The collection is composed almost exclusively of manuscripts submitted to Gering for publication in "Voennai︠a︡ Byl"́. These are mostly short memoirs of battles and campaigns, of life in military school, or of peacetime garrison life, by former tsarist officers. These naturally relate chiefly to the last few decades of the tsarist regime, and to the period of the Revolution and Civil War. Some contributions are more scholarly in tone; these include articles on the earlier history of the Russian army and of individual regiments, etc. Few of the manuscripts are more than 40 pages long; most are 1-20 pages. Not all of these manuscripts were published in "Voennai︠a︡ Byl"́; those that were not formed part of Gering's "archive" and have been arranged separately.

The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts by Messner and others, memoirs by Messner, photographs and printed materials. Manuscripts by Messner include a typescript (275 p.) entitled "Nekotorye prichiny porazhenii︠a︡ Germanii v voĭnu 1939-1945 g.g." Messner's memoirs (3293 p. and 350 p.) cover the years 1914-1973. Included among them are clippings, photographs, mimeographed materials and pamphlets. The majority of his memoirs concern World War I and the Civil War. Photographs are mostly copies. Printed materials consist mostly of clippings of articles by Messner in South American monarchist periodicals.

The papers consist primarily of the Kosatkin-Rostovskiĭ's memoirs. His manuscript memoirs (150 p.) discuss his life up to 1906. Her typescript memoirs (440 p.) discuss her childhood, career as an actress in St. Petersburg, 1917-1918 in Petrograd, and the emigration in France. Also included are his diary for June-July 1940; a few letters written to him; clippings of his newspaper articles (many signed with the pseudonym "Antar"); and a book with his poetry and with essays dedicated to him; "Krestnym putem k voskresenii︠u︡" (Paris, 1948).

Manukhin's papers consists of correspondence, manuscripts, printed materials, and a photograph. The bulk of the papers are manuscripts, in particular Manukhin's memoirs and a medical work, "Auto-Dʹefense de lʹOrganisme." The memoirs deal with Manukhin's medical studies at the Military-Medical Academy in St. Petersburg (Voenno-Medit︠s︡inskai︠a︡ Akademii︠a︡); his medical practice (among his patients was Maksim Gorḱiĭ); the period of the Revolution and Civil War in Petrograd; and his emigration to France. Printed materials consist of works by Manukhin. Manukhin's wife, Tatʹi︠a︡na, was editor of Metropolitan Evlogiĭ's memoirs ("Puti moeĭ zhizni"), and some of the correspondence touches on that work.

The collection contains Simonovich's correspondence, manuscripts, doucments, subject files, and printed materials. There are letters to Simonovich from a friend who had settled in Yugoslavia, A. S. Poplavskiĭ, and Belgian postcards from before World War I. Manuscripts deal with Simonovich's experiences in the Imperial army on the Caucasian front and in the White army under general Slashchev. There are also essays devoted to the Russian emigre colonies in Belgium and in France. The subject files concern the Belgian section of the Gallipolian Society (Obʺshchestvo Gallipolit︠s︡ev) and Russian emigre events in Belgium. The printed materials include chiefly miscellaneous journals and clippings, some with articles by Simonovich.