Loe raamatut: «The most detailed guide around Circum-Baikal Railroad: Irkutsk, Listvyanka, Slyudyanka, Shelekhov», lehekülg 3

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Lomonosov School and the monument to K.K. Rokossovsky

Opposite it you can see the bust of K.K. Rokossovsky, which was installed in 2015 on the closed territory of Irkutsk Higher Military Aviation Engineering School (IHMAES), and three years later it was moved here. This is not by chance, because it was in this building that in 1920 the headquarters of the 30th cavalry regiment of the 5th Army was located which was under the command of the future marshal. Many things connected K.K. Rokossovsky with Irkutsk. In this city, he received his first Soviet award – the Order of the Red Banner, his first true love, Y.S. Brylovskaya, lived here, who gave birth to his son Victor.

Having passed the semi-antique guest house on Zvezdinskaya Street, we will return to Lermontov Street and at the Sports Palace «Izumrud» we will again turn to Angara River (Chernyshevsky Str., 12). The latter is under the jurisdiction of the Irkutsk State University of Communications (IrSUC), whose unusual building we will see a little lower down the slope (Chernyshevsky Str., 15). This educational institution appeared in 1975 due to an acute shortage of engineers during the resumption of the construction of the Baikal-Amur Magistral (BAM).

Irkutsk State University of Communications

At the intersection with Belinskogo Street, there is a small but very picturesque two-story house of Syskov (Belinskogo Str., 1) built at the end of the 19th century. Next, near the bank of Angara, we turn right after the rails of Trans-Siberian Railway. In front of the intersection with Zhukovskogo Street, there are two beautiful wooden houses built in 1915 (Gerzen St., 16 and 18). The first belonged to the clerk of the traffic service of Trans-Baikal Railway A.S. Dubenevich, and the second to a certain Vishnyakova.

House of A. S. Dubenevich

Having reached the end of Herzena Street, we will find ourselves at the ancient border of the Glazkovo suburb. From the side of the Angara River, since 1890, there was a favorite place for summer recreation of Irkutsk people – «Tsar’ Devitsa» garden. It was named after the historical figure of Maria Titova, who lived in the 19th century, who left at home alone without a father and hacked to death with an ax five robbers who got into her room at night. The park operated a restaurant with drinks, light snacks and confectionery, as well as a photo pavilion. However, a few years later, when a railway passed along the park, and the smoke from passing steam locomotives began to pester the guests, the place lost its popularity, and in 1910 it was closed for debts. In 1930, the first broadcast radio station in Irkutsk appeared in the garden, and it’s still there today (Radiostantsiya 5 Str., 1).

Garden «Tsar Devitsa», 1908

Slightly upstream of the Angara, next to the park, was the village of Titovo, which today is reminiscent of several wooden houses at the very edge of the railway along Lesia Ukrainka Street. The first settlement at this place was mentioned by the ambassador to China N.G. Melescu-Spafari in 1675. It was also inhabited in the earlier eras of the Bronze, Iron, Neolithic, Early Metal and Mesolithic, as evidenced by the collection of ceramics and stone tools collected here.

Radio Station No. 5

Studgorodok Microdistrict

From here we get to the Studgorodok microdistrict, on the territory of which there are 17 student dormitories today, the first were built in 1957. Moving up Lomonosova Street, at one of the turns you can still find a monument hidden from prying eyes on a mass grave where were burried brother-in-law of P.P. Postyshev and the first chairman of the Siberian Extraordinary Commission I.S. Postolovsky, along with his six comrades. They were hanged on August 3, 1918 in revenge for the execution of participants in the anti-Bolshevik uprising and buried on the outskirts of the city near the former garden «Tsar Devitsa» (Lomonosova Str., 70).

Grave of I.S. Postolovsky

To the left on the hill rises the huge building of the Irkutsk National Research Technical University (INRTU), which appeared here in 1957 and today is one of the 300 best higher educational institutions in the world (Lermontova Str., 83). He was the first in Siberia to create the Eurasian Open University on its basis, so graduates, in addition to the usual diploma, receive an international document. Every year more than 30 thousand students study within the walls of this institution. Among the famous graduates of the educational institution, the pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union G.S. Aseev, aircraft builder L.A. Khvorostukhin, scientist-metallurgist E.P. Bochkarev, writer G.N. Mashkin, General Director of the Ulan-Ude Shipbuilding Plant G.I. Tsukanov, as well as the first Soviet woman who climbed to the top of Everest – E.N. Ivanova.

