Irkutsk province

In 1708, the Siberian order was liquidated and the Siberian province formed (from Vyatka to Kamchatka).

In 1764, the Irkutsk province was separated from the Siberian province ^[2] .

In 1805, an independent Yakutsk region was formed and formed from the Irkutsk province.

From 1822 to 1884, the province was part of the East Siberian Governor General .

In 1851, an independent Transbaikal region was separated and formed from the Irkutsk province.

In 1884, the province became part of the newly formed Irkutsk Governor General .

In March 1917, the Irkutsk governor-general , which included the Irkutsk and Yenisei provinces, the Trans-Baikal and Yakut regions, ceased to exist.

On August 15, 1924, the territory of the Irkutsk province was divided into 3 districts - Irkutsk, Tulun, Kirensky and 2 industrial regions - Cheremkhovsky and Bodaibo.

On May 25, 1925, the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee established the Siberian Territory , and the Irkutsk province became part of it.

On June 28, 1926, by the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Irkutsk province was abolished, 3 districts of the Siberian Territory were created on its territory - Irkutsk , Tulunsky and Kirensky .

Geographical position

Irkutsk province was located in Eastern Siberia , between 51 ° and 62 ° 30 's. w. and 96 ° and 107 ° in. that exceeded the size of France or Germany : according to the measurement of I. A. Strelbitsky , the area of ​​the province was 653,290 square meters. milestone , including the water mirror of Lake Baikal - 15 042 sq. verst and Olkhon island - 550 sq. km. verst. The greatest length of the Irkutsk province from southwest to northeast was 1300 miles with a width of 650 miles. Borders of the province: in the north and partly in the northeast - the Yakutsk region , in the east and southeast - the Trans - Baikal region , in the south - the Chinese Empire (Mongolia), in the west - the Yenisei province .

Relief

In general, the surface of the Irkutsk province was a flat hill with a slope from south to north, girdled from the southwest, south, and east by mountain ranges, among which in the southeastern outskirts of the province lies a vast deep-sea basin - Lake Baikal . The terraced lowering of this flat elevation is due to an ancient shift, which separated most of the area occupied by it from the high Transbaikal plateau lying in the southeast, and in the northwest from the lower terrace, located in the middle of the Yenisei province. In particular, the area of ​​the Irkutsk province consisted of: a mountainous alpine country with chains of mountains diverging from it, flat hills and river valleys - two main waterways - the Angara and Lena and their tributaries. The mountains that fill the Irkutsk province belong to two main ranges - Sayan and Baikal mountains; the first of them, filling the spurs of the south of the province with its spurs, has an alpine character and, entering the Irkutsk province, in its southwestern part, at the upper rivers Biryusa and Uda, it goes from the northwest to the southeast - in one chain, wide from 15 to 20 versts, then in several parallel chains separated by deep and narrow gorges of mountain rivers, and the width of the ridge reaches 50 versts. The average height of the main Sayan peaks is 7,500 feet above the sea surface, with individual peaks ranging from 8 to 8,500 feet, and its highest char lying on the border with Mongolia is Mungu-Sardyk , that is, a silver mountain eternally covered with snow on top reaches up to 11,500 ft. On the northern slope of this loach, a double glacier descends from its peak for 4 miles, extending its terminal moraines to Lake Ekhoi. The general disorder in the location of the Sayan Mountains, scattered in deep valleys and wild ravines, with fast water currents, conical, stone peaks of loaches, devoid of any vegetation, are characteristic features of the main chain of the ridge, on the tops of which snow disappears for the period from June to August. In the deep mountain valleys facing the north - snow in other years lies throughout the summer. Starting from the central axis of the Sayan Range, to the north. there is a gradual decrease in its spurs - to the valley of the river. Hangars, which, however, is at the mouth of the river. White lies at an altitude of 1,200 feet above sea level. The Sayan Mountains decrease as if by ledges: the highest row of loaches is followed by their second row with a softer outline of the mountain peaks covered already by the forest, then the third row, of even lower height, etc., all these mountains go parallel to each other to a friend, then mutually intersecting. Within the Irkutsk province, Sayan separates many branches that can be considered independent ridges: at the southwestern corner of the province, on its border, at the source of the river. Biryusa, part of the Sayan range is called - Biryusinsky mountains, reaching up to 6,200 feet in absolute height. Further, the main part of the Sayan, Ergik-Targak-Taiga, going in a southeastern direction, has a rather complicated relief. From the mountain node Taraskhan-Daban, in the upper river. Oi, two ridges begin to go north: Kuitun-Khardyn and another ridge without a name. At the Dzhunbuluksky site, where the extinct crater Hukushka (Cups) lies with streams of poured lava for 20 miles, a high, rocky ridge up to 7200 feet originates between pp. Hoyt-Oka and Oka. Then from the Nuku-Daban knot, rising to 7,500 feet and constituting sowing. spur Mungu-Sardyka, fan out: a) Ida mountains, between pp. Oka and White; b) Kitoy Alps, between the channels of the Belaya and Kitoy rivers; c) Tunkinsky squirrels accompanying from the north the valley of the river. Irkut parallel to them, a mountain chain that borders the Irkut valley from the south is called Gurbi-Daban and, while maintaining the Sayan complex relief, branches out into many mountain ranges that differ in geological and faunistic relations from the Sayan. Finally, in the southeastern part of the province is the Urguldey knot, which lies at the source of the river. - Zon-Murina, a tributary of the Irkut River and the Dzhida, which flows into the Selenga River; a high chain of mountains (7,500 feet of absolute height), bearing the name Khamar-Daban, which is one of the highest heights lying at the southwestern corner of Lake Baikal and generally the Baikal Mountains, is heading toward V. Of the mountain passes in the Sayan Mountains were the most famous and convenient:

