In the late 1860s, the Russian government was scrambling to upgrade its existing muskets with newer breechloading rifles. Two main avenues were pursued:

1. Convert existing muzzleloading rifles to breechloaders

2. Develop a new breechloader from the ground up

In 1869, the Russian government formally adopted Sylvester Krnka's pattern of breechloading rifle. Existing Russian muskets could be modified by cutting off a portion of the rear of the barrel and adding a new phosphor bronze receiver that was threaded on. This rifle fired the 15.24x40r Russian Krnka round (see below). At least half a million of these rifles were produced, and they were more of a stop gap until they could be fully replaced by the Berdan 2. You can learn more about Sylvester Krnka's fascinating story at krnka.cz

The phosphor bronze receiver was very difficult to manufacture in Russia during the 1870s, due to very limited industry. The Russian government was able to contract with Swedish engineer Ludwig Nobel in Saint Petersburg, as he possessed the knowledge and the machinery to build these receivers. Ludwig was the brother of Alfred Nobel, and he would go on to take over the Izhevsk factory in order to modernize it so that the Berdan rifle could be produced with interchangeable parts.

Because this rifle was a stop gap and not designed to last for decades upon decades of use, these guns are extremely rare today. The majority of existing Krnkas are likely in Bulgaria, as many were sent as gifts by the Russian empire. With only 10 - 20 examples in the United States, the model 1869 Russian Krnka is an extremely forgotten predecessor to the infamous Mosin, making it one of the most underappreciated firearms in history.