The princes Abamelek-Lazarev represented a union of two noble families. The Lazarevs arrived in Russia from Iran in the mid-18th century and led the Armenian diasporas in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Possessing significant wealth, they were actively engaged in entrepreneurial, financial, and political activities.

Ivan Lazarev was closely associated with notable figures such as Potemkin, Vyazemsky, Orlov, Zubov, Bezborodko, Suvorov, and Rumyantsev. His advice was highly valued among courtiers, especially on matters of Eastern policy. The Lazarevs also had close ties with the Georgian princes Abamelek. After the union of the families, Abamelek-Lazarevs held important positions in Russian politics.

The Abamelek family moved to Russia in the late 18th century and was connected to the Georgian royal family of Bagrationi. The son of the last Georgian king George XII, David Bagrationi, married Elena Semyonovna Abamelek.

In the mid-19th century, a large plot of land near the flatboat bridge over the Oka belonged to the Abamelek-Lazarevs, who received nobility and court titles. In 1844, they commissioned architect A. E. Turmyshev to design a two-story stone house. The facade was adorned with four pilasters of the Roman order and corner rustication, while the first-floor windows featured triangular pediments. The house was completed in 1845.

This building became the last work of a little-known Nizhny Novgorod architect. From the 1850s, it hosted the clerks of the Abamelek-Lazarev trading caravans, as well as their office for selling iron.

Legends circulated about the house, claiming it held the immense wealth of its owners. In late December 1918, Chekists searched the mansion left by the owners in search of treasures. They searched all day until they accidentally discovered a secret door behind which lay a treasury. In the hidden room, family silver, rare paintings, and jewelry made of gold and silver were found, valued at a million rubles at that time. Some of these items are now kept in Nizhny Novgorod museums.