The State Archive is part of the Presidential Palace Chain of Monuments and is connected to the Presidential Palace by a covered passage gallery. During the Kazan Khanate, the Nur Ali Mosque stood on the site of the building.

The mosque was destroyed during the reign of Ivan Grozny, and the building was rebuilt in 1845 together with the construction of the Governor's Palace (now the Presidential Palace) after it burned down in the fire of 1815. The building, which had a gallery-shaped passage between the building and the palace, served Kazan's governors and housed the palace servants.

In the second half of the 18th century, the State Archive, built in the Russian Baroque style, is being repaired and restored as part of the Kazan Kremlin Museum development project, taking into account its national architectural and historical value. The 20th-century partitions have been dismantled and the space has been adapted for new functions.