Maker's Mark on Russian Ring - Latin or Russian letters?

I have beautiful ladies ring with blue enamel base on which a gold A appears under a royal family crest. The outside of the base is ringed by rose cut diamonds. On the inside of the ring are the Hallmark of St. Peterspburg (pre 1896 design) with the date 1869. Question - is this date a date of the ring or just the date the assay hallmark was designed?

There is no Faberge mark, so I do not believe it was made in the Faberge works. The maker's mark is MP. Question - would this be Michael Perkhin of St Petersburg, perhaps before he became a Works master at Faberge? Or is the MP Russian letters and really MR in English? I don't believe it could be Perhkin if the date of 1869 is the date of the ring - Perhkin would only be 6 years old then. But I have been told the 1869 date under the City Hall Mark is not the date of the ring, but rather the date the particular design of the mark was adopted by St. Petersburg. Please help - confused. Regards