In the early 1870s, General Alexander Gorloff, the military attaché assigned to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., approached Smith & Wesson about the possibility of negotiating a military sales contract for the purchase of a large number of Smith & Wesson Model 3 revolvers for the Imperial Russian Army.Lawman, T. "Smith & Wesson's #3, Colt's Biggest Rival in the Old West". Sam Hane website. Accessed February 19, 2008.
