The Museum of City Sculpture in St. Petersburg is an extensive collection of monuments and serves as a platform for studying and accounting for memorials. In addition to the necropolis exhibition, it manages numerous memorial objects located throughout the city. It is the only institution in Russia dedicated to the preservation, research, and restoration of outdoor sculptures.

The history of the museum begins with the Lazarevsky Cemetery near the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, which was considered a privileged burial site for the city's elite. From the second half of the 18th century, during the era of Classicism, standard gravestones began to be replaced by steles, obelisks, and sarcophagi created by renowned masters. Some outstanding works of art were awarded plaster casts, which are now stored in the Russian Museum and the Academy of Arts and displayed at thematic exhibitions.

After the revolution, the cemetery was closed and designated as a reserve, and the study of gravestones began to assess their artistic value. In the 1930s, the necropolis became a museum but remained closed to visitors for a long time, representing a scientific interest. M. Gorky actively participated in recognizing its historical and cultural significance.

The cemetery received museum status in 1932, and in 1935 it was decided to collect the most interesting and valuable memorial objects here. The official founding date of the Leningrad Museum of Sculpture is considered to be July 14, 1939, when a decision was made to transfer significant city monuments and memorial plaques to it. Sculptures from ancient necropolises were also brought here, for example, gravestones from the Smolensk Armenian Cemetery. The most valuable objects were removed from the streets and exhibited in the Annunciation Church at the Lavra.

During the Siege of Leningrad, the museum continued its work, creating divisions to shelter monuments from airstrikes and preserve cultural objects. Regular inspections and accounting of all structures, including memorial plaques and gravestones, were conducted.

After the war, museum staff actively participated in the restoration of city monuments. In 1947, the museum reopened to visitors. In the following years, it was involved not only in preserving existing objects but also in creating new ones, participating in various projects and the development of memorials. Since the 1970s, a stone cutting workshop has been operating in the museum.

In 1980, the museum received a new department, the Narva Triumphal Gates, with an exhibition about the Patriotic War of 1812. The interior includes three floors with a basement, and the exhibition is located in the upper part of the building, accessible via two spiral staircases.

In the 21st century, the museum acquired new exhibition spaces in Chernoretsky Lane for lectures, seminars, film screenings, and activities for children and adults. In 2004, it was given a workshop on Vyazemsky Street, where sculptor M. K. Anikushin worked. Today, it houses an exhibition of monumental art.

In 2021, the Upper Church of the Annunciation was returned to the monastery, and the museum moved to a new location at 19 Nevsky Prospect, gaining about 400 square meters.

The museum actively engages in the restoration of monuments, using proven methods and new technologies to preserve ancient memorials. For its activities, it has been awarded the Museum Olympus competition. In 2007, a Service for the Care and Protection of Monuments was established, as well as a program to prepare memorials for the celebration of May 9.

Today, the museum includes the memorial composition of the Lazarevsky necropolis, the necropolis of the Literary Bridges, the Triumphal Gates, the Rostral Columns, the sphinxes at the Academy of Arts, the composition of the Anichkov Bridge, and numerous monuments and memorial plaques in St. Petersburg. In the exhibition hall on Lavra Lane, models of the monuments under the museum's protection can be seen. This is the largest collection in Europe.

More than a thousand gravestones have been preserved at Lazarevsky Cemetery, including memorials to such figures as M. V. Lomonosov, S. Yu. Witte, D. I. Fonvizin, and A. N. Voronikhin. The museum's website features a media portal with video stories, interactive exhibitions, and virtual walks through the necropolis.