Irkutsk Oblast (russian: Ирку́тская о́бласть, Irkutskaya oblast; bua, Эрхүү можо, Erkhüü mojo) is a
federal subject
The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation (russian: субъекты Российской Федерации, subyekty Rossiyskoy Federatsii) or simply as the subjects of the federation (russian ...
of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
(an
oblast
An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...
), located in southeastern
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
in the basins of the
Angara,
Lena
Lena or LENA may refer to:
Places
* Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso
* Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada
* Lena, Norway, a village in ...
, and
Nizhnyaya Tunguska River
The Nizhnyaya Tunguska ( rus, Ни́жняя Тунгу́ска, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪjə tʊnˈɡuskə, meaning "Lower Tunguska") is a river in Siberia, Russia, that flows through the Irkutsk Oblast and the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The river is a right tribut ...
s. The
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
is the
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
of
Irkutsk. It borders the
Republic of Buryatia and the
Tuva Republic
Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...
in the south and southwest, which separate it from
Khövsgöl Province
Khövsgöl ( mn, Хөвсгөл) is the northernmost of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The name is derived from Lake Khövsgöl.
Geography and history
The round-topped Tarvagatai, Bulnain and Erchim sub-ranges of the Khangai massif do ...
in
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
;
Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Si ...
in the west; the
Sakha Republic in the northeast; and
Zabaykalsky Krai
Zabaykalsky Krai ( rus, Забайкальский край, r=Zabaikal'skii krai, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲskʲɪj kraj, lit. " Transbaikal krai"; bua, Yбэр Байгалай хизаар, Uber Baigalai Xizaar) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai ...
in the east. It had a population of 2,428,750 at the
2010 Census.
Geography
![Bgisu P5200477 ss](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Bgisu_P5200477_ss.jpg)
Irkutsk Oblast borders with the
Republic of Buryatia and the
Tuva Republic
Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...
in the south and southwest, with
Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Si ...
in the west, with the
Sakha Republic in the northeast, and with
Zabaykalsky Krai
Zabaykalsky Krai ( rus, Забайкальский край, r=Zabaikal'skii krai, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲskʲɪj kraj, lit. " Transbaikal krai"; bua, Yбэр Байгалай хизаар, Uber Baigalai Xizaar) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai ...
in the east.
The unique and world-famous
Lake Baikal is located in the southeast of the region. It is drained by the
Angara, which flows north across the province; the outflow rate is controlled by the
Irkutsk Dam. The two other major dams on the Irkutsk Oblast's section of the Angara are
at Bratsk and
Ust-Ilimsk
Ust-Ilimsk ( rus, Усть-Илимск, p=usʲtʲ ɪˈlʲimsk) is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River. Population: 53,000 (1977).
History
An '' ostrog'' (fortress) was built on the present site of the town in the ...
; both forming large reservoirs. The
Lena
Lena or LENA may refer to:
Places
* Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso
* Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada
* Lena, Norway, a village in ...
has its source in Irkutsk Oblast as well, and flows north-east into the neighboring Sakha Republic.
Irkutsk Oblast consists mostly of the hills and broad valleys of the
Central Siberian Plateau
The Central Siberian Plateau (russian: Среднесибирское плоскогорье, Srednesibirskoye ploskogorye; sah, Орто Сибиир хаптал хайалаах сирэ) is a vast mountainous area in Siberia, one of the Gre ...
, with the
Lena-Angara Plateau
The Lena-Angara Plateau ( rus, Лено-Ангарское плато), is a plateau in Siberia. Administratively it is in the Irkutsk Oblast, Russian Federation. The plateau is named after the Lena and Angara rivers, of which it forms the waters ...