• mountain pass - Obo-Sarym, lying at an altitude of 6,100 feet, in the upper reaches of the Hangi River, a tributary of the Irkut River.

Further northwest lie:

• Naryn-Khoroysky pass
• Uryuk-Daban,
• Tengiz-Daban,
• Toros Daban and
• Mustag Arsha;

of these, the first and third served for the significant transfer of cattle from Mongolia to the city of Irkutsk and for the delivery of manufactured goods to Mongolia from the last (up to 80,000 rubles). The second group of mountains in the Irkutsk province was the Baikal Mountains, rising at the headwaters of the Lena and Kirenga rivers to the highest altitude of 6,000 feet and consisting of chains: Primorsky and Onotsky. The flat hill on which the mountainous alpine country of Sayan rests occupies the entire north and north-west of the Irkutsk province, having for the most part a height of 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The lower ledge of this plateau, representing the least elevated part (up to 800 feet of absolute height) of the province, is located in the north-western part of it, along the course of pp. Lower Tunguska and Lena, at the borders of the Yakutsk region. Significant irregularities encountered on this plateau are the consequences of erosion and the formation of river valleys; of these low dividing ranges are known in the province: Birch, Ilim, Tungus and others. The most extensive plain is located along the Angara River, having a border line that runs approximately from Irkutsk to the Kitoy River, from here to the Belaya River to the mouth of the Zalara River, then crosses the middle course of the Kada River and heads north-east to the Angara River, where, passing to its right bank ends; but even this plain is hilly in many places. In addition to this plain, in the Irkutsk province there were two more: one between the Oka and Uda rivers, the other, more elevated and treeless, called the “Brotherly Steppe”, stretches along the Yakutsky tract to the Kachugskaya pier on the Lena River.

