Znamensky Monastery
Epiphany Cathedral is one of the most expressive architectural monuments in town. Originally built in wood in 1693, Epiphany was destroyed in a fire. The church was then rebuilt in the same place but in stone, and completed in 1731. Construction on the second bell tower began, in the Russian classical style. In 1934, divine services in the cathedral stopped and it was closed until restoration work began in the 1980s. Now it appears almost in its original form, linking Russian Classical and Baroque styles. Its facades are decorated with multi-coloured glazed tiles, with images of flowers and mythical animals.
Epiphany Cathedral
Many of Russia’s Decembrist revolutionaries, drawn from the aristocracy and younger army officers, developed as a secret society to abolish the despotic regime in 1825. They were exiled to Irkutsk after their detention. Irkutsk Historical and Memorial Museum of the Decembrists have 2 memorial estates in the historical centre of town.
Znamensky Monastery was a great architectural and economic formation. The wonderful interior has muralled vaulting, a towering iconostasis and a gold sarcophagus holding the precious relics of Siberian missionary St Inokent. In 1872 at the monastery was opened the hospital for monks. In 1889, they operated a female spiritual school. The monastery also served as a hospice, and sometime later as a parochial school and orphanage.
The development of Siberia was hampered by poor transport links with the rest of the country; for 5 months of the year, unfrozen rivers were the main means of transportation. The first railroad projects in Siberia were promoted after the Moscow-St Petersburg Railway was completed in 1851, to advance colonisation in Russia’s Far East.
The plans and funding for the Trans-Siberian Railway, to connect St Petersburg with the Pacific Ocean port of Vladivostok, were approved by Tsar Alexander III and launched by his son in 1889. The Imperial State Budget spent a huge fortune during the construction years, 1891-1913. The route started in St Petersburg, via Moscow, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk in southern Siberia to Vladivostok. At 9,259 ks, it spanned 7 time zones and took c6.5 days to complete the journey.
In 1850, professional theatre history began when an itinerant acting troupe remained in Irkutsk. The first performances were staged in the Noble Assembly building, and soon they expanded. In 1857 the Irkutsk Theatre hosted the All-Russian premiere of a Alexander Ostrovsky comedy, then other plays were staged. By 1897, the new theatre building was impressive.
Drama Theatre
When political prisoners became involved in growing revolutionary movements, the flow of Jews to Siberia increased. And Irkutsk welcomed the Jews who had completed their military service i.e the Jewish-cantonists i.e underage sons of Russian conscripts who were educated in special Canton schools (abolished 1857) for future military service.
In 1860 merchant YS Dombrowski bought an old house, for a community centre and school. The Irkutsk authorities allowed a modest wooden synagogue in Ap 1878 where the labour was provided by former soldiers. The first service was attended by the Governor General. One of the oldest and most prestigious communities in the Russian Federation, Irkutsk also had a Jewish college at the synagogue, a professional choir and a library.
Timber houses with decorated exteriors
Locals lived in simple structures, until a fire in 1879 destroyed 80% of Irkutsk’s central area. The town was rebuilt quickly, with brightly painted shutters and houses decorated with wooden lacework. Irkutsk’s recovery was aided by the Trans Siberian Railway coming in 1898. This lovely city is located on Angara River, outflow of Sacred Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake anywhere. The 60 ks rail link from Irkutsk to Lake Baikal was completed in 1899.
From 1899-1902 merchant I.M Feinberg constructed a fancy two-storey stone house with architect A Kuznetsov. The many tenants over the years have included Circum-Baikal Railway, the Irkutsk military and Regional Consumer's Association. Later the second floor of the Feinberg House was transferred to the Irkutsk Regional Museum.
Feinberg House, later Irkutsk Regional Museum
After defeat in the 1904-5 Russian-Japanese War, when Russia clearly wanted to keep the Empire’s vast eastern lands, they had to improve the railways. Irkutsk’s railway-station, opened 1906, was stunning. Irkutsk was becoming an important industrial centre, shipping in gold and furs from the Lena goldfields. The first industry inside Irkutsk was a brick factory, then ship-repairing, timber, machine tools, oil refining and hydroelectricity. The merchants played a prominent role in the region’s light industries: soap, yeast and paints. And there were craftsmen who trained in their own school: tailors, shoemakers, jewellers, locksmiths and watchmakers.
The exiled political prisoners came from different political movements: Bundists, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and Zionist Socialists, so Siberia became a centre of Zionist political activity. The 1st Congress of the Zionists of Siberia in 1903 in Tomsk was attended by representatives from 13 Siberian communities. And the Bund representatives of Siberia held their conferences in Irkutsk during 1917-22.
The exiled political prisoners came from different political movements: Bundists, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and Zionist Socialists, so Siberia became a centre of Zionist political activity. The 1st Congress of the Zionists of Siberia in 1903 in Tomsk was attended by representatives from 13 Siberian communities. And the Bund representatives of Siberia held their conferences in Irkutsk during 1917-22.
Memorial Museum of the Decembrists
After 1923, many of Irkutsk’s religious institutions were closed, including the synagogue and the old cemetery. In 1926 the Irkutsk monastery was also closed and used for war industries. In 1945, the Znamensky Cathedral was returned to the Church again. The monastery was revived recently, but only the church and gates had survived.
Irkutsk (pop 625,000), the Paris of Siberia, is still full of old churches. And it’s a city of museums, literature and science. Photo credits: Tripsib
Trans Siberian Train Route
from Moscow in the west to Vladivostok in the east.
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