Irkoutsk

Title

Irkoutsk

Description

View of the city Irkutsk in Sibiria.

ca. 1850

Artist

Chardon

Historical Description

Irkutsk is the capital of the Russian Irkutsk Oblast on the outflow of Lake Baikal, the Angara River. Irkutsk originated from a Cossack fort (Ostrog) established in 1661 by the Cossack leader Yakov Pochabov on the bank of the Angara River. In 1686 Irkutsk received the city charter. It was not until around 1760 that the Siberian Tract, the first road link between Moscow and Irkutsk, was completed, and the city developed into a hub for trade in the treasures of Siberia and imports from the Empire of China: furs, diamonds, gold, silk, tea, wood. With the trade boom, the city also developed into a remarkable center of science and culture. The city was the starting point of the first two expeditions of Vitus Bering in 1728. After the administrative reorganization of Siberia in 1822, Irkutsk became the seat of both a general governor and a local governor. The Soviet period saw increased development and industrialization of Siberia. Near Irkutsk, the Irkutsk Reservoir was created in the 1950s for the operation of a hydroelectric power plant as a significant element of the planned development of the Angara-Yenisei region.