In the mid-17th century, nuns from various Russian lands were transferred to the convent and the aged nuns, who renounced the Old Believers movement, were given shelter. A few years later the convent also housed a military hospital for the soldiers and officers of the Imperial Russian Army and an orphanage for female foundlings. Should be noted that the Russian government supported the monastery and each year providing 1,500 rubles, and 1,300 quarters of bread, with 680 rubles and 480 quarters of bread for more than 250 abandoned children.
A truly remarkable story happened In 1812, Napoleon's army tried to blow up the convent, but the nuns managed to save the cloister from destruction. In Tolstoy's War and Peace, Pierre was to be executed under the convent walls. In another novel of his, Anna Karenina, Konstantin Lyovin (a main character) meets his future wife Kitty ice-skating near the monastery walls.
In 1871, the Filatyev brothers donated money for a shelter-school for the orphans of "ignoble origins". Also, the convent housed two almshouses for nuns and lay sisters. In early 1900s, the Cathedral was surveyed and restored by architect and preservationist Ivan Mashkov.