The mysterious Captain Zinoviev

I've been bothered for a long time by the lack of information about Captain Zinoviev and the straight pull rifle that he submitted for the 1889 trials that resulted in the Mosin Nagant M91.

I believe that there are some references to him in printed work -- an article by Hrstich and in Chumak's book -- but my facility with Russian is non-existent. Is there any English language work that gives a more fuller history of him and his rifle for the trials?

I mean, if I have to learn Russian to read Hrstich and Chumak, I will... :D