The Lermontov collection began to form with the establishment of the State Literary Museum named after V.I. Dal in 1934. On February 19, 1981, the "M.Yu. Lermontov House Museum" department opened on Malaya Molchanovka. One of the most valuable exhibits of this collection is the house itself, a wooden one-story mansion with a mezzanine in the Empire style. By the 200th anniversary of Lermontov's birth, the building was restored according to the original plans and renovated. In 2014, the updated museum reopened its doors to visitors.

The house was rented by the poet's grandmother, E.A. Arsenyeva, for her beloved grandson in the summer of 1829, and Mikhail Lermontov lived here until the summer of 1832. The museum's exhibition is dedicated to Lermontov's years of study at the Noble Boarding School and the Moscow Imperial University, as well as his first poetic experiences and achievements. In the museum, one can see portraits of his mother, grandmother, and the poet himself as a child, books with Lermontov's autographs. His artistic works are of particular interest: numerous drawings, a watercolor portrait of his father, oil paintings depicting the Caucasus, and a self-portrait.

The museum regularly hosts temporary exhibitions, scientific conferences, classical music concerts, interactive activities for schoolchildren, as well as lectures and tours for visitors of all ages.