The theater began its history in 1882 when Fyodor Adamovich Korsh founded a private theater in Moscow after the abolition of the imperial theaters' monopoly. Korsh, a lawyer by education, graduated from Moscow University and worked as a barrister, but from his youth, he was passionate about theater, participated in amateur performances, and was interested in theatrical organization. In 1882, he left his legal practice to fully dedicate himself to the theater.

The theater's troupe mainly consisted of actors from the former Pushkin Theater, where Korsh was the manager. Initially, the theater was established as a partnership, but a year later, Korsh became its sole director.

The theater was originally located on Kamergersky Lane, where the Moscow Art Theater would open in 1898. In 1885, the theater moved to a new building on Bogoslovsky (now Petrovsky) Lane. The building was designed by architect Mikhail Nikolaevich Chichagov in the neo-Russian style, decorated with elements of ancient Russian architecture. The central part of the building was adorned with tile panels, and the roof with towers and "barrels" gave it the appearance of a fairy-tale terem. The new theater building featured a modern stage and electric lighting.

Korsh paid great attention to the repertoire and staging of performances, striving to create a "theater of comedy with a dramatic or comic shade." His repertoire predominantly included light comedies and farces with romantic intrigue, which critics sometimes referred to as "coarse farces and kitschy plays." Nevertheless, comedies helped the theater attract an audience and achieve financial stability, allowing Korsh to stage serious plays, such as works by G. Ibsen, E. Rostand, and W. Shakespeare. Korsh also turned to Russian writers, being the first in Moscow to stage Tolstoy's "The Power of Darkness" and introducing Chekhov as a playwright with the play "Ivanov" in 1887, later staging Chekhov's vaudevilles "The Bear" and "The Wedding." He also staged plays by L. Andreev and the classics of A. N. Ostrovsky.

To expand the audience, Korsh introduced morning performances, where the same actors performed as in the evening shows, but tickets were cheaper, attracting students, gymnasium students, and clerks.

Another innovation was weekly premieres on Fridays, when new plays were staged after just a few rehearsals. Although the productions were often raw and quickly removed, this tradition became known in theatrical Moscow: every Friday, Korsh had a premiere. For this method, Korsh earned the nickname "the theatrical manufacturer."

Korsh was known for ensuring that all European theatrical novelties appeared in his theater, even if the play had not yet been translated and published. Together with his assistants, he attended premieres in Europe, stenographed performances, translated texts, and staged plays in Russia.

One of the theater's achievements was the high level of performance mastery, and to attract famous actors, Korsh introduced annual benefit performances. Gradually, talented actors such as V. N. Davydov, V. O. Toporkov, A. P. Ktorov, A. A. Yablochkina, I. M. Moskvin, and others gathered at the theater.

The emergence of the Moscow Art Theater in 1898 shook Korsh's theater's position, as the audience preferred serious plays at Stanislavsky's. However, Korsh's theater remained one of the most popular in Moscow.

In 1917, after celebrating the theater's 35th anniversary, Korsh decided to leave and sold it to new owners. The theater became state-owned and was transformed into the "3rd Theater of the RSFSR. Comedy," later receiving the name Moscow Drama Theater. The troupe existed until 1933 when the theater was closed, and its building was handed over to the Moscow Art Theater.

As one of the theater's actors wrote: "He ended his 55-year existence ingloriously: the people who liquidated it took into account neither the past, nor the pride of the actors, nor even the anniversary date. By order of the People's Commissariat for Education, the artistic staff was distributed among Moscow theaters, and the building was handed over to the Moscow Art Theater."

Currently, the former Korsh Theater houses the Theater of Nations under the direction of Evgeny Mironov.