Novotorzhsky Boris and Gleb Monastery is one of the oldest Russian Orthodox monasteries. It was founded by St. Ephrem in 1038, during the reign of the Grand Duke of Kiev Yaroslav I. It was built almost at the same time as the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, being one of the most ancient monasteries and the third monastery which appeared in Russia.

In 1577 during the reign of Ivan the Terrible two chapels were added to the church; and in 1607, when Torzhok was sieged by the Polish, the monastery was badly damaged. The oldest construction preserved to this day is Vvedenskaya church, built in the 17^th century on the site of a previously existing wooden one burnt by the Poles. In 1717, between the priests’ buildings of approximately the same time of construction the Church of the Entry into Jerusalem was built, which was restored in the 1980s. A fire of 1742 caused a lot of damage to the monastery. In the second half of the 18^th century the revival of the monastery began. In the years 1785-1796 on the site of the old Boris and Gleb Cathedral a new cathedral with the same name was erected. It was designed by architect Nicholas Lvov. In 1804 over-the-gate church and bell tower was founded, which was also designed by Lvov, according to some researchers. It was built by local architect Jakov Ananyin. The unusual shape of the corner wall tower, opposite the bell tower, draws the attention. Its restoration was carried out in the 1970—1980s.

In 1925 the monastery was dissolved, and the buildings were given to a maximum security prison, which was situated there for about 50 years. After that it was replaced by the preventative center for alcoholics, and in the recent years the monastery served as the building of the Russian Historical and Ethnographic Museum. The museum has made great efforts for the restoration of the architectural ensemble, vandalized by prison.

In 1993, the monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.