In the first half of the 18th century, a series of street lines were laid out in the territory of the Liteynaya (Artillery) settlement. The 4th line among them is the modern Kirochnaya Street. In the 18th century, the land from Liteyny to Suvorovsky Avenue was allocated to the 2nd Battalion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. A military settlement appeared here.
Between 1775 and 1779, according to the project by Y. M. Felten, the Lutheran Church of St. Anne (Annenkirche), building 8, was constructed. The name Kirochnaya Street appeared in 1780 and originated precisely from this Lutheran church (the building was severely damaged in the 2002 fire). Until the mid-19th century, other names for the street were also in use: Vasilievskaya and 2nd Furshtatskaya.
Originally, the name "Kirochnaya Street" applied only to the section from Liteyny Avenue to Tavricheskaya Street. The section from the modern Tavricheskaya Street to Suvorovsky Avenue was initially part of Tavrichesky Avenue, and after its extension, it bore independent names: Konno-Guard Lane, and later Mariinsky Lane. In 1868, Mariinsky Lane was merged with Kirochnaya Street.
In 1939, the street was renamed in honor of the outstanding Russian writer M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, and in 1998 its former name Kirochnaya was restored.