. The
Primorsky Range
The Primorsky Range (russian: Приморский хребет) is a range of mountains in Southern Siberia, part of the South Siberian Mountains. Administratively the range belongs to the Irkutsk Oblast, Federal subjects of Russia, Russian Feder ...
and the
Baikal Mountains
The Baikal Mountains or Baikal Range (russian: Байкальский хребет, ''Bajkaljskij hrebet''; bua, Байгалай дабаан, ''Baigalai dabaan'') are a mountain range that rises steeply over the northwestern shore of Lake Bai ...
stretch along Lake Baikal, and in the northeast rise the
North Baikal Highlands
The North Baikal Highlands ( rus, Северо-Байкальское нагорье; bua, Хойто-Байгалай хадалиг газар) and the
Patom Plateau
The Patom Highlands ( rus, Патомское нагорье) are a mountainous area in Eastern Siberia, Russia. Administratively most of the territory of the uplands is part of Irkutsk Oblast, with a smaller section in northern Transbaikal Krai. ...
.
Climate
The climate varies from warm summer
continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' ( ...
in the south to continental-subarctic in the northern part (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: ''Dwc''). For almost half the year, from mid-October until the beginning of April, the average temperature is below . Winters are very cold, with average high temperatures in Irkutsk of and average lows of in January. Summers are warm but short: the average high in July is and the average low is . However, by September, the weather cools down significantly to an average daily high of and an average daily low of . More than half of all
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
falls in the
summer months, with the wettest month being July, with of rain. January is the driest month, with only of precipitation. Annual precipitation averages .
History
Mongolic-related
Slab Grave cultural monuments survive in
Baikal
Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Rep ...
territory. The territory of
Buryatia came under the control of the
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...
Empire (209 BC – 93 CE), of the Mongolian
Xianbei state
The Xianbei state or Xianbei confederation was a nomadic empire which existed in modern-day Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, northern Xinjiang, Northeast China, Gansu, Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, Tuva, Altai Republic and eastern Kaza ...
(93–234), of the
Rouran Khaganate (330–555), of the
Göktürk Khaganate (555-603), of the
Eastern Turkic Khaganate
The Eastern Turkic Khaganate () was a Turkic khaganate formed as a result of the internecine wars in the beginning of the 7th century (AD 581–603) after the First Turkic Khaganate (founded in the 6th century in the Mongolian Plateau by ...
(603-744), of the
Uyghur Khaganate
The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; otk, 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Toquz Oγuz budun, Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic empire that e ...
(744-847), of the
Yenisei Kyrgyz
The Yenisei Kyrgyz ( otk, 𐰶𐰃𐰺𐰴𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Qyrqyz bodun), were an ancient Turkic people who dwelled along the upper Yenisei River in the southern portion of the Minusinsk Depression from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th ...
(847-1219), of the
Mongol Empire (1206–1368) and of the
Northern Yuan
The Northern Yuan () was a dynastic regime ruled by the Mongol Borjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen-led Later Jin ...
(1368–1691).
[History of Mongolia, Volume II, 2003]
Medieval Mongol tribes like the
Merkit
The Merkit (literally ''"skillful/wise ones"''; mn, ᠮᠡᠷᠬᠢᠳ ; Мэргид, translit=, Mergid; ) was one of the five major tribal confederations (''khanlig'') of probably Mongol ,
Bayads
The Bayad (Mongol: Баяд/Bayad, ''lit. "the Riches"'') is the fourth largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia and they are a tribe in Four Oirats. Baya'ud were a prominent clan within the Mongol Empire. Baya'ud can be found in b ...
,
Barga Mongols
The Barga (Mongol: Барга; ) are a subgroup of the Buryats which gave its name to the Baikal region – "Bargujin-Tukum" (Bargujin Tökhöm) – "the land's end", according to the 13th-14th centuries Mongol people's conception.
History
In th ...
and
Tümed
The Tümed (Tumad, ; "The many or ten thousands" derived from Tumen) are a Mongol subgroup. They live in Tumed Left Banner, district of Hohhot and Tumed Right Banner, district of Baotou in China. Most engage in sedentary agriculture, living in ...
s inhabited Buryatia.
