When Misha was still very small, he visited Hot Waters, now known as Pyatigorsk, twice with his grandmother, Elizabeth Alexeyevna Arsenyeva. The beauty of these places left an indelible mark on the soul of the future poet. In his works, Lermontov often returns to the theme of the Caucasus, expressing his love for it:

…I was happy with you, the gorges of the mountains;
Five years have flown by: I long for you.
There I saw a pair of divine eyes;
And my heart whispers, recalling that gaze:
I love the Caucasus!..

In 1837, Lermontov was sent to the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment as punishment for his poem "On the Death of the Poet," dedicated to Pushkin's demise, and found himself in Pyatigorsk again. On the way from Moscow, he caught a severe cold and went to the waters to recover. This period of his life is reflected in the novel "A Hero of Our Time." Lermontov visited Pyatigorsk for the last time at the end of May 1841. A month and a half later, at a reception at the Verzilin family, he quarreled with Nikolai Martynov, who challenged him to a duel. It took place on July 15, 1841, at the foot of Mount Mashuk during a heavy storm, and with the first shot from Martynov, Lermontov was killed.

Mikhail Yuryevich was buried in the old cemetery of Pyatigorsk. Eight months later, Lermontov's grandmother obtained permission for her grandson's reburial. The poet's remains were transferred to the ancestral estate of Tarkhany and were buried in the family crypt next to his mother's grave on April 23, 1842.

In 1870, one of the first Russian researchers of Lermontov's work, Pyotr Kuzmich Martyanov, proposed in his article in the magazine "World Labor" to establish a monument to Lermontov in Pyatigorsk. This idea was supported by the contractor of the Caucasian Mineral Waters, Andrei Matveyevich Baikov. In 1871, permission was obtained from Emperor Alexander II to collect donations for the installation of a monument to the great Russian poet.

In 1881, a nationwide competition was announced for the creation of a monument to Lermontov in Pyatigorsk. The competition took place in three rounds. In the first round, 52 projects, 15 models, and 5 written proposals were presented, none of which received approval. The second round featured 65 projects, but none were suitable. In the third round, there were 15 models, and the winner was the famous portrait sculptor Alexander Mikhailovich Opekushin, the creator of the monument to Pushkin on Tverskoy Boulevard in Moscow.

Opekushin depicted Lermontov in a moment of poetic inspiration: the poet sits on a rock, his officer's coat unbuttoned, and his cloak has slipped off his shoulder. At Lermontov's feet lies an open book, fallen from his hands. The poet's gaze is directed into the distance, towards the Caucasian mountains and Elbrus. To achieve a portrait likeness, Opekushin used a watercolor self-portrait of Lermontov painted in 1837 and the only profile portrait of the poet made by Baron Pahlen in 1840.

The bronze statue, 2.35 meters tall, was cast in St. Petersburg at Morana's factory. The pedestal is made of light granite brought from Crimea.

The sculpture is installed on a granite pedestal resembling a rock. Behind the poet is Mount Mashuk, at the foot of which his earthly journey ended. In front of him, the Caucasian ridge and Elbrus. Lermontov is depicted in moments of inspiration, with an open book at his feet, and on the front of the pedestal, a bronze wreath, a lyre, and a feather. At the top of the pedestal is the inscription: "To M.Yu. Lermontov," and at the bottom, "August 16, 1889."