Alexander Katashevtsev - The Most Detailed Travel Guide around Irkutsk. All the attractions with the route of movement & addresses

First on the left is the magnificent house of A.F. Vtorov with openwork monograms “AB”, meaning the initials of the owner, built in the neo-russian style according to the project of the famous theatre architect V.A. Schroeter in 1897. The owners moved out of the mansion back in 1913, and already on October 29, 1917, the first All-Siberian Congress of Soviets took place there, and a committee of Central Siberia was elected. Since 1937, the building has housed the “Palace of Children and Youth Creativity”, which has brought up a whole galaxy of talents from the poet M.D. Sergeev to pianist D.L. Matsuev.

House of A.F. Vtorov

The magnificent mansion is adjoined by a shopping building, which was built for the merchant N.S. Chupalov back in 1801, according to A.I. Losev, but it was bought by the family of Vtorov. After it is a house of the Soviet era, built in 1951, overlooks Labour Square. It adjoins the mansion of the 1st guild merchant I.S. Dubnikov, whose estate occupied almost the entire block in the past.

1st guild merchant A.F. Vtorov

We dive to the left into a short lane and freeze in front of the walls of a magnificent castle with towers and “Stars of David” in the frieze. It is easy to guess that this is the house of the head of the Jewish community of Irkutsk I.M. Feinberg. The mansion was built according to the project of the city architect A.I. Kuznetsov in 1902. Since then, the house has been occupied by many organizations from the construction management of the Circum-Baikal Railway to the art museum and college, which is now located there. During the civil war in Russia, the units of the Red Army were formed here and also worked famous commanders S.G. Lazo and A.A. Taube.

On the right, through the branches of the trees, you can see the sculpture “Muse”, which was installed on the 300th anniversary of the assignment of the status of the city to Irkutsk in 1986 opposite the building of the Irkutsk Regional Children’s School of Arts. By the way, here studied until 1990 the People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, virtuoso pianist D.L. Matsuev. Thanks to this man, since 2004, every September in Irkutsk, the festival of classical music “Stars on Baikal” has been held. The repertoire of the musical theatre in the capital of Eastern Siberia at this time resembles the posters of the best concert halls in the world.

Virtuoso pianist D.L. Matsuev

Directly behind the school of arts placed a small wooden house of mechanics Karasev, where in 1909 illegally lived the frustrated head of the Soviet Union S.M. Kirov. He spent six months in Irkutsk and during this time changed 12 addresses. His underground work led to numerous strikes by railroad workers in 1910.

S.M. Kirov

Opposite is the exhibition center named after the Irkutsk artist V.S. Rogal, which opened here in 1999 and is often used for various thematic exhibitions, so this is one of the most dynamically developing art museums in Irkutsk. In the past at this place was a small wooden house, where in 1901 was born one of the greatest documentary filmmakers of the XX century – M.I. Romm.

Exhibition center named after the Irkutsk artist V.S. Rogal

At the next crossroads, we turn right onto the street named after the founder of the squadron of anarchists and partisan movement in Eastern Siberia during the civil war, N.A. Kalandarishvili. At the corner of the street (Khalturina, 8/1) you can still see the house where he lived. He was visited several times by such people as one of the founders of Mongolia and the head of the guerrilla movement in Western Siberia B.Z. Shumyatsky, as well as the commander of the troops of the Far Eastern Republic I.P. Uborevich. In many ways, the Mongolian state was created in this house.

Founder of the squadron of anarchists in Siberia N.A. Kalandarishvili

The famous “Zhelyabov” wooden quarter begins from this lane. In this part of Irkutsk, an entire area of historical buildings has been preserved almost in its original form. On the left is the one-story wing of the estate of the impoverished merchant Vyazmin on Kalandarishvili Street meet us first. All of its buildings are designed in a classic style.

We turn left and find ourselves at the end of the 19th century. On the right, across the street is Orlova’s pink mansion, upholstered in rustic wood. Continue moving along Zhilyabov Street, on the left we notice the magnificent greenish carved house of Lavrentiev, which was rented out for the needs of the gymnasium for boys of the Russian Gentry Assembly since 1906.

House of Lavrentiev

Behind it is Ivanov’s mansion painted in red lead with an apartment building. At the end of XIX century here lived son of the main fur trader in Siberia and the first director of Irkutsk Drama Theatre I.B. Patushinsky.

He was followed by the beige estate of the explorer of the Aleutian Islands and one of the leaders of Russian America A.P. Ocheredin (st. Zhelyabova, 25a). Here we turn right into the narrow Pugachev lane.

We are greeted by the recently renovated house of the merchant V. Posokhov, where the hotel of the same name is located today. Behind it is the modest but oldest grey estate of Kolchenov with an outbuilding and a barn built in the 1860s.

Mutual Insurance Society im Irkutsk

The lane ends up with a long brick building of the warehouse of the Mutual Insurance Society built in the 1880s. At the crossroads let’s turn left and go to the next intersection, opposite which is the Intermunicipal Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia “Irkutskoye”, which is easy to identify by the retro police car standing in the exhibit to the right of the entrance.

Let’s turn left here again, going around the two wooden houses of the Dobrokhotova estate. After them you can see an inconspicuous beige house, where in 1902 was born the famous constructor of military helicopters N.I. Kamov. By the way, shortly after his birth, this house was visited by polar explorer A.V. Kolchak.

House, where was born the constructor of helicopters N.I. Kamov