The 7.62 Gerasimenko was developed during the early 1970’s by Vladimir Gerasimenko (1910 – 1987), a researcher from Kiev, which at that stage was still part of the old USSR. The cartridge consisted of a machines steel projectile with a rounded ogive and a hollow cylindrical body that was open at the rear. The hollow cavity inside the projectile contained the propellant charge and it was closed at the rear by a screw-in brass base that served as a driving band to engage the rifling and also contained a combustible primer. During 1973 Gerasimenko designed the VAG-73 pistol. The interesting thing about this gun is that it had a double stack magazine that held 48 rounds. It also made the weapon unusually heavy (1.2kg). The dual stack magazine was an interesting design as it fed the top cartridge from the back magazine first, and only when the back magazine was expended the cartridges from the front part were cycled. As with all caseless designs from this period, the idea seemed good but the cost and practical application did not offer any meaningful benefit over existing conventional cartridge designs and nothing ever came from this project.