On July 1, 1877, a four-class men's progymnasium with a preparatory class was opened in Blagoveshchensk by order of Emperor Alexander II. An annual budget of 14,550 rubles was allocated from the state treasury for its maintenance. In 1882, the progymnasium became a six-class institution, and in 1891 it was transformed into a gymnasium. This educational institution became the first example of gymnasium education in the Far East. Military Governor S. M. Dukhovsky noted that only in the Amur region could children receive a complete secondary education.

Initially, the gymnasium was located in a wooden building at the corner of Bolshaya and Grafskaya streets (now Lenin and Kalinin). Between 1911 and 1913, it moved to a new stone building designed by military engineer E.I. Sheffer. The main architectural element was the central risalit, which jutted out and was crowned with two square towers topped with tent roofs. The building is three stories high, made of brick, with plastered walls and sloped roofs. The technical office of the trading house 'Kunst and Albers' was responsible for the installation of water heating, plumbing, ventilation, and sewage systems. In the 1920s, the building housed the first-level provincial party school named after Lenin, and from the 1930s, the Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical Institute began operating here. After a fire in 1960, a fourth floor was added.

Today, this building serves as the main building of the Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University. Since 1988, it has been recognized as a monument of architecture and is protected by law.