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The Nagant M1895 Revolver was a seven-shot, gas-seal revolver designed and produced by Belgian industrialist Léon Nagant for Tsarist Russia. The Nagant M1895 was chambered for a proprietary cartridge, 7.62x38R, and featured an unusual "gas-seal" system in which the cylinder moved forward when the gun was cocked to close the gap between the cylinder and the barrel, providing a boost to the muzzle velocity of the fired projectile. Other Nagant revolver designs were also adopted by police and military services of Sweden (7.5 mm M1887), Norway (M1893), Poland, and Greece (Περίστροφον M1895).
Léon Nagant and his brother Emile were well known in the Russian Tsar's court and military administration because of the important part they had played in the design of the Russian service rifle Mosin-Nagant Model 1891. The Nagant M1895 became the standard issue side arm for Russian army and police officers, later including their special services, the NKVD and the KGB.
Production began in Liège, Belgium, but was soon moved to Russia. The M1895 started to be replaced by the more modern Tokarev semi-automatic pistol in 1933 but was still produced and used in great numbers during World War II. The distinctive shape and name helped it achieve cult status in Russia, and in the early 1930s the presentation of a Nagant M1895 revolver with an embossed Red Star was one of the greatest honours that could be bestowed on a Party Member. It remains in use with the Russian Railways and remote police forces.[1]
