During the Great Northern War on September 29, 1710, the Swedish garrison in Reval (now Tallinn) surrendered to the Russian troops commanded by Peter I. A century later, it was planned to commemorate this event, but the Baltic administration showed little desire to erect a monument to the conquering tsar. However, by the 200th anniversary, the situation had changed.

In the City Duma, which replaced the magistrates, the Baltic Germans lost their leading positions, and the need for a monument was no longer in doubt. In 1908, a special commission was created to organize the work. Emperor Nicholas II granted permission for a nationwide fundraising campaign. Reval allocated 25,000 rubles from the city budget. Various locations for the monument were considered: the square near the Town Hall, Kadriorg, and the Hay Market. Ultimately, the last was chosen as it was spacious and undeveloped.

On September 27, 1909, the first stone of the monument's foundation was laid in Reval, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava, which opened the way to the Baltic. In the summer of 1910, the details of the monument began to arrive in the Estonian capital. In early July, the pedestal, a granite block weighing almost 50 tons, was delivered by sea from Finland. It was moved using winches and rollers, which took three weeks. Residents learned daily from the newspapers how many fathoms the pedestal had advanced.

The statue of Peter was cast in Paris and arrived by sea by the end of August. By this time, part of the former Hay Market had been paved with cobblestones. The monument was installed in the southern part of the current Freedom Square, along the boulevard leading to the Kaarli Church. The monument was surrounded by an iron fence with four lanterns.

The height of the pedestal was about three meters, and the monument itself was about five meters tall. Peter's face was turned towards Harju Street. In one hand, he held a telescope, and in the other, a plan of Reval.

The solemn opening of the monument took place on September 29, 1910. Troops from the garrison, firefighters, and students lined up in Peter's Square. Some military units were in uniforms from Peter's time. Three tribunes were filled with invited guests and spectators.

In the early 1920s, the monument still stood in the center of Tallinn's parade square, but calls to remove the statue of the conquering tsar increasingly appeared in the Estonian press. In 1922, the city budget found 35,000 marks for the dismantling. On the night of May 1, the monument was taken down and transported to Kadriorg. For several years, it was located behind Peter's cottage.

In 1925, the figure was cut: the lower part was melted down, and the bust was transferred to the exhibition at Peter's cottage, where it was kept for more than 10 years. In 1935, it was placed on a small pedestal near the tsar's cottage. When construction work began, the bust was moved under the slope of Lasnamägi.

According to legend, the lower part of the monument was melted down into small coins, the Estonian cents, and it was rumored that Peter's feet continued to walk across the country. Documents regarding the further fate of the bust are absent. According to some oral reports, the bust was melted down during the Nazi occupation. It may have been taken to Germany along with other valuables and lost.