During the Great Patriotic War, the daily bread ration in Arkhangelsk was reduced to 125 grams per person in some months, which corresponded to the minimum norm in besieged Leningrad. Arkhangelsk had the second highest number of starvation deaths in the USSR after Leningrad. This occurred despite thousands of tons of food passing through its port via lend-lease. From 1941 to 1944, 38,000 people died in Arkhangelsk from hunger and disease, which was one in every seven of the pre-war population of 281,000.

To improve food supplies, hunting expeditions for seals were conducted in the White and Barents Seas. The meat, fat, and skins of these animals saved thousands of people from hunger and cold not only in Arkhangelsk and its surroundings but also in Leningrad. More than a thousand tons of food and medical fat from seal blubber were sent from Arkhangelsk to Leningrad to mitigate the effects of the blockade. Additionally, seal fat was used to lubricate weapons on ships of the Northern Fleet.

The idea of erecting a monument to the seal-savior emerged immediately after the war, but its construction was delayed for several decades, even though the issue was raised repeatedly. In the early 2000s, the initiative to create the monument was supported by the city public organization "Children Burned by War." 3.1 million rubles were allocated from the city budget for its creation, and the residents of Arkhangelsk donated about 300,000 rubles. A capsule with the names of those who contributed to its creation was laid at the base of the monument.

The sculpture, weighing about 900 kg, was cast in bronze at the "Lit Art" plant in Zhukovsky (Moscow region). The pedestal made of white granite from the Mansurovskoye deposit was manufactured by the "Ural Stones" company in Uchaly (Bashkortostan). The monument is engraved with the inscription: "Oh, how many people you saved from hunger and cold."