Today
Buryat-Mongols remain in the territory of the oblast.
Russian presence in the area dates from the 17th century: the
Russian Tsardom
The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I in ...
expanded eastward following the
conquest of the Khanate of Sibir in 1582. By the end of the 17th century, Irkutsk had become a small town, monasteries were being built, and suburbs and agricultural settlements had started to form.
From the 18th century trades and crafts began to develop, and gold- and silver-smiths appeared. As the Russian state expanded to the east of Irkutsk, the city became the capital of enormous territories from the
Yenisey River
The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas: Ким суғ, ''Kim suğ''; Ket: Ӄук, ...
to the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
, and played an important role in the exploration and securing of vast Eastern-Siberian and Far-Eastern territories for Russia. Gradually, Irkutsk gained more importance as the main transportation- and trade-center of Eastern Siberia; it became a center of trade routes from
Kamchatka
The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and west ...
,
Chukotka,
Yakutia
Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far E ...
to
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
, and
China. The administrative importance of the city also increased, and it became a center of a fifth of the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
s of Siberia; in 1764 it became the center of an independent province, the
Irkutsk Governorate.
For Irkutsk the 18th century was a time of research expeditions. Some of the organization of
Vitus Bering
Vitus Jonassen Bering (baptised 5 August 1681 – 19 December 1741),All dates are here given in the Julian calendar, which was in use throughout Russia at the time. also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering, was a Danish cartographer and explorer in ...
's
first
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
(1725–1730) and
second (1733-1743) expeditions to the shores of Kamchatka took place in Irkutsk.
A merchant class developed in the city of Irkutsk. In the second half of the eighteenth century, the Irkutsk industrial and merchant companies of
Golikov Golikov (russian: Голиков) is a Russian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Golikova. It may refer to
* Aleksandr Golikov (born 1952), Russian-Soviet ice hockey player
* (1931—2010), Russian malacologist
* Angelina Golikova (bo ...
, Trapeznikov, , , began to explore the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...
and later
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
. In 1799 the merchant companies came together in a
Russian-American Company
The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty (russian: Под высочайшим Его Императорского Величества покровительством Российская-Американс ...
"for the trades on the territory of the Aleutian and
Kuril islands
The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
and the rest of the
North-Eastern sea, belonging to Russia by the right of discovery".
Grigorii Ivanovich Shelikhov, an outstanding seafarer, played an important role in controlling enormous spaces of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. He founded the first colonies of
Russian America
Russian America (russian: Русская Америка, Russkaya Amerika) was the name for the Russian Empire's colonial possessions in North America from 1799 to 1867. It consisted mostly of present-day Alaska in the United States, but a ...
through the
Shelikhov-Golikov Company
The Shelikhov-Golikov Company (SGC) was a Russian fur trading venture, founded by Irkutsk entrepreneurs Grigory Shelikhov and Ivan Larionovich Golikov in 1783. Formed in Eastern Siberia during the 1780s along with several competing companies, ...
. In 1727 the Russian Orthodox Church established the Irkutsk
Eparchy
Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...
.
During the 18th century, schools, professional-technical education colleges, science museums, libraries, theaters, and book-printers developed in Irkutsk. Educational and cultural organizations opened. In 1725 the first school in Eastern Siberia, attached to the (founded in 1672), opened, and in 1754 sea (navigation) schools and secondary schools opened throughout the Irkutsk area. The 1780s saw the opening of the second public library in provincial towns in Russia, as well as a regional museum and an amateur theater. In Irkutsk outstanding citizens appeared, still remembered today. These included the architect, geographer and historian (1765–1829), the writer (1797–1863), and the teacher Semyon Semyonovich Schukin (1789—1863). Siberian science buildings opened. A.G. Laxman,
Lomonosov's apprentice, one of the first Siberian mineralogists, worked in Irkutsk.
