The monument to Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, commander of the 17th Chernigov Hussar Regiment, which was formed in Oryol, has been erected in this city.

The history of the Chernigov Regiment dates back to the 17th century. The regiment was created from Cossacks under the leadership of Hetman Demyan Mnogogreshny and supported the Pereyaslav Treaty with Russia, signed by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. In 1783, it became known as the Chernigov Carabinier Regiment and joined the army of A.V. Suvorov. The regiment was disbanded in 1833, but was reformed in Oryol in 1896. In 1899, the Church of the Protection of the Holy Virgin of the Chernigov Regiment was built in Oryol. In 1907, the regiment was renamed the 17th Hussar Chernigov Regiment. In 1909, its commander became Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, brother of Emperor Nicholas II, who was shot by the Bolsheviks in June 1918. During the Civil War, the regiment fought on the side of the White Guard.

The initiative to erect a monument to Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich came from the Oryol branch of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society. The opening ceremony was attended by the chairman of the society, Sergey Stepashin. The bust of the grand duke was unveiled on August 23, 2016, near the former headquarters of the 17th Chernigov Hussar Regiment. The bronze bust, 2.7 meters tall, is mounted on a granite column. The sculptural composition, costing about 4 million rubles, was funded by Oryol philanthropists: A. Drogaitsev, A. Kasyanov, G. Mironov, S. Potyomkin, V. Stroeva, S. Feferov, and M. Yagelsky.