Rotaract International Week in Russia

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Transfer information: how to get to Irkutsk
Irkutsk Region: tourist information on the places that you will visit

Transfer information

Despite its virginity and remoteness, the region is well connected with both Europe and Asia. From west to east it is crossed by the famous Trans-Siberian Railway that extends from Moscow to the Pacific Ocean. There is an international airport in Irkutsk from where in a few hours one can get to Europe and Asia.

Everyday trains leave Moscow for Irkutsk, and continue to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) and Beijing (China). It takes about 100 hours to get to Irkutsk from Moscow by train. Russian air companies offer four flights daily from Moscow to Irkutsk. There are two regular flights from Irkutsk to Shenyang, China, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and there are flights to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as well.

Moscow

The city of Moscow is believed to be about 860 years old. Many centuries ago the town was built on seven hills. Now Moscow is a real metropolis, the population is over 10 million. It is considered to be the world's fifth largest city. Starting from the beginning of the 1990s Moscow has rapidly become a modern European capital. The city is undergoing a real construction boom: hundreds of buildings are being reconstructed and repaired, new trade, entertainment, and business centers are being erected; bridges and junctions are being built.
Moscow has over 60 museums, among which the most popular is the Kremlin. There used to be nearly 500 churches in Moscow. Now about 150 of them are operating and about 100 are under reconstruction. The most impressive monuments are: the Cathedral of St. Basil (on Red Square), the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and the complex of Novodevichy Convent.

Irkutsk Region

The Irkutsk region is one of the largest and most beautiful regions in Russia. It is a whole country within Eastern Siberia - its territory is 1.5 times larger than that of France; from west to east it extends 1,300 kilometers, from north to south -1,500 kilometers. In this vast space one can find many areas in absolutely untouched, primordial condition - as it was when created by God. In the south There lie the Sayan mountains, similar to the Alps (with heights up to 3000 meters), but with very different climate and flora. In the north, there are boundless taiga forests and wide rivers with the Lena at the head, bringing its waters to the Arctic Ocean. In the central area there exist extensive green steppes where ancient nomads - cattle breeders and hunters - left many monuments, burial sites, and cave drawings.

Irkutsk is the capital of the region - an ancient city with a rich history. It is the trade, industrial and cultural center of Eastern Siberia, where before the Revolution of 1917 the residence of the Siberian General-Governor was located. It is an old intersection on the way from Europe to Asia with a population of almost 700,000 people, about 30 universities and colleges, six theaters (the oldest one is 150 years old), museums, art galleries, churches (the oldest one, Spasskaya, is about 300 years old), and numerous historical monuments. Irkutsk is one of the cultural centers of Siberia. Many wonderful writers, actors, artists, and musicians, well-known in Russia and abroad, lived here. There are concert halls, including an Organ Music Hall, a symphony orchestra, and theaters for children and grown-ups. Many famous historical personalities lived in Irkutsk or visited this city. The Art museum boasts an impressive collection of icons from the XVI - XIX centuries, along with rare wooden sculptures of Russian saints. Spasskaya Church, built in 1710, is the only building left from Irkutsk Ostrog. In 1762 Znamenskaya Church was built. It combined elements of baroque and Old Russian decor, and Krestovozdvyzhenskaya Church boasts exquisite elements of oriental ornament. Irkutsk is decorated by many historical and architectural monuments, including the remarkable White House, a palace in the Ampir style built in the XIX Century on the bank of the Angara river.

Baikal is not called a sea by accident - it has 30 islands. Baikal is immense - it stretches in length more than 600 kilometers. It holds about 20 percent of the world surface fresh water (more than all five North American Great Lakes). To fill the basin of Baikal all of the world's rivers would have to "work" for a whole year. It is the deepest lake on the planet - the most profound depth at present time is 1637 meters, but this can be surpassed as Baikal is not still and underwater storms occur, constantly, on the lake. The sun shines here more often than at most of the famous European resorts. The shores of Baikal are picturesque and untouched with many small bays and gulfs, as well as narrow gorges suffused with legends of evil and good spirits. Baikal's fauna is represented by 1200 species, flora by 600, most of which are endemic, existing only at "the Sacred Sea". Another of Baikal's exclusive wonders is the only fresh water seal on Earth, the whiskered nerpa. Baikal's more intriguing mysteries include the semitransparent fish, "golomianka", which melt in the sun because they consist mostly of fat, and a whiskered paddle-legged crustacean called "epishura", which the famous omul fish eat. And there are plenty other curiosities, as well...

The most ancient church is Kazanskaya Church, built in 1679 of wood. It is situated in Taltzy, not far from Irkutsk, in the Museum of Architecture and Ethnography, where on the bank of the Angara River in open-air dwellings, objects of everyday life and religious cults of the native population of the region are gathered. Celebrations of Easter, Shrovetide, Apple Spas, different crafts and arts exhibitions are held here traditionally. The Taltzy Architectural and Ethnographic Museum is a unique collection of XVII - XIX century's historical monuments. Three historical and cultural Baikal zones have been recreated in the museum: Russian, Buriat and Evenky. Burials and Evenky are native people of the area. Evenky Camp, a burial place, and a Buriat jurt show the life of these people. Monuments of wooden architecture of XVII - XX centuries are collected in the Russian exposition. The Spasskaya Tower of Ilimburg (1667) and the still active Kasan Church (1679) are main points of interest in the museum. A cascade of water-mills, a little village consisting of XVIII-XIX century farmsteads, and a Siberian cemetery add to the picture of Baikal area life in the old days.

The Circum-Baikal line was the most complicated and costly leg of the great Trans-Siberian Railway. Construction was halted while engineers considered their options: send the train-cars across the lake on ferries, or lay track along the steep lake shore, cutting through the outcroppings and ledges that plunge down into the lake. The decision was made to continue the tracks along the shore of the Angara River to the lake, and to load the train cars onto ferries for the crossing. During the deep winter when the lake ice was thick, workers laid track on the frozen lake, and horses hauled the carriages from shore to shore. Neither arrangement could keep up with the volume of rail traffic, and the area proved to be a bottleneck for passengers and freight. In the spring of 1902, after years of planning, crews began work on the Circum-Baikal line. The 53-mile track required 39 tunnels. For the first time in Russia, electric power was used to cut through the six longest tunnels. Italian and Albanian bricklayers, considered to be the best in the world at that time, finished the walls of the tunnels. The Circum-Baikal was called the "Golden Buckle" of the Trans-Siberian, because it linked the two parts of the railway with each other, and because it was so costly to construct. Today the main Tran-Siberian line runs from Irkutsk down to the southern end of Lake Baikal, bypassing the scenic Circum-Baikal section. Trains still run on the Circum-Baikal, however, taking tourists from all over Russia, as well as international travelers, through the tunnels and across the bridges of this historic and beautiful engineering marvel.