However, the place itself had been rooted in a literary tradition long before it became known as the writers' village. Before the Soviet days, there was Izmalkovo, an aristocratic country estate closely associated with a family that was once well-known in Russia — The Samarins. By the beginning of the sixteenth century the Samarins had achieved high rank among the gentry. Ismalkovo estate was sold to the Samarin family in 1830, who extended and developed the house over several generations.

It became home to Yuri Samarin, a prominent Russian philosopher, a member of the Slavophile circle and a prolific political writer. His writings on the Russian state are of particular interest since he was much involved in the reform process of the late 1850s serving as a member of the commission that worked on eliminating serfdom. It was then the traditions and cultural code of Izmalkovo were first established. The place became closely associated with philosophy, historical research, new educational practices, and art.

Ismalkovo stayed with the Samarin family until the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the collapse of the Russian Empire. The Samarins were evicted from the house in 1923; some of them were subjected to repressions. Ismalkovo then became a tuberculosis colony for children until the 2000s, when the house was abandoned and fell into decay. The estate is currently closed for restoration works.

Despite the fearful circumstances under which many Soviet writers worked, Peredelkino became a village for Soviet literary inspiration. It was in Peredelkino that Pasternak created an eponymous volume of poems, which he considered the best he had ever written. It is at his home in Peredelkino Pasternak worked on his magnum opus, Doctor Zhivago. It was here that Pasternak learned the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize for 'his important achievement in contemporary lyrical poetry and in the field of the great Russian epic tradition'. Here he had to decline the award.