Plans for a Formula One-capable circuit at Fedyukovo were announced in September 2008. Hans Geist, managing director of the project at that time, stated that the track could be ready for an FIA inspection by June 2010 and that without Formula One the facility could still be profitable by hosting DTM or MotoGP. The overall cost of the project was 4.5 billion rubles when it finally opened in 2012 after a construction stop and restart.
Moscow Raceway was designed to achieve FIA 1T and FIM A homologation, giving it clearance for competition at any level from national championships to Formula One and MotoGP. The total track length is 4.070 km, with widths ranging from 12 to 21 metres. The start/finish straight is 15 metres wide at an elevation of 22 metres, and the longest straight of 0.873 km is designed to allow Formula One cars to reach 311 km/h. Following inspections on 18 July 2012, the circuit was classified at FIM B grade — one grade below the initial expectation — for motorcycle events.
Construction was carried out by a Russian-German joint venture called Autobahn, with Stroytech-5 as the general contractor. Sub-contractors included Siemens. After Bernie Ecclestone initially signed an agreement for a Formula One race in 2008, the project was dropped from the 2010 calendar in early 2009 and construction halted. Work resumed in June 2010.
The opening event on 13–15 July 2012 was part of the World Series by Renault, making Moscow Raceway the second international motorsport event in Russian history, after an FIA European Truck Racing Championship round at Smolenskring in July 2010. The first race at the venue was the fifth round of the Formula Renault 3.5 series, won by Dutch driver Robin Frijns. Russian driver Daniil Kvyat won both races of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 round, becoming the first Russian to win at the circuit.
Moscow Raceway entered the World Touring Car Championship calendar in 2013 as the FIA WTCC Race of Russia. The circuit's four-kilometre layout presented a varied challenge with its combination of high-speed flowing sections and technical infield corners, and the Russian round became a well-regarded fixture on the calendar. WTCC rounds continued through 2016, with the event drawing strong attendance given its position as the primary international motorsport event in the Moscow region.
The DTM ran at Moscow Raceway from 2013 to 2017, providing a high-profile headline series for the circuit beyond its WTCC weekends. The Blancpain GT Series visited in 2015. The FIA Formula 3 European Championship held a round at the circuit in 2014.
During the Superbike World Championship weekend on 21 July 2013, Italian rider Andrea Antonelli died in the World Supersport race after being struck on the back straight by fellow rider Lorenzo Zanetti. Antonelli was airlifted to hospital where he died of massive head trauma. The remainder of the weekend's racing was cancelled due to torrential rain.
Following the conclusion of its major international series commitments, Moscow Raceway has continued to operate for domestic Russian motorsport. Current events include the Russian Circuit Racing Series, SMP F4 Championship, SMP RSKG Endurance, and the Russian Endurance Challenge across multiple rounds throughout the season.
Moscow Raceway represented the first serious attempt to establish Russia as a host nation for world-level circuit racing, preceding the Sochi Autodrom's Formula One role by two years. Its FIA Grade 1 certification and the breadth of series it attracted — from touring cars and GT racing to motorcycle championships and open-wheel single-seaters — demonstrated the ambition and commercial vision behind the project. The WTCC's four-year commitment to the circuit was among the most significant international endorsements Russia's motorsport infrastructure received in the pre-Sochi era.