The House of Government is the largest constructivist building in Moscow and is located on the banks of the river Moskva, opposite the Kreml. The flats were mainly inhabited by functionaries of the Communist Party. They offered spacious rooms with a height of five metres; all flats featured telephone lines, gas ovens and central heating. The building also housed various communal facilities like a gymnasium, tennis court, nursery, library and laundry. The Udanik cinema, which was also part of the complex, was originally meant to have a roof that could be opened. This plan was not realised, though.

During the Stalinist purges, more and more tenants were arrested and disappeared. This era was famously described by Russian author Yury Trifonov, who had himself lived in the House during his childhood, in his novel "House on the Embankment" (1976).

New windows and advertisement like a big Mercedes Benz star on the roof changed the former face of the building.