The first stone buildings on the site, eventually incorporated into present-day building, emerged in the last quarter of the 17th century as the
Miloslavsky residence. In the first half of the 18th century, they were owned by the Meller family – owners of iron mills in
Ural region. Miloslavsky-Meller house is considered to be among the largest private stone buildings of 17th-century Moscow.
Agasar Lazaryan, russified as Lazarev, acquired the land near the corner of present-day Krivokolenny and Armyansky lanes in 1758. Between 1758 and 1812 the main house was gradually expanded, notably by Ovakim Lazarev, son of Lazar and founder of the institute. Armyansky Lane area was spared by the
Fire of 1812. In 1814 Ovakim Lazarev commissioned remodelling of the
facade in
Empire style. The name of the architect remains unknown; construction was managed by T. G. Prostakov, a free man, and I. M. Podyachy – a serf of Lazarevs. By 1823 the main building acquired its present-day shape; an
obelisk in the rear courtyard, raised in 1822, was cast of
pig iron produced at Lazarev's iron mills in
Perm (later, the obelisk was moved into the front courtyard). In 1828 Lazarev purchased an adjacent building (2, Armyansky Lane) and converted it to an Armenian printshop. This corner lot was previously owned by
Saltykov and Nesvitsky families. New property remained unchanged until the 1850s, when Pyotr Grigoriev (son of
Afanasy Grigoriev) rebuilt it to match the main building. Subsequent restorations retained the street facades, but removed Grigoriev's finishes on the side wall, revealing 17th-century brickwork. ==Embassy of Armenia to Russia==