Irkutsk (English) Иркутск (Russian)
-  City[citation needed]  -
Irkutsk at night
Location of Irkutsk Oblast in Russia
Irkutsk Location of Irkutsk in Irkutsk Oblast
Coordinates: 52°18′44″N 104°17′45″E / 52.31222°N 104.29583°E / 52.31222; 104.29583Coordinates: 52°18′44″N 104°17′45″E / 52.31222°N 104.29583°E / 52.31222; 104.29583
Coat of arms	Flag
City Day	First Sunday of June[citation needed]
Administrative status (as of December 2011)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Irkutsk Oblast
Administratively subordinated to	City of Irkutsk[1]
Administrative center of	City of Irkutsk,[1] Irkutsky District,[1] Irkutsk Oblast[1]
Municipal status (as of December 2004)
Urban okrug	Irkutsk Urban Okrug[2]
Administrative center of	Irkutsk Urban Okrug[2]
Mayor[citation needed]	Viktor Kondrashov[citation needed]
Representative body	Duma[citation needed]
Statistics
Population (2010 Census, preliminary)	587,225 inhabitants[3]
- Rank in 2010	24th
Population (2002 Census)	593,604 inhabitants[4]
- Rank in 2002	24th
Time zone	IRKT (UTC+09:00)[5]
Founded	1661[6][citation needed]
Postal code(s)	664xxx[citation needed]
Dialing code(s)	+7 3952[7]
Official website

Irkutsk (Russian: Ирку́тск; IPA: [ɪrˈkutsk]) is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: 587,225 (2010 Census preliminary results);^[3] 593,604 (2002 Census);^[8] 622,301 (1989 Census).^[9].

History[link]

In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye (winter quarters) near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov built an ostrog nearby.^[6] The ostrog gained official town rights from the government in 1686. The first road connection between Moscow and Irkutsk, the Siberian Road, was built in 1760. The town benefited economically from this new road. Many new products, often imported from China via Kyakhta, became widely available in Irkutsk for the first time, including gold, diamonds, fur, wood, silk and tea. In 1821, as part of the Speransky reforms, Siberia was administratively divided at the Yenisei River and Irkutsk became the seat of the Governor-General of East Siberia.

Irkutsk Assembly of the Nobility in the early 1900s

In the early 19th century, many Russian artists, officers and nobles were sent into exile in Siberia for their part in the Decembrist revolt against Tsar Nicholas I. Irkutsk became the major center of intellectual and social life for these exiles, and much of the city's cultural heritage comes from them; many of their wooden houses, adorned with ornate, hand-carved decorations, survive today in stark contrast with the standard Soviet apartment blocks that surround them.

By the end of the 19th century, there was one exiled man for every two locals. People of varying backgrounds, from members of the Decembrist uprising to Bolsheviks, have been in Irkutsk for many years and have greatly influenced the culture and development of the city. As a result, Irkutsk eventually became a prosperous cultural and educational center for Eastern Siberia.

In 1879, on July 4 and 6, the palace of the (then) Governor General, the principal administrative and municipal offices and many of the other public buildings were destroyed by fire, and the government archives, the library and the museum of the Siberian section of the Russian Geographical Society were completely ruined. Three-quarters of the city was destroyed, including approximately four thousand houses. However, the city quickly rebounded, with electricity arriving in 1896, the first theater being built in 1897 and a major train station opened in 1898. The first train arrived in Irkutsk on August 16 of that year. By 1900, the city had earned the nickname of "The Paris of Siberia."

During the Russian Civil War that broke out after the Bolshevik Revolution, Irkutsk became the site of many furious, bloody clashes between the "Whites" and the "Reds". In 1920, Aleksandr Kolchak, the once-feared commander of the largest contingent of anti-Bolshevik forces, was executed in Irkutsk, effectively destroying the anti-Bolshevik resistance.

Irkutsk was the administrative center of the short-lived East Siberian Oblast, which existed from 1936 to 1937. Irkutsk subsequently became the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast after East Siberian Oblast was divided into Chita Oblast and Irkutsk Oblast.

During the Communist years, the industrialization of Irkutsk and Siberia in general was heavily encouraged. The large Irkutsk Reservoir was built on the Angara River between 1950 and 1959 in order to facilitate industrial development.

Epiphany Cathedral (built in 1718–1746)

The Epiphany Cathedral (left), the governor's palace, a school of medicine, a museum, a military hospital and the crown factories are among the public institutions and buildings. The Aleksandr Kolchak monument, designed by Vyacheslav Klykov, was unveiled in 2004. On July 27, 2004, the Irkutsk Synagogue (1881) was gutted by a conflagration.

Geography[link]

The city proper lies on the Angara River, a tributary of the Yenisei, 72 kilometers (45 mi) below its outflow from Lake Baikal and on the bank opposite the suburb of Glaskovsk. The river, 580 meters (1,900 ft) wide, is crossed by the Irkutsk Hydroelectric Dam and three other bridges downstream.

The Irkut River, from which the town takes its name, is a smaller river that joins the Angara directly opposite the city. The main portion of the city is separated from several landmarks—the monastery, the fort and the port, as well as its suburbs—by another tributary, the Ida (or Ushakovka) River. The two main parts of Irkutsk are customarily referred to as the "left bank" and the "right bank", with respect to the flow of the Angara river.

Irkutsk is situated in a landscape of rolling hills within the thick taiga that is typical of eastern Siberia.

According to the regional plan, Irkutsk city will be combined with its neighboring industrial towns of Shelekhov and Angarsk to form a metropolitan area with a total population of over a million.

Climate[link]

Irkutsk has a borderline humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dwb), just short of a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dwc), characterized by extreme variation of temperatures between seasons. Temperatures can be very warm in the summer, and very cold in the winter. However, Lake Baikal takes its effect, such that temperatures in Irkutsk are not as extreme as elsewhere in Siberia. The warmest month of the year in Irkutsk is July, when the mean temperature is +18 °C (64 °F), the highest temperature recorded being +37 °C (99 °F). The coldest month of the year is January, when the mean temperature is −18 °C (−0 °F). Precipitation also varies widely throughout the year, with the wettest month also being July, when precipitation averages 113 millimeters (4.4 in). The driest month is February, when precipitation averages only 7.6 millimeters (0.30 in). Almost all precipitation during the Siberian winter falls as fluffy, low moisture content snow.