Irkutsk National Research Technical University, 1978

Today, on the first floor of the university, in wing «B», from the side of Igoshina Street, there is the largest mineralogical museum in Siberia, the collection of which includes more than 27 thousand exhibits. The basis for the creation of the exposition in 1930 was the collections of the oldest geologists of Siberia – V.I. Tikhomirov and A.V. Lvov. Since 1991, the institution has been named after A. V. Sidorov, Associate Professor of the Department of Geology at INRTU, who significantly expanded the collection. Opposite the entrance to the museum, you can see a small cross, installed in 1999 on the site of the proposed construction of a youth church in the name of Saint Sergius of Radonezh.

Mineralogical Museum of INRTU

On the other side of the road from the university, you can see the silhouette of the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God, built in 2000 according to the project of the Polish architect Andrzej Chwalibog and funded by the communities of Russia, Poland, Germany, Italy and Slovakia (Griboedova Str., 110). It is here that today is the center of the diocese of St. Joseph – the largest in terms of area in the world (about 10 million km²). The altar in the temple is made of Baikal jade, and on the sides of it are the statues of the Mother of God of Fatima and St. Joseph the Betrothed.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God

On the north side of the cathedral you can see the Chapel of Reconciliation and Peace with a bronze sculpture of Jesus Christ by the Polish sculptor Vincenta Kuchma. At the base of the slab of black dolerite with inscriptions in Russian and Latin, there are urns with earth from the mass graves of prisoners of 14 «GULag « (chief administration of the camps).

Chapel of Reconciliation and Peace

We continue our way down Lermontov Street and move towards the Trans-Siberian Railway, which turns sharply here to the west, which passed this way in 1949. Until 1957, the rails ran along the left bank of the Angara to Baikal itself. There we will go further, restoring the history of the old road step by step. During the laying of the turn of the Trans-Siberian Railway near the Angara coast, one of the largest burials of the Paleolithic times (22 thousand years old) was discovered, about 40 thousand finds were collected.

Next to the viaduct on the left we can see the building of the Lyceum of the Irkutsk State University (hereinafter ISU), which opened here in 1995 and today is among the 200 best schools in Russia (Akademika Kurchatova Str., 13A). On the right hand is the East Siberian Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, founded on this site in 1962. Today it is the leading educational institution in Eastern Siberia that trains law enforcement officers (Lermontova Str., 110).

East Siberian Institute of the MIA

Academgorodok Microdistrict

It’s time to get acquainted with the most prestigious area of the city of Irkutsk – Akademgorodok. It appeared in February 1949 on the basis of the first two scientific institutes. They were supposed to become the center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS). However, fate decreed otherwise, and it was transferred to Novosibirsk in 1957. But 11 institutes that conduct research in the field of exact knowledge are still operating – more than 230 doctors and 660 candidates of sciences are working here.

The first houses in this area appeared in 1965. It was decided that the left side of Lermontova Street would be occupied by residential buildings, and the right side by scientific corps. At the same time, a unique arboretum was formed on the territory of Academgorodok with plants atypical for Siberia (ash, hornbeam, elm, svidina, bird cherry of Maak). The district plan was drawn up by the architect V.P. Shmatkov and subsequently modified by V.F. Bukh.

Akademgorodok Microdistric, 1970s

First on the left hand we are met by the Ice Palace «Iceberg», which opened in 2016 after 16 years of construction and a billion investments (Lermontov Str., 251). In 2020, a new winter sports ground called «Baikal» appeared next to it (Lermontov St., 249). The last one is twice bigger and six times more expensive, it can accommodate 6,000 spectators. Its construction was dedicated to the world bandy championship. The advantage is the possibility of re-equipment at any time for summer sports disciplines.

Following the sports complex rises the modern building of the library named after I.I. Molchanov-Sibirsky, which moved here in 2013. The book depository operates a self-issuing system for literature, a fumigatory, a leaf replenishing machine, modern scanners, and about 2 million items of storage. Every year the library holds more than 500 different events (Lermontov Str., 253).

Library named after I.I. Molchanov-Sibirsky

And on the other side of Lermontova Street there is a seven-story building of the scientific library of the ISU named after V.G. Rasputin, which since 2016, after the long-awaited move from the White House on the Angara embankment, has housed all four departments of the largest book depository in Eastern Siberia, numbering more than 2.5 million exemplares, some of which are older than Irkutsk itself. The construction of this facility began in 1981, but for a number of reasons it was postponed indefinitely. Today, students do not need to run around different parts of the city – here, in 11 reading rooms, you can find all the necessary information (Lermontova Str., 124).

