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Trans Siberian Destinations - Irkutsk, Russia

For more than 330 years Irkutsk has been standing at the south shore of Lake Baikal and for centuries people living in this city were conscious of the uniqueness of its location. The city is divided by the Angara - the only river carrying the precious Baikal waters into the world while more than 300 large, small and tiny mountain rivers flow into the lake.

It is not far from Lake Baikal, down the Angara river, where a Cossack detachment headed by Yakov Pokhabov founded in 1661 a log ostrog (fort), the heart of the city. It was at this time when Russia began developing vast expanses of Siberia, people came here in search of legendary treasures and by the end of the 17th century there were one thousand people living in Irkutsk: Cossacks, tradesmen, peasants, soldiers, minor officials and those who had been given life sentences in Siberia.

The city has lived through a lot of trouble during the three centuries of its history - waves of wars, revolts and revolutions swept as far as Siberia, earthquakes and fires kept changing the city's image. But still, Irkutsk has managed to preserve its singular look. The snow-white Church of the Savior and the Cathedral of Epiphany have survived since early days, and many log houses have become historical monuments.

During Soviet times Irkutsk was turned into a major center of power, of aluminium, pulp and paper industries and industrial chemistry, while the tsars' prisons for revolutionaries and criminals were turned into Stalin's “zones” for now rehabilitated dissidents and “public enemies”.

"Weathered by history and life," wrote Irkutsk writer Valentin Rasputin, "Irkutsk now stands, calm and wise, knowing its own value, moderately famous for its glory, past and present, cultured since olden times and traditionally hospitable..."

Where to stay in Irkutsk:
Hotels in Irkutsk, Apartments in Irkutsk, Homestay in Irkutsk

What to see in Irkutsk:
Lake Baikal

Irkutsk is part of the tours: