History of the emerging ensemble of the former NKVD area takes roots from moving the capital of KazSSR from Kyzyl-Orda to Alma-Ata in 1927.

Former building of the National Commissariat of Internal Affairs was built in 1932, it is a constructivist building. According to the widespread viewpoint, it was built according to the project of Moscow architect D. Fridman. Additional research of the literature allowed to define that authors of the main building are Vladimir Krinskiy and Alexey Rukhlyadev. Vladimir Krinskiy was an outstanding character of the Soviet avant garde movement.

 

Since 2003 and up to 2005 a museum of stalinist repressions and archive with data about repressions’ victims was located in the former NKVD building. In early 2000s it was planned to create a historic memorial complex in the building. Nowadays historical building, where people were tortured and murdered, became a business property, despite protests of relatives of the repressed people.

 

Former building of NKVD is located at the intersection of Nauryzbai and Karasai batyr street.  Since 30-s of the 20th century NKVD was located here, for a very short period of time - in 2003 - a museum of victims of political repressions was located in the former NKVD building, occupating 600 sq meters. After 1, 5 years of work it was forced to move out of the building and the spaces were subleased to business. Museum artifacts were transferred to the Almaty city museum. In summer of 2018 the part of the building where the museum was located was reconstructed into hotel. The building has never been listed as a historical and architectural heritage. In 2020 Archcode Almaty group opened a community center for local architects here called [non]museum of architecture, which is supporting public initiatives involved in research of city architecture history and architectural heritage preservation.