Library named after V.G. Rasputin

Acquaintance with the educational institutions of Akademgorodok opens at the intersection with Ulan-Batorskaya Street, where on the right you can see the building in which, since 1974, the faculties of chemistry, geography, service and advertising of Irkutsk State University have been located (Lermontova Str., 126). Immediately behind it, in a small spruce grove, there is a memorial dedicated to the students and teachers of the university who died during the WWII. These two marble steles were set in the fall of 1979. Among the 27 indicated names, one can find the name of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Guardsman D.Z. Zhanaev, who died on the outskirts of Berlin.

Memorial to students and teachers of ISU

The Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics (Lermontova Str., 126A) showed a little higher. It was created in 1960 on the basis of the oldest magnetic observatory in Siberia. The main task of researchers is to establish the connection between phenomena on our planet and changes on the Sun. The employees of this institution create various forecasts regarding the state of the ionosphere and the Earth’s magnetic field. The employees have at their disposal facilities unique for Russia, such as the Large Solar Vacuum Telescope – the largest in Eurasia, the 256-antenna Siberian Solar Radio Telescope, the Irkutsk Incoherent Scattering Radar and the infrared telescope of the Sayan Solar Observatory.

Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics SB RAS

A little higher along Ulan Batorskaya Street there are two more institutes. The first of them is the Institute of Geography of the SB RAS named after V.B. Sochava, established in 1960 on the basis of the oldest department of the Geographical Society in Siberia (Ulan-Batorskaya Str., 1). The institution conducts research on the basics of sustainable development of natural geosystems and their components in accordance with the tasks of modern mankind. Over the years of work, mapping of nature, economy and population of various regions of Asian Russia, as well as neighboring countries, has been carried out.

Institute of Geography SB RAS

The second of them is the Limnological Institute, which appeared on this place in 1989 (Ulan-Batorskaya Str., 3). The scientists of this institution are studying Lake Baikal, which in many respects served as the basis for the creation of serious science in Siberia. Actually, already in 1897 an attempt was made to create a limnological station in the village of Bolshoe Goloustnoye, thanks to the efforts of the geophysicist V.B. Shostakovich. At least, in 1930 G.Y. Vereshchagin established a station in the village of Listvyanka, which is still in operation. A few years ago, in front of the institute building, the abandoned research vessel called «Chayka» lay on its side, which stood at the origins of the development of science in Siberia.

Institute of Limnology SB RAS

Next, we will drive along Lermontova Street to a small square near the residential complex «Progress» on the left side of the road (Lermontova Str., 267/1), where in 2018, on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of Akademgorodok, as conceived by the City Duma deputy A.V. Safronov, a memorial sign appeared in the form of a globe, based on eleven columns, symbolizing institutions. The paving of the site around is made in the form of a labyrinth with several entrances, as a symbol of the search for scientific knowledge.

Square of the 55th anniversary of Akademgorodok

Below the square is the Children’s Art School No. 5, which in 2008 moved to this new building (Lermontova Str., 271Б). Graduates of this institution since its founding in 1969 have been awarded a variety of prizes and awards, constantly taking prizes in the competitions «Gems of Siberia», «Rising Star», «Golden Phoenix», «Hope».

Behind it you can see the new building of school No. 19, which opened in its original place in 2018 after a complete reconstruction (Lermontova St., 279). Today it is the best in the city in terms of equipment. It offers students two swimming pools, a training range, a conference room, equipped classrooms, elevators, the latest sports hall and even the largest school planetarium in Russia with a dome diameter of 11 meters with eight projectors and a capacity of more than 100 people.

School No. 19

If we drive further, then on the other side of the street we will see the next large building – this is the oldest academic institution of the geological profile and the firstborn of serious science in Siberia – the Institute of the Earth’s Crust (Lermontova Str., 128). It arose on the basis of a local scientific school in 1949. Today, geology is studied here not only in Central Asia, but also in Europe, North America, Australia, Africa, and Antarctica. The organization controls 23 seismic stations located in the mountain belt from the Eastern Sayan to the Olekma river valley. Over the years of research, employees have discovered 15 new minerals. The names of some of them contain the names of the leading scientists of the institute and the bright events of its history (florensovite, natalite, odintsovite, zemkorite, azoproite, and many others).

Institute of the Earth’s Crust SB RAS

A little further, at the intersection with Favorskogo Street, we see the Institute of Energy Systems SB RAS named after Academician L.A. Melentiev (Lermontova Str., 130). Since 1960, they have been developing a strategy for the development of domestic and world energy, introducing new laws and methods for keeping the safety of resources, and ensuring the constant development of the fuel and energy complex.

