Irkutsk (city)

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.