he Museum-Reserve is situated on the territory of two former estates, connected with A.S. Pushkin (1799 - 1837), Bolshie Vyazemy and Zakharovo. In Zakharovo, the estate of A.S. Pushkin's grandmother Maria Alexandrovna Gannibal, the great poet lived in his childhood (from 1805 till 1811) before he entered Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. The estate preserved a part of the park and pond described by the poet, foundation of his grandmother's house. Not far from Zakharovo in Bolshie Vyazemy - Princes Golitsyn estate - survived the intact 16th - 18th century ensemble composed of the Transfiguration Church and unique 16th century Belfry, Palace and outbuildings of the 18th century, parks and buildings of the 18th - 19th century. The estate is connected with important historic events - Time of Troubles, Peter the Great's reforms, patriotic war of 1812. The events, the estates and their inhabitants were reflected in A.S. Pushkin's works.

The famous places could not be buried in oblivion, so in 1987, in Zakharovo and Bolshie Vyazemy the State History and Literature Museum-Reserve was organized.