In 1993, in honor of the 200th anniversary of Krasnodar, a monument to Ilya Efimovich Repin was unveiled in the park next to the F.A. Kovalenko Krasnodar Regional Art Museum. The author of this monument was sculptor Olga Fedorovna Yakovleva.

Ilya Repin became a classic of Russian painting during his lifetime; his works are known worldwide, and many artists consider him their teacher. However, the monument was established not only because of his fame.

In the summer of 1878, Repin conceived the idea of painting a picture of the Zaporozhian Cossacks and worked on it for several years. In 1888, he arrived in Yekaterinodar to feel the spirit of Cossack life. In Kuban, he found images of the Zaporozhians among the descendants of the Sich. For his studies, Cossacks Dmytro Onishchenko, Vasily Oleshko, Paramon Belyi, and Makari Semak posed for him; all were holders of the Order of St. George and participants in the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

Repin's arrival had a significant impact on the local intelligentsia, and his connection with Kuban continued. In 1903, collector Fedor Kovalenko gifted his collection of paintings to Yekaterinodar, and the following year, a gallery named after him was opened. Repin congratulated the city on this event with a telegram and a letter expressing his desire to support this initiative.

In 1909, Kovalenko established an art circle at the gallery, and Repin became its honorary president. Soon after, he sent a letter of gratitude for the honor and offered his assistance.

The museum's archive contains letters and a book from Repin with a dedicatory inscription. Olga Yakovleva worked for several years on the image of Repin, creating numerous versions of the monument. Ultimately, she depicted him in his youth, at the moment of working on the 'Zaporozhians.'

The location for the monument was chosen deliberately: the park at the corner of Krasnaya and Sovetskaya streets, next to the museum with which Repin was closely associated. The Cossacks from his painting found their place at the corner of Krasnaya and Gorky streets. In 2008, to mark the 215th anniversary of Krasnodar, a sculpture by Valery Pchelin was unveiled, where visitors can sit next to the heroes of the painting and leave their message on a scroll.