The empress is depicted holding a scepter and orb, in royal purple, wise and majestic. In the center of the pedestal is the text of the Charter granted on July 1 (12), 1792. To her left stands Prince Potemkin-Tauride against a backdrop of battle flags and military insignia. To the right are the first three atamans of the Black Sea Cossack Army: Anton Golovaty, Sidor Bely, and Zakhar Chepega. On the back of the monument is a blind kobzar with a guide and a list of victories achieved by Russia with the participation of Kuban Cossacks.

The monument's project was created by the famous artist and sculptor Mikhail Mikeshin in 1895 for the 200th anniversary of the Kuban Cossack Army. Mikeshin's sudden death prevented him from completing the work, and sculptor Boris Edwards continued it under the supervision of a special military construction commission. The monument was laid in the autumn of 1896 and opened on May 6, 1907.

A new monument was created by the renowned Kuban sculptor Alexander Apollonov, a member of the Union of Artists of Russia. He used photographs of the bronze model, archival documents, and drawings. The monument was cast in the artistic foundry of Rostov State University, while the architectural and sculptural elements were made by the Krasnodar Compressor Plant.

In 2011, a monument to Catherine II was opened in Sochi, which is a smaller copy of the one in Krasnodar.

The height of the monument is 13.81 meters, and the width of the entire complex is 16 meters. The figure of Catherine is 4 meters tall and weighs 3 tons. The sculptural composition used 25 tons of bronze, 12 tons of cast iron, 250 kg of aluminum, and 80 grams of gold leaf.

The monument is located on the main street of the city, Krasnaya, in Ekaterininsky Square. Opposite is the building of the Legislative Assembly of Krasnodar Krai. To the right is the military cathedral named after Prince Alexander Nevsky, laid in 1853 with military funds and restored, like the monument to Catherine, in 2006.