Geology

The geognostic composition of the soil of the Irkutsk province in its diversity deserves special attention. Sedimentary rocks belonging to the later modern sediments consist of lake-river pebble and sand-clay sediments, are found everywhere in river valleys and are often bordered in the form of a bank of the lake shore; alluvium is often found on slopes and even on mountain tops; loose sands are located in different places of the province, but in small areas. Of the more ancient tertiary deposits in the southwestern part of Lake Baikal, loesses were found in places in the Sayans and in the entire Tunkinsky depression . In the valley of the Angara River , the following were found from post-Pliocene strata: pebble deposits, loesslike layered loam and forest; then tertiary deposits are also found: along the Kamenka river and in the western part of the province - along the course of the rivers Oka, Kimilteyka, Uda and others. In the eastern part of the Irkutsk province, in the upper reaches of the Lena River and its tributaries, as well as in the course of pp. Angi and Buguldeyki are sediments - clay-sand or gravel; in addition, homogeneous red-colored sediments and loess are highly developed in the Lena Valley. In the tertiary sediments, the remains of thick-skinned animals that were once found in this area were found: a primitive bull, bison, various deer and antelopes. The rocks of the tertiary system are insignificant in the Irkutsk province. From sediments of the Mesozoic era at that time, only the Jurassic formation was found in the southern part of the province, stretching over a strip of about 100 miles wide from Lake Baikal to the city of Nizhne-Udinsk ; its sediments (on Devonian red sandstones or on Upper Silurian limestone) consist of shale clays and marls, sandstones with layers of brown coal and sometimes limestone and siliceous shale. Of the sedimentary rocks of the Paleozoic (primary) era, the most widespread in the province are the Carboniferous, Devonian, and Silurian systems, which, from the Angara breakthrough from Lake Baikal, go in a wide strip along the Angara almost to the northern border of the Balagan District; also found in the watershed of the Angara and Lena rivers, and in the valley of the last Devonian system rocks are relatively more widespread in others and consist of red sandstones, marls and clays. Rocks of the Devonian system are located: in the Tunkinsky Alps , on the right bank of the Angara River, slightly higher than the city (now an urban-type settlement) of Balagansk , along the entire valley of the Osa River, then, crossing the left bank of the Angara, stretch along the rivers of the Unga, Oi and Oka and at the confluence of the latter into the Angara - on both banks of the latter. They accompany the upper course of the river. Lena to the city of Kirensk, followed by the red sandstones of the Silurian system on the right bank of the Lena to the Daria station, and on the left bank is Upper Silurian limestone. The older sedimentary deposits - the Cambrian-Silurian system - characterized by a significant thickness of their strata (up to 2500 feet), are very common in the mountainous parts of the Irkutsk province, with the upper tier being exclusively limestones located in the northwestern slope of the Onotsky Range, in many places on Lena, on the river Angara (near Usolye), from the mouth of the Belaya River to Balagansk, etc. The lower tier of the Cambrian-Silurian system consists of clay and gray-shale shales and sandstones, mainly located in the Sayan Mountains - in the upper reaches of the Irkut , Oka, Butogol, Dzhanbulak and others rivers, then in the Onotsky Range and partly in the Primorsky - Baikal Mountains and other places. Crystalline rocks belonging to the Archean (Lavrentiev) system comprise all the ridges of the main ranges - the Sayan Mountains, the Tunkinsky Alps, the Baikal Mountains. These rocks form two tiers: the upper tier consists of alternating layers of dolomite or crystalline limestone with feldspar rocks, and the lower tier is most often composed of gneiss, granite, granite-syenite, and chlorite schists. The layers are curved in a series of folds, often overturned and pressed against each other. Stretching of folds in the southern part of the province in the Sayans and Tunkinsky Alps in the direction west-south-west - east-north-east, in the East Sayan from the west-south-west to the north-west, and in the Baikal Mountains from the west-south-west to east-northeast; moreover, in the latter there are anticlinal inflections of the strata. Crystalline rocks are common in other mountainous parts of the Irkutsk province, for example, in the valley of the river. Hangars below the confluence of the river. Oka granites form all significant Angara rapids. Less common than other crystalline rocks in the province are diorites and serpentines; diabases are mainly found in the western and northwestern parts of the province and in the river valley. Tunguska. Basalts are more significant, they are found: on the slope of Mungu-Sardyk, near the Khanginsky guard and at Tunka - along the course of the Irkut, south-west. parts of Lake Baikal, between pp. Slyudyanka and Tala, in the lower reaches of Ilim, along the river. Hangars, while volcanic tuffs, as well as obsidians and pumice are more common in its tributaries; finally, in the Tunkinsky depression there are lava hills, and in the Elovsky spur and other places - lava flows: all this indicates that the local area was once the center of strong volcanic activity, which is now manifested in quite frequent earthquakes in Irkutsk.