The city landscape of Irkutsk was changing. The of 1706 (one of the oldest stone buildings in Eastern Siberia), the unique (1747), the "
Prikaz
A prikaz (russian: прика́з, ''prikaz''; , plural: ) was an administrative, judicial, territorial, or executive office functioning on behalf of palace, civil, military, or church authorities in Muscovy and in Russia from the 15th to the 1 ...
naya izba" (order house), the first stone construction, and the Triumph gate were built.
In the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century, Irkutsk Province gradually increased in importance as a center of trade, craft, and culture. It became the center of Russian trade with China and, from the 1830s, a gold-manufacturing center of Eastern Siberia. In 1803 Irkutsk became the center of the Siberian
Governorate-General, and in 1822 it became the center of the
Eastern Siberian Governorate-General. The Governors-General of Eastern Siberia greatly influenced the development of the city.
Irkutsk merchants explored the
Yeniseysky and
Leno-Vitimsky gold regions and substantially increased their capital, which made them the richest merchants in Siberia. The Irkutsk merchant class began to play a major role in the city's development. Intensive city construction took place. Private residences, hospitals, orphanages, and schools were built, while significant funds went towards education and the development of science in the region.
The architecture of the city of Irkutsk underwent change. The , done in Russian classic style in 1800–1804, and the – a monument of the nineteenth century, were built in honor of the tenth anniversary of
Alexander I's reign.
In the second half of the nineteenth century the book printing were released in Irkutsk, the first newspapers being, “Irkutsk province news” and “Amur”. The names of A.P.Schapov, M.B.Zagoskin, V.I.Vagin were connected with the newspaper “Siberia”. In 1851, the first scientific organization in Eastern Siberia – the Siberian branch of Russian geographical society, was opened. In 1877, it was called the Eastern-Siberian branch. V.I.Dybovskii, A.L.Chekanovskii, I.D.Cherskii, V.A.Obruchev, geologists, geographers and researchers of Siberia, worked in Irkutsk Oblast on exploring
Lake Baikal and the
Lena River.
The summer of 1879 could be considered to be a dramatic period in the city of Irkutsk's history. During a July 22–24 fire almost all the central parts of the city were burnt, and more than two thirds of city buildings and 75 city districts were destroyed. The city began to revive, getting a new look. Stone and wooden constructions built after the fire have been preserved up to the present day. In 1898 the arrival of the first train via the
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...
to Irkutsk Oblast was a major event. The construction of the
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...
contributed to further city development.
Several politically exiled figures were connected with Irkutsk city. Among the first of the exiled was A.N. Radischev, who lived in Irkutsk for more than 3 months. Since the 1830s, the Decembrists lived in settlements and in colonies in the Irkutsk Oblast. The exiled houses of Volkonsky and Trubetskoy later became house-museums. N. A. Panov, I. V. Podzhio, A. Z. Muravyov, P. A. Mukhanov, A. P. Yushnevsky, V. A. Bechasnov, the wife of Trubetskoy and their children stayed in Irkutsk for the rest of their lives. In the late 1850s, the Petrashevtzy appeared in Irkutsk. The exiled historian-democrat, A.P. Schapov, lived here until his last days, and the Polish rebels and revolutionaries (including the ''narodnik'') also lived here.
A well-known Russian publicist of the nineteenth century, N. Shelgunov, wrote about Irkutsk: “Irkutsk is the only Siberian city, which has the city character. ...As England created London, France - Paris, Siberia – created Irkutsk. Siberia is proud of Irkutsk, “not to see this city” means “not to see Siberia”.
In the early nineteenth century the city was considerably changed, especially its center. Large buildings were being built, mason streets were being made, cab drivers and street lights appeared. The water supply and the first electrification stations were built. The Irkutsk Regional museum was stamped with the names of Siberian researchers on its walls (1883), the building of the first public community, city theater (1897), Kazan' cathedral, made in new Byzantine style (1893), and the Roman Catholic cathedral (1895) completed an architectural style of the city. In 1908 a monument to
Alexander III was opened on the Angara embankment.
