1922 — The Molodaya Gvardiya publishing and printing association was founded in Moscow on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Komsomol on October 10. In the first year of the publishing house's operation, 71 books were published with a circulation of 584,000 copies.^[1]

1930s — The publishing house began to produce not only books, but also newspaper and magazine products.^{[citation needed]}

In 1968, Soviet pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin signed for the printing of his book Psychology and Space, written in collaboration with Vladimir Lebedev, which has been reprinted and translated into numerous languages. He also wrote the preface of the biography of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in the ZhZL series, in 1962.

1990s — The circulation of books was sharply reduced, with many series being discontinued.

2000s — A gradual process of reviving the activities of the publishing house was started.

In 2009, the ZhZL: Small Series was launched, which differs from the classic ZhZL series only in the volume of the material.

• The Lives of Remarkable People (ZhZL) (Russian: Жизнь замечательных людей» (ЖЗЛ), tr. Zhizn' zamechatel'nykh lyudey)
• The Lives of Remarkable People: The Biography Continues... (Russian: Жизнь замечательных людей: Биография продолжается..., tr. Zhizn' zamechatel'nykh lyudey: Biografiya prodolzhayetsya...)
• The Lives of Remarkable People: Small Series (Russian: Жизнь замечательных людей. Малая серия, tr. Zhizn' zamechatel'nykh lyudey. Malaya seriya)
• Living History: The Daily Life of Humanity (Russian: Живая история: Повседневная жизнь человечества, tr. Zhivaya istoriya: Povsednevnaya zhizn' chelovechestva)
• You're On the Road, Romantic (Russian: Тебе в дорогу, романтик, tr. Tebe v dorogu, romantik)
• Library of Contemporary Fiction (Russian: Библиотека современной фантастики, tr. Biblioteka sovremennoi fantastiki)
• The Near Past (Russian: Близкое прошлое, tr. Blizkoye proshloye)^[2]
• Case Number... (Russian: Дело №…, tr. Delo №…)
• Russia and the World (Russian: Россия и мир, tr. Rossiya i mir)
• Century Prose (Russian: Проза века, tr. Proza veka)
• Golden Giraffe (Russian: Золотой жираф, tr. Zolotoy zhiraf)
• Arrow (Russian: Стрела, tr. Strela)
• Literary Solitaire (Russian: Литературный пасьянс, tr. Literaturnyy pas'yans)
• Pioneer - Means First (Russian: Пионер — значит первый, tr. Pioner — znachit pervyy)
• Sport and Personality (Russian: Спорт и личность, tr. Sport i lichnost')
• Eureka (Russian: Эврика, tr. Evrika)
• Heroes of the Patriotic War (Russian: Герои Отечественной войны, tr. Geroi Otechestvennoy voyny)

• Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1969)^[3]
• Lenin Komsomol Prize (1978)

• The Lives of Remarkable People

• Official website