The idea to establish the first monument to an actor in Russia in Yaroslavl arose in the 19th century, but its realization faced resistance from the authorities, who did not consider actors worthy of being immortalized in stone.

In the early 20th century, the entrepreneur of the city theater began to advocate for the installation of a monument to Volkov and created a fund to raise money. For this purpose, the Moscow Small Theater held a charity performance. In 1910, in honor of the 150th anniversary of Russian theater, a competition was announced for the creation of the monument. The jury included experts from the Imperial Academy of Arts and architect E. A. Sabaneev. Two bronze models presented at the competition are still kept in the museum of the Volkov Theater.

By the beginning of World War I, thanks to the efforts of the city duma and the Russian Theater Society, more than 18,000 rubles had been raised for the installation of the monument. The funds were divided between two organizations that long argued about what the monument should look like, and each agreed to finance only the project that suited them. While the disputes were ongoing, revolutionary upheavals began, and the monument was forgotten.

Only on August 10, 1973, was the monument installed according to the design of Yaroslavl residents V. Marov (architect) and A. Solovyov (sculptor).