It was established in 1946 by the Finland–Soviet Union Society, and lately was ran by The Finnish Labour Museum Werstas.

Built in 1900, the building hosted underground meetings of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1905 and 1906.

During December 1905, Vladimir Lenin met Joseph Stalin in person for the first time at the Tampere conference of 1905 deliberating the civil disorder of the Russian Revolution of 1905.

The museum has a permanent exhibition with material related to Lenin's life and the history of the Soviet Union.

[2] In April 2024, the museum announced that it would close at the end of the year and reopen in February 2025 under the name Nootti, in reference to the Note Crisis in 1961 between Finland and the Soviet Union.