814’. These are the dates of the French invasion of Russia, the War of the Sixth Coalition and the battle of Paris in 1814. All this time the pistols followed their owner around Europe. The owner of the pistols has not been established yet. It may have been Emperor Alexander I himself, because on the pistol grips there are inlaid silver plates engraved with his monograms. Or it may have been his close relative or a senior officer from his entourage. The Imperial family obviously attached great importance to the pistols, as before the Russian Revolution of 1917 they were kept not in the Arms Gallery but in the bedroom of Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna in the Arsenal Wing. The barrel of the first pistol is made of blued forged iron. It is round at the muzzle end and octagonal at the breech end. The bore is smooth. The front sight is made of silver. On the bottom side of the barrel there is a single eyelet for the barrel pin. On the upper plane of the barrel there is a gilded inscription: ‘Ivan Polin’. Inside the barrel there is a wooden plug covered with red broadcloth and fitted with a bronze tip and a ring. The pistol has a French type flintlock mechanism. The surfaces of the lock plate and the hammer are curved and the lock plate has a gilded inscription: ‘Tula’. The priming pan is gilded. The revolver cylinder is made of silver and has five chambers, marked with numbers 1 to 5 on the back side. The cylinder is fixed with a brass button which also serves as the rear sight. On the grip cap there are engraved inscriptions: ‘Paris’, ‘1812-1813’, and ‘1814’, while on the lock bridle there is an engraved date: ‘Year 1801’. The barrel of the second pistol is also made of blued forged iron. It is round at the muzzle end and octagonal at the breech end. The bore is smooth. The front sight is also made of silver. On the upper plane of the barrel there is a gilded inscription: ‘Ivan Polin’.