The museum is a memorial complex consisting of a two-story stone house[1][2] and a courtyard, which is a typical example of Derbent architecture of the late 18th - early 19th centuries, located in the old (mahallah) part of the city.

The exiled Decembrist writer Alexander Bestuzhev lived in this house for four years from 1830 to 1834.

In 1941,[1] the building was bought, but the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 19141-1945 delayed the organization of the museum.

In the former living rooms, the furnishings of Bestuzhev's rooms have been recreated, where both authentic items used by the Decembrist writer[2][1] (a wooden sofa, chairs, a piano, a desk) and household items and utensils are exhibited, recreating the interior and decoration of the house of a wealthy Derbent resident of the 19th century.

[5] A unique item exhibited in the museum is the tombstone from the grave of Olga Nestertseva, a 19-year-old seamstress who fell in love with Alexander Bestuzhev.