Minerals

Irkutsk province was rich in minerals, but gold is poorer than neighboring provinces; its richest gold deposits are located in its southwestern part, along the Biryusa river system, in the Nizhneudinsky district, where in 1892, 23 pounds of gold 22 pounds 20 spools were washed at 21 mines, with an average gold content of 100 pounds - 25.25 share. Three mines were developed in the Kirensky district, along the Nerpe and Dzhalogun rivers, where in 1890 2 pounds of gold of 30 pounds were washed. The poor placers, now not being developed, are located along the rivers flowing into Lake Baikal, and along the upper tributaries of the Lena River, in the Verkholensky District. Graphite of high dignity was present in Botugolsky char (by the beginning of the 20th century its development had been abandoned) and on the island of Olkhon . Brown coal was found in many places: near the city of Irkutsk in the Angara coastal cliffs, along the rivers Irkutu, Kude, Ushakovka, in several places of the Balagan district, coal deposits along the Oka rivers most deserve attention; but he was not mined anywhere. Iron ore was found in many places in the province, but was developed only at the confluence of the Oka River in the Angara, at the Nikolaev Ironworks. Iron sulfate was located near the village of Ziminsky, on the right bank of the Oka River and in the mountain Zheltuni-Tong.

There were salt springs: 68 miles from the city of Irkutsk, on the Angara River, along the Ilimu River and four miles from the banks of the Lena River, on the Kut River. In 1892 four salt mines in these places produced common salt in the amount of 170,929 rubles. In addition, salt sources were known: on the Taganka River, which flows into the Oka River, in the upper reaches of the Unga River, a tributary of the river. Hangars, in the valley of the Kuda and Belaya rivers, near the village of Uzky Luch and on the island of the Angara river, which lies above Balagansk . Glauber's salt (gujir) was located in small lakes off the northwestern shores of Lake Baikal, between the Anga rivers and the island of Olkhon . Salt salt mud - along the Taloy River, near the village of Tunka. Of the mineral springs, the most famous were: Turan - near the Nile Desert, on the Uhe-Ugun River, 250 miles from Irkutsk, had temperatures up to 36.6 ° P (degrees Reaumur). Arshan-Su - carbon dioxide source, 40 miles from the Turan guard. Okinsky - on the Oka River, 500 miles from Irkutsk. The Barnaul - Natron, near the village of Bolshe-Mamyrsky, in the Nizhneudinsky district and others.

Gypsum was: in the upper reaches of the Osa River, along the Angara River, above Balagansk, on the right bank of the Unga River and its tributary Ulei; lime burning was carried out in many places of the province. Kaolin and white clay are mined in the headwaters of the Oyoka River. Refractory clay was located on the Belaya River, near the village of Badayskaya, and brick clay - in many places of the province. Refractory stone was found along the Ange River (a tributary of Lake Baikal) and 10 miles from the village of Bratskiy Ostrog. Feldspar and quartz for glassworks were mined in the Pribaikalsky mountains, near the Ulan-Nur cape and along the rivers Malaya Buguldeyka and Yelants. Millstone - on the 2nd Ase River and on the right bank of the Angara, near the village of Yandy. Sharpening stone - between the stations of Olzonovskaya and Baendaevskaya Yakutsky tract. White fine-grained marble - along the Slyudyanka River, which flows into Lake Baikal. Colored stones were found most in the southeastern part of the province, as follows: lapis lazuli - along the Slyudyanka river; venice (pomegranate) - along the Malaya Bystroy river; Amazonian stone , sphene and raspberry-colored feldspar - along the Bolshaya Bystroi river. Mica , coil , talc , chondrodite , laurel - along the Taloy River; blue limestone , pink quartz , salite , baikalite , tremolite , black sherl and others - along the Slyudyanka river. Black mica , green apatite - in the valley of Uluntuy; jade in the upper Belaya River, in the Kitoy Alps .

Hydrography

Irkutsk province was abundantly irrigated with waters; The first place in terms of the enormity of the reservoir belongs to Lake Baikal, which constituted the natural border of the province in the southeast. Besides him, there were no large lakes in the province. Almost all the rivers of the Irkutsk province belonged mainly to two river basins - the Yenisei and Lensky. 3 Tunguska belonged to the Yenisei system: Upper, or Angara , Podkamennaya and Lower , with their tributaries.

