The exclusive collection of the National Gallery of Armenia significantly differs from the collections of other museums formed on the Soviet territory in the 1920s in its diversity and the quality of the material presented. In addition to the works of Armenian artists, it also includes works by European, Russian, Soviet, and masters of other regions. The basis of the collection of the National Gallery, as well as of other museums established during the Soviet years make the artworks brought from the Moscow and Leningrad State Museum collections between 1925 and 1930. During this period, the first exhibits of Russian and European painting were brought to the museum, transferred from the Hermitage and the Armenian House of Culture in Moscow, where the art collection of the Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages was kept. The collection of Lazarev Institute became the basis of the Gallery's Russian art department, outlining its boundaries, which were later expanded due to the Gallery's acquisitions and donations. In the whole, all this predetermined the scope and significance of the Yerevan art collection.

Armenia has always been a center of attraction for our compatriots from all over the world. Among them there are many individuals who have made significant contributions to the replenishment of the Armenian museum. Abraham Djindjian donated more than forty seascapes of Aivazovsky and other masters to the Gallery, Hakob Ekizler enriched the Russian art department with works by I. Shishkin, S. Shchedrin, V. Vasnetsov and others, Raphael Kherumian, the founder of the "Society of Friends of Georgy Yakulov" in Paris, donated twenty-nine works of the master in 1972, A. Shchokin-Krotova sent the works of R. Falk, a number of artists including A. Benoit, A. Ostroumova-Lebedeva, E. Lanceray, Yu. Zharkikh, I. Brodsky and others replenished the museum's storages with their works. “Portrait of M. Akimova” (1908) done by V. Serov is among the magnificent paintings, which M. Akimova and V. Kananian donated to the Gallery in 1929. Noteworthy is one of the donations of recent years - painting “Summer House in Zaol’sha” by M. Chagall, donated by Irina Drambian in 1913. These contributions promoted the formation of the key part of the Russian art department - the collection of works of late 19th and early 20th centuries. Directors of the NGA Ruben Drambian, Armen Chilingaryan, as well as the museum staff have greatly contributed to these activities. Currently, Russian art collection covers various types of fine arts – painting, graphic art, sculpture, applied arts – and includes more than 3,000 exhibits that allow us to trace the main development stages of Russian culture between 16th and 20th centuries.

In addition to icons featuring the 16th to 18th centuries, works by famous masters of the 18th and 19th centuries D. Levitsky, F. Rokotov, V. Borovikovsky, S. Shchedrin, K. Bryullov, O. Kiprensky, I. Repin, V. Surikov, I. Levitan are on display in the museum halls. The museum houses paintings and graphic artworks by artists active at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, including V. Serov, M. Vrubel, K. Korovin, as well as works by representatives of the "Mir Iskusstva" (World of art), “Bubnovi Valet” (Knave of Diamonds), "Golubaya Roza” (Blue Roze) and other art associations. Works by avant-garde artists W. Kandinsky, M. Chagall, M. Larionov, N. Goncharova, P. Konchalovsky, R. Falk and others are among the masterpieces of the collection. Paintings by famous Soviet artists B. Ioganson, A. Deineka, A. Plastov, and P. Korin, as well as works by artists representing the latest art movements N. Nesterova, V. Popkov, Yu. Zharkikh, and D. Krasnopevtsev are on display. The latter are distinguished by greater creative freedom in their art manifestations.