The city was damaged and influenced by the political events of the twentieth century – the Russian revolution, the 1917
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...
, the Civil war and the Great Patriotic War (as the Soviet Union's part in WW2 is commonly referred to in Russia. This is distinct from WW2, in that it began with Operation Barbarossa, whereas WW2 began with the invasion of Poland).
Since the 1930s the industrial construction of the city had begun. Mechanical engineering plants, the air plant, brick and concrete plants, tea fabric, and food industry plants were being built. Economic development of the city contributed to scientific, educational and cultural development. The first Higher education in Eastern Siberia,
Irkutsk State University
Irkutsk State University (russian: Ирку́тский госуда́рственный университе́т) was founded in October 1918 in Irkutsk, Siberia. Nowadays Irkutsk State University is a large scientific and educational institu ...
was founded in 1918. Its departments were developing as independent institutes: medical, pedagogical, finance-economical. In 1930 the metallurgic institute was opened, in 1934 the agricultural institute was organized.
Since the 1950s a rapid development of the city of Irkutsk took place. In 1947 streetcar routes were opened in the city and trolleybus routes were opened in 1972. In 1958 a TV center was established. The city's larger districts and micro regions construction period began. New districts such as Baykalsky, Solnechny, Yubileyny, Primorsky, Akademgorodok and others were created.
Administrative divisions
Economy
![Ust-Ilimsk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Ust-Ilimsk.jpg)
The main industries of Irkutsk Oblast are metals, energy, logging, oil and fuels, machine-building, chemicals, food industry, and hydroelectricity. The average wages in Irkutsk Oblast are 10% higher than in Russia overall.
Politics
During the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Irkutsk CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the Oblast administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected
regional parliament.
The Charter of Irkutsk Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The
Legislative Assembly of Irkutsk Oblast is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter in accordance with the
Constitution of Russia
The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993. Russia's constitution came into force on 25 December 1993, at the moment of its official publication, and abolished the Soviet system of gov ...
.
Demographics
Population:
The oblast is very thinly populated, with a population density of 3.5 people per square kilometer, compared to a national average of 8.7.
Irkutsk is the administrative center and largest city, with 612,973 residents. Other large cities are
Bratsk (238,825 people),
Angarsk
Angarsk ( rus, Ангарск, p=ɐnˈgarsk) is a city and the administrative center of Angarsky District of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kitoy River, from Irkutsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
History
It wa ...
(229,592 people),
Ust-Ilimsk
Ust-Ilimsk ( rus, Усть-Илимск, p=usʲtʲ ɪˈlʲimsk) is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River. Population: 53,000 (1977).
History
An '' ostrog'' (fortress) was built on the present site of the town in the ...
(83,635 people), and
Usolye-Sibirskoye
Usolye-Sibirskoye ( rus, Усолье-Сибирское, p=ʊˈsolʲjə sʲɪˈbʲirskəjə) is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Angara River. Population:
History
It was founded in 1669 under the name ''Usolye'' ...
(80,331 people).
Most of the population are
ethnic Russians
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118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
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. A minority group, the
Buryats, have a special
Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug
Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug (russian: Усть-Орды́нский Буря́тский о́круг; bua, Усть-Ордын (Усть-Ордагай) Буряадай тойрог ), or Ust-Orda Buryatia, is an administrative division of Irkuts ...
inside the oblast. Russians and other Slavic/Germanic groups make up 93.5% of the population, according to the 2010 Census, while Buryats are 3.3%.
Tofalars
The Tofalar (Тофалары, тофа (tofa) in Russian; formerly known as карагасы or Karagas) or Tofa people, are a Turkic people in the Irkutsk Oblast in Russia. Their ethnonym contains the Turkic plural suffix -lar, thus it means " ...
number 837, an increase from 722 in 1989.
