In Oryol, on Proletarskaya (Levashova) Hill, a monument to Ivan Alekseevich Bunin has been erected, a bronze sculpture of the famous Russian writer and Nobel Prize laureate in literature. The authors of the monument are V. M. Klykov, a laureate of the State Prize of the USSR and the State Prize of the RSFSR named after I. E. Repin, and architect R. I. Semerdzhiev.

In 1894, the family of I. A. Bunin moved from Voronezh to their hereditary estate in the village of Butyrki in the Yelets district of Oryol province, which is now located in the Lipetsk region. The future writer was only three years old at the time, and his life became closely connected with Oryol and the surrounding area. In 1881 and 1886, he studied at the Yelets gymnasium, and in 1886 and 1889, he lived in Ozyorki in the Yelets district, where the family moved after selling their land in Butyrki. In the autumn of 1889, Bunin settled in Oryol and began working at the 'Oryol Herald.' It was here that his first book 'Poems' was published in 1891. Critics note that Bunin's landscape lyricism and many prose works are filled with impressions from the Oryol land.

In 1892, the writer left Oryol and went to Odessa. The name of I. A. Bunin has been immortalized multiple times in Oryol. There is a museum dedicated to the writer with a unique collection, and the Oryol Regional Scientific Universal Public Library is named after him.

In 1992, a bust of Bunin, created by sculptor O. A. Uvarov, was unveiled in front of the library building. The idea of installing a monument by V. M. Klykov arose during the preparations for the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the writer's birth. The monument was ceremoniously opened in October 1995 in the presence of a large gathering of townspeople.

The monument is executed in the traditions of Russian monumental art. The bronze figure of the writer is set on a bronze pedestal, depicting Bunin in full height. His arms are crossed at the elbows, and his gaze, bright and kind, is directed into the distance. At the feet of the writer lies a bronze wreath, and on the pedestal is engraved: 'To Bunin Ivan Alekseevich.'