Angara and Lena - the two main waterways, which were important in the economic life of the region; of these, the Angara constituted the waterway in the west and served for the alloying of grain for the crafts of the Yenisei province and other goods, and Lena played an even greater role in the delivery of bread and manufactured goods to the Yakutsk Territory. The Angara-Lensky watershed, passing about 70-100 miles from each of these rivers, determines the insignificance of the right tributaries of the Angara and the left - the Lena. The largest tributaries of the Angara flow into it from the left, carrying their waters from the more distant alpine places of the Sayan Mountains; more significant tributaries of the Lena flow into it on the right, collecting their waters - in the Baikal, Ikat, Severo-Muisk and other distant mountain ranges. Having left Baikal, the Angara crosses the Irkutsk province in a north-north-western direction for about 1000 miles, and its depth along the fairway from Baikal to Irkutsk is from 3 to 5 s. In the Angara from Baikal to the city of Irkutsk, due to the rapid flow of water, the river freezes no earlier than 30 degrees of frost - at the end of December, and ice formation occurs at the bottom of the river. In general, the course of the Angara is very fast, and the rapids available on it make navigation on it very difficult.

Starting from the confluence of the Oka River , the Angara changed its name to the Upper Tunguska. On this site for 70 miles, one after the other, within the Irkutsk province, there were 7 rapids, of which the most important were: Hungover - stretching for 1 mile, with a drop of water up to 3.5 fathoms, Pianovsky - 1.5 a mile, a drop of water of 4.5 fathoms, and Padun - with the same length, having a drop of water of up to 7.5 fathoms, and in all of these rapids a granite ridge of pitfalls extends across the entire river. Of the left tributaries of the Angara, the most remarkable are the rivers Irkut , Kitoy , Belaya , Oka - one of the most significant rivers of the province - and the Uda . Of the right tributaries of the Angara, the most famous are Ushakovka (60 versts), Kuda (170 versts), Yanda (140 versts), Ilim (380 versts) and Kata (200 versts). The Podkamennaya Tunguska , which flows into the Yenisei River on the right, belonged to the Irkutsk province only by its sources, and the Lower Tunguska irrigated the province for 650 miles, taking a rather significant tributary - the Nenu River (150 miles).

Lena , originating in versts 20 from Baikal , from the northwestern slopes of the Baikal Mountains, irrigated the province for 1,600 versts; its course is quite quiet, it becomes a floating river from the village (now an urban-type settlement) Kachug , which lies about 200 versts from its source; here it has 30 fathoms wide and up to 6 feet deep; at Ust-Kuta (now the city of Ust-Kut ) the width of the Lena River is up to 1/2 versts, and at Vitim up to 1 verst. On the Lena River, the sedentary population of the Verkholensky and Kirensky districts was grouped. Of the right largest tributaries of the Lena are known: Kirenga (500 versts), Chaya (240 versts), Chuya (320 versts) and Vitim . Of the left tributaries of the Lena, the largest are: Kulenga (120 versts), Ilga (200 versts), Kuta (280 versts), Peledui (300 versts) and Nuya (370 versts).

The climate of the Irkutsk province, lying far from the seas, high above the surface of the ocean, covered with ancient forests, was continental, with significant annual amplitude and prolonged cold weather. The warmest places were located near Irkutsk, and the places located near Lake Baikal , due to the cooling effect of the waters of its basin, had a less warm climate. The absolute lowest temperature in January fell to −45.6 °, and the maximum reaches 34 °, 6 in June, the difference is 80 °, 2. The first frosts and snow occurred in other years at the end of August, and hoarfrost - at the end of July. The average annual rainfall in the valleys of the Irkutsk province reached up to 380 cm, and even more in the mountains; the driest seasons are winter and spring, and of the months is March, with a moisture loss of 10 mm. Most moisture falls in the summer - in July, with an average of 72 mm; but in other years, the amount of precipitation in July reaches 180 mm, causing strong river spills and an increase in the water level in Lake Baikal. An insignificant amount of precipitation in winter is caused by weak cloud cover with a constant almost calm due to the predominance of the anticyclone . The predominant wind direction in winter in the southern parts of the province was southeastern, and in summer - northwest; the number of northerly winds everywhere increases from winter to summer, and in the northern parts of the province, westerly winds were more frequent in the cold season, and eastern ones in warm weather.

