The manuscripts include an outline, in 6 notebooks, of Shuberskiĭ's memoirs for 1875-1948; and, in 10 notebooks, notes on the reign of Nicholas II.

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, personal documents, subject files and printed materials. Almost half the correspondence is from Varvara (Vali︠a︡) Shakhovskai︠a︡, his wife, from whom he was divorced in 1932 but whose friendship he enjoyed until his death in 1961. A large portion of the manuscripts is in the form of a diary which, for the years 1919-1920, relates the activities of the Cuirassiers during the Civil War. The subject files deal exclusively with the Cuirassier Regiment and its veterans' organization in emigration. They include minutes, official mailings, regiment songs and poems and copies of the regiment publication, "Vestnik," for the period 1928-1931.

The memoirs discuss Epanchin's military service under Tsars Alexander II, Alexander III, and Nicholas II, from the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-88 through the Civil War, and the emigration in Europe. Also included is a photocopy of the memoirs.

The bulk of the collection consists of memoirs and manuscripts on historical military themes by Pavel Nikolaevich Chizhov. The memoirs deal with such topics as Chizhov's military education, his military service (garrison duty in Warsaw, the Far East, World War I, and the Civil War in the south), and his life in the emigration.

Manuscripts and memoirs of Vakar. The topics with which Vakar chiefly deals include: his military education and service; the role of the cavalry in the Imperial Army; emigre military groups in Europe; the Russian Defense Corps (Russkiĭ Okhrannyĭ Korpus) in Yugoslavia during World War II; and Russian emigre life in Argentina after the war. In addition to the manuscripts and memoirs, there are several posters and maps drawn by Vakar on military topics.