The Arsenal, initially commissioned by Peter the Great in 1702, was originally intended as a military store and museum of armaments. Eventually completed in 1736, it was badly damaged by fire only one year later. The long process of rebuilding, supervised by architect Matvei Kazakov, was only finished in 1796. But that was not the end of the building's misfortunes: In 1812, Napoleon's troops, when fleeing Moscow, blew up the Arsenal, among other buildings, and it was only fully reconstructed in 1828. After the Napoleonic Wars, it was once more the intention to house a museum here, and to this end captured enemy cannons were gathered and placed in rows beneath the Arsenal walls. Much later, in 1960, Russian guns were also moved here. They are still arranged along the walls, like a living memory of past battles. The building is now used as a barracks.