The vegetation is diverse, especially highly developed - forest : the entire area of ​​the province, with the exception of the highest peaks (loaches) of the Sayan, Tunkinsky proteins, is covered for the most part by primitive forest ( taiga ), consisting mainly of coniferous trees : larch , cedar , spruce , fir and from deciduous: birch , aspen , different types of willow , balsamic poplar ( Populus suaveolens ), bird cherry , hawthorn , and apple trees in the south. Woody vegetation in the northwestern part of the province, on the Sayan Range, appears in the form of stunted cedar and larch trees, at an altitude of 6,200 feet , and in the central part, more southern, at an altitude of 6,600 feet above sea ​​level : downstream of rivers with a decrease in the height of the mountains, coniferous forests become denser, larger, deciduous species join, and the forest covers all the slopes of the mountains and river valleys.

In the forests, the trees are covered with a mass of lichens and mosses , hanging in the cosmos on their branches, and not only in low places, but also on the foothills in dense forests, on moist soil, everywhere are very common - lichens, mosses, mushrooms , ferns , horsetails and lacunae .

Of the plants, mention should be made of the shrubs found in the Sayan Mountains - the camel's tail ( Caragana jubata ) and buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides).

In addition to forests, alpine vegetation , calcareous cliffs and cliffs , salt licks and steppe are developed in the province, and plants belonging to the flora of the Far East are already found in the Baikal areas.

In the animal kingdom there is a great variety, especially forest ones. Of predatory badgers , wolverines , brown bear , sable , ermine , otter , wolf , fox , lynx ; from rodents: flying squirrel , squirrel , chipmunk , female evroshki, hare , etc .; from artiodactyls - wild boar ; from ruminants: musk deer , roe deer , Manchurian deer , dried ( elk ) and reindeer . In Baikal, a special genus of seal is found - the seal ( Rhoca baicalensis ). Of the insects, we note only a special harmful genus of the filly ( Gomphocerus sibirica ), which multiplies strongly in dry years, destroying crops and meadow grasses.

Administratively, the Irkutsk province since 1857 has been divided into 5 districts: Irkutsk, Balagansky, Nizhneudinsky, Verkholensky and Kirensky, in which there are 18 sections (camps), 45 volosts, 40 foreign departments and one separate rural society. The entire population of the province, with 4 district cities, 1 state-owned and 1 provincial, in 1892 extended to 4,654,228, including 249,151 men. and 216277 women. Most peasant settlements were grouped along the banks of pp. Hangars, Lena and some of their tributaries, as well as along the Moscow highway. There are few large villages, and they are located along the postal tract; having over 500 householders, there are only seven. Extramural life is developed only in the Balagan district.

At the end of the XIX century , the province consisted of 5 districts (from 1898 - counties):

The population density is negligible; huge space (up to 90% of the province) is not delimited and does not consist in anyone's possession. In the most populated Balagan district per 1 square. a mile away is the rural population of 3.3 days, in the least populated, Kirensky - 0.11 days, in the entire province - 0.62 people. In the more populated three districts, 5.6 household vol. p., and workers - 1.3. There are 97.7 women per 100 men. Buryats of settled and nomadic - 117811, Tungus - 1654, Karagas - 431; in the rest of the population, the Russian element prevails; between the exiles there are many Poles, Jews, Tatars. The population of the province, consisting of a mixture of foreigners, immigrants and exiles from different parts of Russia, formed a special local type - Siberian, with a special local dialect. The largest part of the population is of medium growth, namely 71%; high - 12%, low - 17%. Quite widespread goiter with its companions - cretinism and deaf-mute.

In 1892, 4736 marriages were made in the Irkutsk province, 20895 were born (10722 m and 10173 women), 16710 (9093 males, 7617 females) died. According to the average conclusion for the last 30 years, the birth rate is: in the Orthodox population - 4.9%, and in the pagan - 3.6%; mortality among the Orthodox is 3.9%, among the Gentiles - 3.2%. Natural population growth - 1.07%, actual - 1.33%; the difference falls on immigration.

