Abstract: The subject of study in this article is the scientific development of the problem of creating electric artillery in the USSR in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Proposals made earlier (the magnetofugal gun suggested by M.P. Kostenko, M.M. Podolsky, and N.S. Yapolsky) are analyzed, and the reasons for the interest in this type of military technology in the USSR are determined. The main stages of developing the theoretical foundations of electric artillery are considered, the leading scientific center – the Artillery Scientific Research Institute – is identified, and the main projects (magnetoelectric, electrosolenoid guns, and other types) are analyzed. The complexities and problems faced by Soviet engineers are indicated, along with possible solutions. An objective barrier to the creation of powerful electric guns was, first of all, the problems in the field of extremely high power currents and their generation, which Soviet science in the 1930s was unable to resolve. The following research methods were used in working on this material: historical-scientific analysis of specialized research literature, comparative-historical method, and processing of archival data (CAMO RF, CGA St. Petersburg, RGA Samara, etc.). New data regarding the development of the scientific school of weapon design in the 1930s is introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, pointing out the engineers leading the main projects. Based on newly identified archival materials and the study of reports on the research conducted at the Artillery Scientific Research Institute, it is concluded that the attempt to create artillery of this type suitable for combat use ended in failure. Achieving the desired firing parameters from electromagnetic guns was hindered by two main reasons: the insufficient power of the energy sources available at that time and the inability to ensure reliable transmission of electrical energy to a moving projectile. As further research has shown, there is no satisfactory solution to this problem with classical contact methods of energy transmission. The materials of the study can be used in examining the general patterns of development of domestic science during the Soviet period.

Abstract: The subject of this article is the development of manual automatic weapons in Russia (the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries) – the selection and refinement of design and compositional solutions. The level of sophistication of the arm's designs of this period did not allow for their mass production and operation. This situation had several objective reasons. Firstly, there was a lack of specialized design bureaus and experienced designers with experience in working with automatic weapons in the 1900s to 1910s. Nevertheless, efforts by the Main Artillery Administration led to a series of initiatives aimed at providing the army with modern weaponry. Foreign inventors were engaged, and factories, including the Sestroretsk Arms Factory, became centers for creating new types of firearms. Overall supervision of the work on new weapons was carried out by the GAU (in a rather general manner), so the level of sophistication of the created sample depended on the talent of the inventor. The following research methods were used: historical-scientific analysis of special literature, comparative-historical method, processing of archival data from the funds of state and departmental archives (Central State Historical Archive of St. Petersburg, Scientific Archive of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia). To study the sample of the "machine gun-rifle" – a construction characteristic was compiled through disassembly, examination of the structure and functioning of parts and mechanisms. The scientific novelty is due to the generalization of previously unpublished documentary materials, introducing into scientific circulation one of the few surviving experimental samples from the specified period – the "machine gun-rifle" designed in 1900-1901. The identification of such items in itself is a challenging task due to the absence of a unified established terminology in sources from the 1900s. Thus, based on newly discovered archival materials and the study of the preserved sample, it is concluded that the experience of developing A. Odkolek's machine gun in Russia with the participation of specialists from the Sestroretsk Arms Factory could have had a positive impact on the development of domestic engineering personnel for arms manufacturers, particularly in the context of designing automatic rifles in the 1900s to 1910s. During this period, Russia began to form its own, original, and independent design school for automatic weapons, free from direct foreign involvement.

Abstract: The subject of the research is the initial stage of the formation of the national school of automatic weapons design (1904–1926). This period of history is one of the most important in the domestic arms industry. At this time, Russia began the formation of its own, original and independent from direct foreign participation school of automatic weapons design, which flourished during the Soviet period of the country's history and is developing to the present day. This plot is considered on the example of one of the activities of this kind – the work on the creation of early domestic automatic rifles after their official launch in 1908, which are considered as the basis for the subsequent development of the Russian and Soviet schools of design and engineering activities. The complex of methods used included the processing of archival materials, historical and scientific analysis of the fundamental works on the topic and the comparative historical method. The analysis of the place of the initial period of the development of the school of design of automatic weapons has not received any significant coverage in domestic weapons studies. The reason for this state of affairs is the significant fragmentation of archival documentation on this topic and samples of early Russian automatic rifles preserved in various collections, combined with their very approximate, often incorrect attribution. Based on the newly revealed information, the article makes a number of clarifications concerning the activities of the commission for the development of an automatic rifle sample and the GAU as a management body for the creation of new models of small arms. The role of the Sestroretsk Arms Factory as the leading center for the creation of automatic weapons in Russia before 1917 is revealed. For the first time in Russian historiography, the stages of designing automatic rifles are revealed.