The City Duma building was constructed between 1890 and 1892. Before that, there was a house for the Provincial Authorities, built in 1820 by architect Yevgeny Paskal. In photographs of Moscow from the 1880s, you can see its columned portico and concise walls. In the courtyard of this building was a debtors' prison known as "The Pit."

In the late 19th century, the powers of the State Duma, located in the Sheremetyev House on Vozdvizhenka, were significantly expanded. It was decided to build a new building for the Duma, and a plot of the old provincial authorities was acquired for this purpose.

A competition was announced, with the main condition being the design of the facades in the style of architectural monuments from the 16th to 18th centuries, so that the building would correspond to the status of the old capital of the Russian Empire and harmonize with the Historical Museum. Out of 38 submitted projects, the design by architect D.N. Chichagov won, under the motto "Cedo majori" ("I yield to the elder").

The building was consecrated on May 1, 1892. The first floor housed the departments of the State Duma, while the second floor featured a large hall for ceremonial gatherings, decorated with a statue of Catherine the Great by M. Antokolsky, which is now located in the Tsaritsyno Palace. The second floor also had the office of the city mayor, who in the 1890s was N.A. Alexeyev. On March 9, 1893, he was murdered in his office by a mentally ill person. His last words were: "I am dying, but I am happy that this happened in service and that I am true to my oath to serve to the last possibility." Moscow lost an outstanding statesman who, ironically, advocated for the construction of a clinic for the mentally ill.

The central kokoshnik above the entrance to the State Duma was adorned with the image of St. George the Victorious. In 1918, it was replaced with a medallion featuring a worker and a peasant, created by sculptor G.D. Alekseev, as part of a monumental propaganda program. An inscription appeared on the facade: "Revolution, a whirlwind that casts back all who resist it," and on the side of the Historical Museum, "Religion, the opium of the people."

After the revolution, the building housed departments of the Moscow Council, including finance and statistics. In 1935, the building was reconstructed under the guidance of L.Z. Cherikover, and in 1936, the Central Museum of V.I. Lenin opened here with 13,000 exhibits.

Today, it is a branch of the Historical Museum, which has become an excellent exhibition space for museum displays.