The sculptural complex dedicated to the Russian writer N.S. Leskov and the characters of his works was opened in Oryol on June 11, 1981, in the year of his 150th anniversary.

Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov was born in the village of Gorokhovo in the Oryol district of the Oryol province. He did not receive a good education but lived and worked in Oryol, Kyiv, Penza, and St. Petersburg. He began his literary career at the age of 26.

The monument is located on the banks of the Orlik River, near the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsky (Assumption) Cathedral, opposite the building of the former Oryol gymnasium, where the future writer studied. Leskov is depicted sitting on a bench with a rounded back and carved elements, surrounded by five bronze sculptural groups on one-and-a-half-meter columns. These groups represent the heroes of his works: "Lefty," "The Tailor and the Artist," "The Cathedral Folk," "The Enchanted Wanderer," and "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District." The sculptural composition turned out to be original and successfully integrated into the surrounding space.