The Holy Assumption Vyshensky Desert is located in the Ryazan region on the right bank of the Vysha River, not far from its confluence with the Tsna. The nearest villages to the monastery are Vysha and Vazhnoe.

The monastery was founded in this place in 1625. For a long time, it remained little known in Russia. The monastery, located in remote areas, served as a stronghold for spreading Christianity among the local pagans, the Mordvins.

Initially, the Vyshensky Assumption Desert was located on the left bank of the Vysha River, which posed a threat of flooding in spring. The monks appealed to Mikhail Fyodorovich for a new location, and Martha Ioannovna issued a decree indicating the new, current location.

The founder and first builder of the monastery was the abbot Tikhon, who led the monastery for 36 years, from 1625 to 1661. Nothing is known about his origins and path to monasticism.

The first church, the Assumption Church, was built only in 1762, and the bell tower in 1818. Then the Kazan Cathedral appeared in 1844, the Epiphany Church in 1867, and the Nativity Cathedral in 1890.

Over time, the Vyshensky monastery became a center of spiritual enlightenment in the region.

The history of the monastery knew difficult times. Due to poverty and the small number of brethren, in December 1724, the desert was closed and annexed to the Cherneev Monastery. It was presumably reopened two years later.

In 1800, the Shatsky district passed to the Tambov province. The Tambov Bishop Theophilus appointed an elder from the Sarov Desert, Tikhon, as the abbot, who successfully revived the monastery both economically and spiritually.

In 1827, the nun Miropia (Dankova) gifted the monastery a miraculous Kazan icon of the Mother of God. After the manifestation of miracles from this icon, especially during the cholera epidemic in the Tambov region, the monastery's fame increased. Processions with the icon began in cities and villages of the province.

The monastery gained even greater fame in 1862 and 1907 under Archimandrite Arkady (Chestonov). Arkady, from a poor family, sought to spread enlightenment among the common people. During this period, the saint Theophan (Govorov) settled in the desert, actively working for the benefit of the Church, engaging in translations and interpretations of patristic literature and the Holy Scriptures. He wrote about the monastery: "Vysha can only be exchanged for the Kingdom of Heaven." For the first six years in the monastery, the saint did not completely isolate himself, but from Great Lent in 1873, he began a hermitic life. A church in the name of the Epiphany was arranged in one of the cells, where the saint served daily. During this time, the Vyshensky Desert reached its peak and became a center of spiritual enlightenment not only for the Shatsk land but for all of Russia.

After the revolution, the monastery was not immediately closed. Initially, a "Children's Town of the Third International" was placed there to displace the monastic community and use the churches for its needs. Subsequently, the monastery housed a kindergarten, a forestry enterprise, a pig farm, a psychiatric "colony," and finally, a regional psychiatric hospital. The churches and buildings of the monastery fell into disrepair.

On April 29, 1990, a decision was made to transfer some buildings of the former Assumption Vyshensky Desert to the Ryazan Diocesan Administration. The monastery was decided to be reopened as a women's monastery. The next day, on April 30, in the Borisoglebsky Cathedral of Ryazan, Archbishop Simon of Ryazan and Kasimov consecrated the nun Nonna (Znamenkaya) as abbess and appointed her as the superior.

On June 29, 2002, a solemn transfer of the relics of Saint Theophan the Recluse from the village of Emmanuilovka to the Assumption Church of the Vyshensky Desert took place.

On March 14, 2009, Archbishop Pavel of Ryazan and Kasimov consecrated the Kazan Cathedral. Before this, the relics of Saint Theophan were transferred from the Assumption Church. The miraculous Kazan Vyshensky icon of the Mother of God is also now located in the monastery.