[3] The institution reached its zenith under the leadership of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, who became rosh yeshiva in 1854.

The Volozhin yeshiva closed in 1892, because of the Russian government's demand for a dramatic increase in the amount of time spent teaching certain secular studies.

[7] The biography of R. Ḥayyim Soleveitchik states there were secular studies taught for a short period some nights that were barely attended.

Historian Shaul Stampfer and others maintain that the root of the problem was Rabbi Berlin's attempt to install his son as Rosh Yeshiva in the face of opposition.

The Jewish community in America took action and Agudath Israel raised money to restore the site.

[11] The yeshiva building is presently undergoing restoration through the partnership of Yad Yisroel and the Union of Religious Congregations of the Republic of Belarus.