Tsar Alexander II granted permission to build on September 1, 1869, after a request from Joseph Günzburg and Samuel Polyakov. The land was bought in 1879, and construction ran from 1880 to 1888. Lev Bakhman, Ivan Shaposhnikov and Aleksei Malov are credited, though the article's infobox and text differ on Malov's role. The Small Synagogue opened in 1886, and the Great Choral Synagogue was consecrated in December 1893.
It is brick, with one dome, in an eclectic blend of Moorish Revival and Byzantine Revival. It is partly modeled on Berlin's New Synagogue. Imperial restriction reduced its height to 154 feet (47 m) from the proposed 213 feet (65 m). The Great Hall seats 1,200 worshipers.
German bombing damaged it during the Siege of Leningrad. The Great Hall reopened on June 26, 2001, and the synagogue is a federally important monument.
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