There are two things that made the ancient city of Tula famous -- samovars and guns.
The local iron ore and coal deposits are perfectly suited for both industries.
The first reference to a Tula-made gun goes back to 1595, but the first gun workshop was founded in the city in 1712 by an order of Peter the Great.
All sorts of firearms ranging from two old flintlocks dating back to Tsarina Elizabeth's collection to three specially designed cosmonaut pistols are on display at the Russian Artillery Museum.
The exhibition, Hunting Guns from Tula, presents over 120 hunting arms dating back to 1744.
Just after World War II, the Tula plant received an order from Joseph Stalin saying the plant had to start producing good sporting rifles, so the patriotic Soviet shooting team wouldn't have to buy foreign rifles.
Soviet bigwigs were big hunting fans and a special department was opened to produce beautiful rifles with handmade stocks, many of which are on display.
A unique three-barreled survival pistol, designed for use by Soviet cosmonauts who might have the unfortunate experience of landing in Siberia by mistake, has enough gadgets to make the Swiss Army turn puce with envy.
One barrel shoots regular bullets, one is for shot and the third is for special signal rockets.
The butt has a machete tucked inside -- the regular bullets are meant to fend off wild animals, the shot is to bring down birds for dinner, and the signal rockets, of course, are meant to alert authorities to the location of the errant astronauts.
The exhibition, organized by the St Petersburg Artillery Museum in cooperation with the Tula gun factory, is also something of a gun show.
The Tula factory representative is at the museum and interested buyers can place orders.