The building, located on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, between the Troitskaya and Nikolskaya towers, was founded by the great Peter I as a house for storing weapons (“Tseikhhaus”).

Tsar Peter's idea was simple: the building was to house a warehouse of military ammunition and a museum where war trophies would be stored. Construction began in 1702. Famous architects of that time took part in the work: Christoph Conrad, Dmitry Ivanov, Mikhail Choglokov and Johann Schumacher. It was decided to organize the construction on the site of warehouses destroyed by the fire, where bread was previously stored.

But due to the beginning of the campaign against the Swedes in 1706, it was decided to suspend the work - then it was necessary to direct all state funds to support the army and conduct hostilities. Funding resumed in 1711, but went intermittently and money for construction was extremely scarce.

The construction of the Arsenal was resumed much later, and the construction was completed only in 1736. The architectural appearance of the building at that time stood out for its originality — painted facades and a roof with gilded tiles.

But Arsenal did not last long to exist in this form, a year later the building was badly damaged by a fire. The floors of the structure, made of wood, were completely destroyed. The building was rebuilt in 1786-1796. The construction was supervised by architect M. Kozakov said. The restored building was damaged again, this time at the hands of the French - during the retreat of 1812, Napoleon ordered it to be blown up. Arsenal (Zeughaus) acquired its modern appearance in 1815-1828. Moscow architects A. Bakarev and I. Mironovsky, I. Tyurin and I. Tamansky developed and implemented a new project. After the victory and reconstruction, the Museum of the Patriotic War of 1812 was located here.

Even on the instructions of Peter I, cannons repulsed from the enemy began to be brought to the building. “To put it on eternal glory for memory” — this was the royal decree. By 1819, the number of guns placed along the facade amounted to 875 guns captured from the French. In 1960, cannons from the Armory Chamber were transported here (an exception was made only for the Tsar Cannon, which was installed near the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles).

Today, the administration of the Kremlin Commandant's Office and the barracks of the security regiment are located here.