Institute of Energy Systems SB RAS

Between these institutes, up the slope, there is the Irkutsk Institute of Chemistry named after A.E. Favorsky, founded in 1957, the building of which became the first scientific building built in Akademgorodok in 1963. The institution conducts research in the field of creating useful products from fossil fuels, mainly through acetylene and its derivatives containing various elements, based on which it is possible to synthesize almost everything that is produced today by the chemical industry (Favorskogo Str., 1).

Institute of Geochemistry SB RAS

On the same line on the hill, hiding its contemporary the Institute of Geochemistry named after A.P. Vinogradov. Over the years of its work, many features in the history of the evolution of the Siberian Platform have been identified, forecasts have been made about the development of the climate on the planet based on paleoclimatic studies, and the most major developments for electronics, medicine and ecology have been created (Favorskogo Str., 1A).

On the other side, near the larch alley, there is the Siberian Institute of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, founded in 1961. Research is being carried out in the field of bioengineering and biotechnology, new species of plants and fungi are being created, and rare and endangered ones are preserved in the regional seed bank. The organization operates the oldest phytotron in Russia, as well as a magnificent greenhouse available for visiting (Lermontova Str., 132).

Greenhouse in Siberian Institute of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry

On the right side of Lermontov Street, the Institute of System Dynamics and Control Theory named after Academician V.M. Matrosov. It was created in 1980 on the basis of the Department of Systems Theory and Cybernetics. Within the walls of the institute, fundamental research is carried out in the interests of designing space and aviation technology, and effective methods for managing complex systems are being created. It was here that in 1994, for the first time in Russia, an Internet network was launched for the needs of Akademgorodok (Lermontov Str., 134).

Energetikov Village

Having overcome the Malaya Kuzmikha river through a barely noticeable concrete tray, we find ourselves next to the intersectoral scientific and technical complex «Eye Microsurgery» named after the outstanding ophthalmologist of the 20th century academician S.N. Fedorov (Lermontova Str., 337). It appeared here in 1989, since then more than a million examinations have been carried out here, more than 700 thousand people have been operated on.

Eye Microsurgery Complex

Previously, in the floodplain of the Malaya Kuzmikha river, there was a cemetery of the village of the same name. Downstream, towards the Angara, there was a magnificent rotunda church in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It was built in 1822 according to the project of Y.A. Kruglikov and at the expense of the son of the Yaroslavl landowner, lieutenant A.P. Shubin, who was demoted and exiled to Kuzmikha in 1814, where he fell in love with the young daughter of a poor Cossack. Having received forgiveness, he restored with the officer rank of cornet and filed a petition for the construction of a temple in Kuzmikha in 1819. In the 1970s, the building was demolished, and today the trade center «Capitel» is located in its place (Staro-Kuzmikhinskaya Str., 41/2). In addition, in 1884 a cemetery chapel was built in the village. Near the place where it was, today the building of «Eye Microsurgery» rises.

St. Nicholas Church-rotunda in Kuzmikha, early 20th century

Then we will drive along Lermontova Street to the intersection with Akademicheskaya (Akademicheskaya Str,. 1A). We will turn left at the trolley bus depot, which has been working here since 1970. During this time, almost half a billion passengers have been transported, 10 routes are in operation. Previously this part of Lermontova Street had been a dense forest.

We go down to the floodplain of the Bolshaya Kuzmikha River, which gave its name to a small village located in this part of the Angara. During the construction of seven villages of hydroelectric power station builders, this settlement merged with Irkutsk and today only Starokuzmikhinskaya Street reminds of it. In 1839 the Decembrist A.P. Yushnevsky was assigned to the settlement here, and later moved to his friends in Bolshaya Razvodnaya on the other side of the Angara River.

Decembrist A.P. Yushnevsky (1786—1844)

In the area of the modern car workshop «Kuzmikha» you can still see the remains of the old Trans-Siberian railway embankment (Staro-Kuzmikhinskaya Str., 81Б), built here in 1898. Moreover, 5.5 km of the odd track with 6 single-span stone bridges survived. Nowdays it goes from Irkutsk-Passenger station to the prefabricated concrete plant, which has been operating here since 1959 and was originally built for the needs of the construction of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station (Staro-Kuzmikhinskaya Str., 91). Now the rails rest against the 45-meter embankment of the dam. The old line of the Trans-Siberian after the pound rests at a depth of more than 20 meters in the waters of the Angara River.