The history of the Military School on Krasnokazarmennaya Street, known as the Red Barracks, is closely linked to the palace and park ensemble of "Lefortovo," which developed throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. The extensive territory was gradually developed. Initially, the palaces and service buildings were wooden, but over time they were replaced with brick, more substantial structures. During the era of Peter I, a regular park with ponds, known as the Annenhof Grove, was created near the estates. This unique ensemble, preserved to this day, is the only royal estate in Moscow comparable to the suburbs of St. Petersburg.

The central element of the ensemble became the Grand Catherine Palace, built by architect J. Quarenghi with the participation of A. Rinaldi and J. Comporisi on the site of the summer wooden Annenhof Palace, created according to the design of B.-F. Rastrelli (now Krasnokursantsky Lane, 5).

In the 1770s, on the site of the burned Elizabethan Golovinsky Palace, a complex of palace services for the Catherine Palace was erected. It consisted of two two-story buildings located on either side of the passage to the Palace Bridge on the Yauza River (now Krasnokazarmennaya St., 2, 3). The northern building (3) was constructed according to the design of V. S. Yakovlev by the end of 1776. These buildings housed all palace services, including offices, kitchens, storerooms, repair workshops, living quarters for staff, and stables.

In the first half of the 19th century, by order of Emperor Paul I, the palace and services were converted into barracks for the Moscow garrison regiment under the command of General I. P. Arkharov. The Smolensk Cadet Corps was located in the palace, later renamed the 1st Moscow Cadet Corps. The service building (2, bldg. 3) housed the Military Orphanage Department, established in the 1800s.

Between 1826 and 1828, the buildings of the Red Barracks were partially reconstructed and expanded, forming a closed complex on three sides with a spacious inner courtyard. The main facades received restrained decoration in the late Empire style with horizontal rustication of the walls, white stone fan-shaped window frames, and pediments above the first-floor windows. In the courtyard, there was a one-story riding hall (bldg. 2) and a barrack building (bldg. 3). The project was presumably carried out by the famous Moscow architect Osip Bove.

In the 1830s, the buildings housed the 2nd Training Carabinier Regiment. From 1864, all the buildings were occupied by the Moscow Infantry Junker School, which existed under this name until 1897. The school provided the opportunity for officer education to military junkers and volunteers. During its existence, it graduated about 14,000 officers. In 1897, the school was renamed the Moscow Military School. In 1906, the heir to the throne and Grand Duke Alexei Nikolaevich was appointed as the head of the school, after which it became known as the Alexeyevsky Military School, primarily recruiting from the lower classes.

In the main building from 1833 to 1918, there was a church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the interior of which has partially survived to this day.

After the revolution, the military school was abolished, and the buildings were occupied by the Moscow military garrison of the Red Army. After the Great Patriotic War, the former Alexeyevsky School buildings housed the officers' dormitory of the Malinovsky Armored Academy, a club in the church premises, and a dining hall in the assembly hall.

In the early 1950s, all the buildings of the former Alexeyevsky School, including the main building, barracks, and riding hall (bldgs. 1, 2, 3), were raised by several floors. As a result, the main building acquired impressive dimensions, and its silhouette, enlarged proportions, lost its previous monolithic and compositional completeness of the external appearance. Nevertheless, the building of the former Red Barracks has retained its unique urban planning and architectural significance as one of the valuable elements of the palace and park ensemble "Lefortovo."