Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, also known by the pseudonym Vladimir Sirin, was born on April 10, 1899, in St. Petersburg and died on July 2, 1977, in Montreux. He was a Russian and American writer, poet, translator, literary scholar, and entomologist. Nabokov was nominated multiple times for the Nobel Prize in Literature from 1963 to 1971.

The first monument to Nabokov in the world was erected in 1999 in the Swiss city of Montreux, in honor of the 100th anniversary of his birth. It is located on the lawn in front of the Le Montreux Palace hotel. Nabokov and his wife Vera moved to this resort town from the USA to be closer to their son, who was studying music in Italy, as well as to study local butterflies. From 1960 until his death in 1977, Nabokov lived in Montreux, primarily at the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace hotel, one of the most famous hotels on the Swiss Riviera.

The monument was created by the renowned sculptors, father and son Rukavishnikov, who are distant relatives of the writer. This was the diploma project of Philip Rukavishnikov, the son. The modest bronze sculpture depicts the thoughtful writer sitting on a Viennese chair, which, according to the author's intent, symbolizes Nabokov's choice between literature and entomology. After her husband's death, Vera Nabokov donated his collection of butterflies to the Zoological Museum of the University of Lausanne.