It was initially established on 27 March 1856 as the 1st His Majesty's Life Guards Rifle Battalion from several other regiments within the 1st Guards Infantry Division and the 2nd Guards Infantry Division, along with some other units. In 1863 the unit took part in quelling the Polish uprising and in 1870 became part of the newly formed Guards Rifle Brigade, under the command of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. It later had the distinction of personally escorting Emperor Alexander II during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. In 1910 it was raised from a battalion to a full regiment and in 1914, with the outbreak of World War I and the general mobilization, it received a reserve battalion. In 1917 it was renamed "1st Guards Rifle Regiment" and was completely dissolved in May 1918. Several of its members went on to fight in the White Army during the Russian Civil War. In 1951 an organization for veterans of the regiment was formed by some White émigrés.