One small ethnic group, concentrated in three villages (Pikhtinsk, Sredne-Pikhtinsk, and Dagnik) in
Zalarinsky District
Zalarinsky District (russian: Залари́нский райо́н) is an administrative district, one of the thirty-three in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia.Charter of Irkutsk Oblast Municipally, it is incorporated as Zalarinsky Municipal District.Law # ...
is the so-called "Bug Hollanders": descendants of Polish-speaking
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
farmers who had moved to Siberia from the then Russian
Volhynia
Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...
in 1911–1912 in search of affordable land. Although they had long lost German (or Dutch) language of their ancestors (even in the early twentieth century they spoke Ukrainian and read Polish), they were still considered
ethnic Germans, and during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
were usually drafted for work in labor camps, instead of front-line military service.
Irkutsk Oblast registered natural population growth in 2008, the first time after 1993. Still, the future prospects for population growth in Irkutsk seems bleak. In 2007, women in Irkutsk were having an average of 1.602 children each. Fertility rate was extremely low in urban areas, where women were having just 1.477 children each. In rural areas however, the fertility rate was slightly above replaceable levels. In rural areas of Irkutsk Oblast, women were having an average of 2.165 children each. (Figures are not available for 2008, although for Russia as a whole fertility rates for 2008 were approx. 6% higher than that in 2007, and for Irkutsk 9% higher).
;Vital statistics for 2012
*Births: 38 516 (15.9 per 1000)
*Deaths: 33 495 (13.8 per 1000)
*Total fertility rate:
2009: 1.88 , 2010: 1.82 , 2011: 1.86 , 2012: 1.97 , 2013: 1.98 , 2014: 1.97 , 2015: 2.01 , 2016: 1.98(e)
Vital statistics
*Population: 2,424,456 (2012)
*Urban Pop: 1,929,263 (2012)
*Rural Pop: 495,193 (2012)
*Births: 36,935(2010)
*Birth rate: 15.2 (2010)
*Urban Birth Rate: 14.2 (2010)
*Rural Birth Rate: 19.1 (2010)
*Deaths: 35,105 (2010)
*Death rate: 14.4 (2010)
*Urban Death Rate: 14.1 (2010)
*Rural Death Rate: 15.7 (2010)
*
TFR: 1.768 children per women. (2009)
*Urban
TFR: 1.611 children per women. (2009)
*Rural
TFR: 2.421 children per women. (2009)
*Natural Growth Rate: +0.11% per year (+0.01% in Urban areas & +0.34% in Rural areas).
Religion
According to a 2012 survey
28.1% of the population of Irkutsk Oblast adheres to the
Russian Orthodox Church
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, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
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, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
, 7% are
unaffiliated generic
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
, 6% are Orthodox Christian believers without belonging to any church or are members of other (non-Russian)
Orthodox church
Orthodox Church may refer to:
* Eastern Orthodox Church
* Oriental Orthodox Churches
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
* State church of the Roman Empire
* True Orthodox church
See also
* Orthodox (di ...
es, 2% of the population adheres to the
Slavic native faith
The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery
* bg, Родноверие, translit=Rоdnoverie
* bs, Rodnovjerje
* mk, Родноверие, translit=Rodnoverie
* cz, Rodnověří
* hr, Rodnovjerje
* pl, Rodzimowierstwo; Rodzima ...
(Rodnovery), and 1% to
Islam. In addition, 37% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 17% is
atheist, and 1.9% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.
See also
*
Music of Irkutsk
*
List of Chairmen of the Legislative Assembly of Irkutsk Oblast
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
Further reading
*Brumfield, William. ''Irkutsk: Architectural Heritage in Photographs'' (Moscow: Tri Kvadrata Publishing, 2006)
External links
Official website of Irkutsk OblastKommersant.com Information about Irkutsk Oblast.
*
*
{{Authority control
States and territories established in 1937
Oblasts of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Oblasts of Russia