The museum was founded in 1976 as a museum of military and labor glory, and it received its current name in 1995. Since then, active exhibition and cultural-educational activities have begun, and the museum has become one of the significant cultural centers of Nizhny Novgorod. The museum features two permanent exhibitions. The first, "From the Small Homeland to the Great Homeland," is dedicated to the history of the district from ancient times to the present day. The second, "A Soldier Does Not Choose War," tells about the heroes and residents of the Moscow district, their feats, and includes extensive military-historical material.

Since 1995, it has become a tradition at the Museum of History and Culture of the Moscow District to hold annual festivals of decorative and applied arts. Among them are the crafts festival "Secrets of Wood," the ceramics and pottery festival "Beauty Born in Fire," the textile art festival "Magic Thread," and the author doll festival "Country of 'Kuklandia.'"

These festivals are developing year by year and attracting more and more spectators. Their main goal is to unite masters from Nizhny Novgorod, the Nizhny Novgorod region, and other regions, as well as to preserve and develop traditional and modern directions of decorative and applied arts.

In addition to residents of Nizhny Novgorod and masters from the Nizhny Novgorod region, masters and artists from other regions of Russia traditionally participate in the festivals. This indicates the demand for this cultural initiative and contributes to the exchange of experience, mutual growth, and enrichment of various cultures. The artistic diversity of the festivals is expressed in a multitude of genres, types, and technologies. Each festival has its own symbolism, name, recognizable logo, and printed materials in a unified style.