In pre-revolutionary Russia, raznochintsy were those whose social status did not fit into the strict framework of the concepts of "hereditary nobleman" or "eminent merchant." Petty employees, retired soldiers, various servants, workers and, of course, students, as well as other proletarians of intellectual labor lived in neighborhoods far from Nevsky Prospect.

Since 1924, there has been a memorable historical address in Kazachiy Lane - from February 12, 1894 to April 25, 1895, V. I. Ulyanov lived here. After his death, on the initiative of residents of nearby houses, "Ilyich's Corner" was created in Kazachiy Lane. In 1938, on its basis, the V. I. Ulyanov Museum-Apartment was opened - a branch of the Leningrad branch of the Central V. I. Lenin Museum.

In 1992, based on the order of the mayor of St. Petersburg, the institution received the status of a historical and memorial state museum, under the jurisdiction of first the Leninsky and then the Admiralty district, and became known as the "Museum of the History of the Revolutionary Democratic Movement of the 1880-1890s".

In September 2003, by order of the Administration of St. Petersburg, the museum was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Committee for Culture. In 2006, in connection with the opening of a new exhibition "Around Semenovsky Parade Ground", the museum received its current name - St. Petersburg State Budgetary Cultural Institution "Memorial Museum "Raznochinny Petersburg".