The City of Irkutsk

The city of Irkutsk is one of the oldest and most attractive places in East Siberia.

The history of the city is fascinating. It began as a Cossack settlement in 1661. The new trading outpost was built near the confluence of the Angara and the Irkut rivers. There is a belief that the name of the city originates from the name of the river. The word Irkut came from the language of native Siberians – Вuryats, people of Mongolian physical type. It may be translated as a speedy, fast flowing river.

In 1686 Irkutsk received a town status. Since then Irkutsk has its own coat of arms on which animals are depicted: babr (a heraldic beast looking like a tiger) holding sable in its teeth, it is a symbol of Irkutsk power and wealth.

Now Irkutsk is the centre of East Siberia which is larger than any European country.

The centre of the city is Kirov Square framed by buildings of different periods and styles: the Angara hotel, the Regional Administration building, the City Duma, the State Bank, the Linguistic University and others. The historical centre is close to it and consists of three old churches: the Church of the Saviour (1710), the Epiphany Church (1723) and the Polish Catholic Church (1884). The Church of the Saviour is the only survivor of the Irkutsk Fort: it used to be part of its wall. These churches are the most ancient stone buildings in the whole of East Siberia. The War Memorial is also situated here. It was opened in May 1975, the year of the 30^th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War. The Eternal Flame burns in memory of Siberian soldiers who fought against fascists.

Today Irkutsk is an industrial city. There are 97 plants and factories here. The сity public transport numbers 10 trolleybus routes, 5 tram routes, 52 bus routes and a lot of minibuses.

Irkutsk is a city of highly developed science. It has many research and design institutes, some of them are in the Academic City. The main fields of scientific investigation are: the Sun, the Earth’s crust and other branches of geology; chemistry and biology, energy and Mathematics.

There are many different educational establishments in Irkutsk. The first higher educational institution in East Siberia was the Irkutsk State University. It was founded in 1918.

The city has 6 theatres, cinemas, a circus, a philharmonic society and a number of museums. The oldest of them, the History museum, shows the development of the native Siberian peoples. The houses of the Decembrists Sergei Trubetskoi and Sergei Volkonsky are open to visitors as museums now. In the Art Gallery one can see paintings and old copies of outstanding Russian and foreign artists.

The blend of new and past can be seen in every section of the city. Modern buildings stand side by side with old wooden houses decorated with fanciful carvings.

The residents of Irkutsk are proud of the city on the Angara river, the beautiful daughter of ancient Baikal. A great number of high capacity hydroelectric power stations were built on it. The Irkutsk hydroelectric power station was put into operation in 1959.

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Irkutsk	\|	Siberia

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