The idea to establish a monument to the poet I. S. Nikitin was proposed in 1899 by the chairman of the committee of the Public Library named after I. S. Nikitin and the publisher of the newspaper "Don," V. G. Veselovsky. In 1900, a fundraising campaign for the monument began among the residents of Russia, initiated by Emperor Nicholas II.

In 1907, a commission for the installation of the monument was formed in the Voronezh Duma, headed by V. G. Veselovsky. The city architect A. M. Baranov, a member of the commission, developed the technical project for the monument. A competition for the design of the monument was held in St. Petersburg, and in 1909 the commission selected a model created by the artist I. A. Shuklin, a native of the Kursk province.

The monument was made in St. Petersburg. The sculpture is made of bronze, and the pedestal is made of gray granite. Along with the monument, a granite fence with cast-iron posts for lanterns was installed.

The monument was unveiled in October 1911 in Theater Square in Voronezh, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the poet's death.

In 1918, Theater Square was renamed I. S. Nikitin Square. Subsequently, the monument changed its location several times: in 1933 it was moved to Koltsovsky Square, but in 1973 it was returned to its original place.

In Voronezh, two busts of the poet have also been installed: one near the poet's house-museum (1964), and the other at the literary museum (2009).