Irkutsk
City in southern Siberian Russia, capital of Irkutsk oblast (region); population (2003 est) 594,400. Irkutsk is situated near Lake Baikal on the River Angara; there is a large hydroelectric station near the city. Coal is mined here, while manufactured goods include iron, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles, textiles, and machine tools. Its industrial development dates from the arrival of the Trans-Siberian railway in 1898.
History
Irkutsk was founded
c. 1650 as a Cossack fort. It became a town in 1686 and capital of East Siberia in 1822. From the late 17th century, it was the main base for trade with Yakut, Buryats, Mongol, and Chinese merchants. It became a place of internal banishment in the 18th century. From the 1850s, Irkutsk was the base for the Russian advance into the Far East, and it experienced a boom with the discovery of the Lena goldfields in the 1880s. The city was was extensively damaged by fire in 1879. In the Russian Civil War, Irkutsk was a White stronghold, and only fell to the Bolsheviks in 1920. It underwent rapid development during the 1930s.
| There is a university and a branch of the Academy of Sciences in the city. |
Irkutsk
| Oblast (region) of the Russian Federation, in southeastern Siberia; area 767,900 sq km/296,486 sq mi; population (1996) 2,795,000 (79% urban). The capital city is Irkutsk. The region is located on the north and western shores of Lake Baikal and has large coal, iron ore, gold, salt, and mica deposits. |
| Other cities in the region include Angarsk, Bratsk, and Cheremkhovo. The region is situated on the central Siberian uplands, with a severe continental climate and permafrost layer, and is extensively covered with coniferous forests. Industries include mining of coal, iron ore, and gold; lumbering; engineering and chemical production; electricity generation (on the River Angara); agricultural activities include fur trapping, fishing, grain growing, and cattle breeding. The area was formerly notorious for banishment of political exiles into forced labour camps. |
