The village is located along the Ulyanovsk-Syzran road, on the left bank of the Tashla River. It emerged in the second half of the 17th century. By 1692, the village of Podkurovka existed and belonged to the Kazan resident Grigory Nikiforov Podkurov, who is considered its founder. From the late 18th century to the first half of the 19th century, Podkurovka was owned by the Pakhvisnev landowners. Ivan Fyodorovich, the son of Fyodor Pakhvisnev, lived here for a particularly long time, which is why the village received a second name, Ivanovka. He built a stone church in 1830, consecrated in honor of his saint, John of Damascus. Before this, Podkurovka was a village and belonged to the parish of Yasashnaya Tashla. The church housed a revered icon of the Iberian Mother of God, brought by the residents from Moscow in 1857 after being freed from cholera.

During the Soviet era, the church was closed, and the building was used as a club. Since the 1990s, it has not been in use and was in a state of disrepair. In October 2010, the parish of the Church of St. John of Damascus was officially registered in the village, led by Alexander Vladimirovich Malov. At that time, active fundraising for the restoration of the church began. Significant assistance in this was provided by the Governor and Chairman of the Government of the Ulyanovsk Region S.I. Morozov and the Head of Ulyanovsk M.P. Bespalova. The church is still being restored, but by the end of 2015, services began there.