In Irkutsk, we paused our Trans-Siberian journey to spend two days exploring, albeit briefly, this remote city and the nearby world heritage Lake Baikal. Irkutsk is called the ‘Paris of Siberia’ for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it served as an exile for many Russian artists, officers, and ‘nobles’ deported to Siberia for their part in the revolt against Tsar Nicholas I in 1825. Those exiles brought their culture with them to Irkutsk and it has grown since then.
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| The Angara River |
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| Cossack, Yakob Pokhabov 1661 |
Irkutsk was first settled by Russians in 1661 when the Russian pioneer, a Cossak, Yakov Pokhabov founded a wooden fort on the banks of the River Angara opposite the mouth of the River Irkut. The fort, and subsequent city, was named Irkutsk after the latter river. A matter of decades later, it received status as a city and, along with that, its own coat of arms which depicts a
Babr, a legendary tiger, with a Sable in its mouth. This coupling symbolised strength and victory. Of course Russia didn't discover the region. In fact, the whole of what is referrred to as Siberia had been populated for millennia by different tribal groups from the northern taiga to Mongolia and Manchuria. The two largest indigenous groups are the Buryats and Yakuts who still populate the area although as a minority group. Once mighty nomadic herders and hunters, their cultures and languages were forbidden during the Soviet period and as a result, there is a struggle to revive them.
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| The mighty fearsome Babr with a Sable in its mouth - a symbol of Irkutsk |
Our guide was a university student and very much a revolutionary I think (he spent a fair bit of time on the phone to ‘colleagues’ – we think organising a ‘demonstration’). He was, however, a fount of knowledge about the region and its history (I pause here to say that Sundowners Overland organised guides at every place we stopped on this trip, and they were all very good). We crammed in as much as we could about the region's, and in fact, Siberia's history from early and extant tribal and pagan cultures, through the introduction of Christianity and Buddhism in C17, the Soviet period in C20, and finally, to the present time of renewal.
The only evidence we saw of Buddhism was in a wonderful museum of local history, but churches abound. We came across quite a few and they are iconic with their onion domes. One we just poked our heads into, a glorious old Orthodox Church, because there was a service in progress, but it was rather stunning. Standing like a star in Irkutsk's crown is the Epiphany Cathedral. The first one built in the late 1600s was wooden and burnt down, only to be replaced by a glorious structure completed in the 1740s.
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| Wonderful frescos or mosaics - I think the Church of the Holy Cross |
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| Epiphany Cathedral |
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| Stunning frescos covered every wall that wasn't covered in gilt and icons |
From the glorious gold-crown churches to the folksy wooden architecture of Siberia, Irkutsk is a place of contrasts.
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| The fretwork and decorations on some of the wooden houses was beautifully detailed |
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| Some older wooden structures are sinking into the groundm perhaps due to melting permafrost below. |
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| Traditional wooden structure being built beside a newer style |
One place I could have spent many more hours was the Regional Museum of Local Lore. It was a treasure trove of ancient cultures, indigenous people and their practices. I couldn't piossibly describe it all, and my photos were poor because of the reflections off the glass cases but suffice to say it was an amazing and riveting place. The displays are excellent and the signage quite good. We saw only the ground floor and that was hard to take in on one visit. I would definitely return and highly recommend it - if you are that way inclined - and if ever we get to return to travel in Russia (not looking promising). Shamanism sat side by side with Buddhism and the museum's collection of minerals and gems - most impressive. Siberian Emerald, a raw chunky gorgeous green and Charoite, a diffuse purple silicate mineral, which was only discovered in 1978 to the north of Irkutsk. Siberia is the only place in the world it has been found. Of course I bought a piece!
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| A small sample of charoite, a pretty mineral only found in Siberia |
Out in a corner at the front of the museum was a large stone. One can easily walk past lumps of rock - except me! This was an Ivolginsky Olenny Stone, sometimes referred to as a 'deer stone'. Dating back to C1 BC, it is a manuscript stone with messages or directions carved in its surface. It symbolises a connection between the Baikal area and the nomadic cultural world of Central Asia. It was brought to Irkutsk in 1890.
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