The Armenian Lane got its name from the wealthy Armenian merchant Lazar Nazarovich Lazaryan, who owned houses in this area since the 18th century. In May 1774, Empress Catherine II granted him hereditary nobility. However, it is known that Armenians began settling here as early as the 16th century. Lazar Lazaryan, originally from Persia, successfully engaged in silk and paper production in the Russian Empire, and later excelled in mining. Becoming one of the wealthiest merchants in Moscow, he changed his surname to Lazarev and acquired an estate on Stolpovsky, now Armenian, Lane in 1758.

Part of the Lazarev estate may have belonged to the Miloslavsky family, as confirmed by recently discovered chambers by restorers. This beautiful building with keel-shaped finishes and broken pediments likely belonged to a wealthy family in the 17th century. Historians believe that the Miloslavsky estate extended to the neighboring Krivokolenny Lane and could have become part of the future Lazarev estate.

In the early 18th century, the estate passed from Vakhramy Miller, the owner of ironworks, to the princes Nesvitsky, then to the Saltikovs, and only in the 19th century did it become part of the Armenian embassy.

The Lazarev family acquired stone buildings from Zachariah Sheriman, an industrialist in the silk industry. Lazar Nazarovich's sons established an Armenian educational institution here, allocating significant funds for it. Reconstruction and the construction of the main building began in 1813. Remarkably, the buildings were not damaged during the French invasion in 1812 thanks to the Mameluke Rustam, who guarded Napoleon. He saved Armenian Lane from destruction. The Armenian church and the wings of the Armenian Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which have survived to this day, were also saved. Catherine II allowed the construction of Armenian churches in St. Petersburg and Moscow on the same grounds as Catholic ones. The Armenian Church of the Exaltation was built in 1779 or 1781. In 1829, it was adorned with sculptures by Vitali. It was believed that Armenian churches could not use bell ringing, and only in 1866 was a bell tower built here. In 1938, the church was dismantled, and a school was built in its place, but the wings remained.

In 1815, a school opened in the Lazarev estate, and in 1822, an obelisk was erected in the courtyard in honor of the owners and founders. By the 1840s, the wings of the estate were connected to the main building for the convenience of students. In 1835, the school received the status of a gymnasium, and in 1848 it became the Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages. Among its students were Ivan Turgenev, Stanislavsky, and Loris-Melikov.

In 1905, a revolutionary weapons cache was discovered in the institute. After 1917, the institute was closed, and a theater studio was opened in the building under the direction of E. B. Vakhtangov, where Ruben Simonov worked. In 1921, the Lazarev house became the 'House of Culture' of Soviet Armenia. It was closed in 1953, and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR was located here until 1977.

Currently, the building houses the Embassy of Armenia.