The impressive building in neoclassical style at the corner of Malaya Pirogovskaya Street and Kholzunov Lane is a federal cultural heritage site. It is known as the "Building of the Higher Women's Courses," where Vladimir Ilyich Lenin spoke in the Great Auditorium in 1918 and 1921. During the Soviet era, it was valued for this historical event, and today its artistic and historical significance has greatly expanded.

The Moscow Higher Women's Courses were founded in 1872 at the initiative of Professor Vladimir Ivanovich Gerye of Moscow University, who became their first director. This educational institution was the first to provide Russian women with the opportunity to receive higher education, as they were not allowed to enroll in universities and other higher education institutions. The education at the courses was humanitarian: the main subjects were history, literature, art history, and philosophy. Mathematics, physics, and astronomy were also taught in a limited scope. The diploma from the courses allowed graduates to teach in women's gymnasiums. Over time, the program expanded and began to approach university standards.

Initially, the courses were located in the building of the First Male Gymnasium on Volkhonka, then in the Polytechnic Museum. In the early 20th century, the Moscow City Duma allocated a plot of land in Devichye Pole for the construction of its own building. In 1907, the construction of the educational complex began, with the Main Auditorium building designed by academician of architecture Sergey Ustinovich Solovyov. The project was approved in 1909 and re-approved after adjustments in 1910.

After the 1917 revolution, the courses were transformed into the 2nd Moscow State University. Later, the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute was established on its basis, which still occupies the Main Building.

The famous engineer V.G. Shukhov was a full co-author of architect Solovyov, designing the structures of the vestibule, the Great and Small Auditoriums, and the book storage.

The Department of Cultural Heritage of Moscow approved a list of elements of the building that form its unique historical appearance.

The Main Building of the courses stands out with its original compositional solution. The usual frontal symmetrical composition is replaced by a corner one: the domed rotunda with a Doric colonnade is placed at the corner of the streets, with wings adjoining it, and in the interior of the huge vestibule, a city square is effectively created, covered by a roof. The Great Auditorium, accommodating 1,102 people, is located in a curved volume between the wings. This composition has analogues in some educational institutions in Germany, although it was also found in Russian and Moscow classical architecture of the 18th century.

The rotunda resembles the order of Moscow University on Mokhovaya Street: neoclassical forms effectively "quote" the building of Kazakov and Zhilyardi. This emphasizes the continuity of the courses from Moscow University, whose professors taught at the courses. The use of huge columns of the composite order in the vestibule-atrium connects the building with the Column Hall of the Noble Assembly by Kazakov.

The facades of the building are decorated with sculptural reliefs, which corresponds to the classicist tradition. Multi-figure relief compositions form a frieze between the rows of windows of the rotunda and are also placed in niches above the windows and between the pilasters of the risalits. The sculptural decoration was executed in the workshop of F.F. Königseder.

The building has varying heights: two and three floors. It is located at: Malaya Pirogovskaya Street, house 1, building 1. Currently, it houses the main building of the Moscow State Pedagogical University.