In 1890, it was listed:

• noble and personal noblemen - 4441,
• clergy of the Orthodox white - 1880,
• monastic - 87,
• Catholic - 2,
• Lutheran - 1,
• Jewish - 1,
• Lamaisky - 10,
• Mohammedan - 9;
• honorary citizens of hereditary and personal - 1368,
• merchants - 1 623,
• philistines - 27 111,
• guild - 2 983,
• peasants of all kinds - 223812,
• regular troops - 2546,
• consisting of the reserve, retired lower ranks, soldiers' wives and children - 18039,
• Cossacks - 5230,
• foreigners settled - 14 178,
• nomadic - 103 633,
• stray - 2 085,
• 68 foreign citizens
• exiled settlers and housed workers - 29,218,
• political exiles - 619,
• 5,441 exiled settlers,
• persons not belonging to the indicated categories - 482.

In 1892, there were Orthodox 372456, schismatics of different sects - 382 (most of all subbotniks in the village of Zima, Balagan okrug), Catholics - 3485, Armenian-Gregorians - 86, Protestants - 569, Mohammedans - 2843, Jews - 6315, Lamaites - 14210, shamanistic - 64945. During the period from 1872 to 1881, 16,704 people converted to Orthodoxy. (mainly Buryats).

In the province, not counting cities, there were 223 churches, 2 monasteries, 216 chapels, 2 mosques, 2 datsans and 5 prayer houses.

National composition in 1897 ^[3] :

In 1892, for all salary fees, 1112098 rubles were subject to recovery, of which 450149 rubles remained in arrears. Mostly the arrears remain for the exiled settlers who have the least payment force. Indefinite penalties remained in arrears of 561,977 rubles., The payment of which received only 43,153 rubles. Government payments, worldly expenses, and subscription in kind in three okrugs, Irkutsk, Balagan, and Nizhneudinsky, totaled 1294723 rubles. (1887), of which 914,721 rubles fell to the share of peasants, and 38,0002 rubles fell to foreigners. For one worker accounts for from 24 to 30 rubles., And for a cash soul - from 10 to 13 rubles. Worldly incomes extended only to 94143 rubles, including among peasants - 87506 rubles, from foreigners - 6637 rubles. Of the natural duties, the cost of the road is up to 560,000 rubles., Underwater - up to 300,000 rubles. Of the state revenues in 1892, the most given: excise duty - 1,910,794 rubles. and customs - 7263884 rubles.

Public education, with the exception of the provincial city, is poorly developed: in 1892 there were 427 educational institutions, 11,112 students, including 8056 males, or 72.5%, and 3056 females, or 27.5%. Students accounted for 2.1% of the entire population of the province, 7.7% of the population of cities, and 1.2% of districts; to school-age children in the cities - 46.3%, in the districts - 7.2%, in the entire province - 12.2%. There were 366 rural schools, including literacy schools - 223, church parishes - 74, schools of the Ministry of Education: parish schools - 63 and two-year schools - 6. In addition, there are many home schools in the villages with teacher-settlers; in three districts of such schools 107, with the number of students up to 1020. In the province there are 13 hospitals (664 beds), 3 staging hospitals, 15 emergency rooms (72 kr.), 4 hospitals at factories (26 kr.), 5 pharmacies (of which two are rural), 37 doctors, 4 female doctors, 66 paramedics, 21 midwives. Charity, with the exception of Irkutsk, is poorly developed; in the villages there are only 8 almshouses, in which 66 people were ripened .; in addition, there are 4 private almshouses and up to 9 houses in which the decrepit and maimed ones find only shelter, gaining food by alms.

Farming

The main occupation of the inhabitants is agriculture, which is not dealt only by the Olkhon Buryats and the Alaguev clans of the Kapsal department, as well as the Tungus and Karagas. The entire north of the province, that is, the greater part of the Kirensky district and the northeastern part of Nizhneudinsky, as well as the entire rocky western coast of Lake Baikal with Olkhon Island, should be included in the non-bearded strip; then less than other parts of the province are grain-growing western and south-western, starting from the river. Uda to app. borders of the province. The center and the southern part are very grain-growing: the soil here is very greasy and does not require fertilizer; but in the south only the Irkut valley is populated. Soils are most common in the Irkutsk province - loamy, mostly reddish, then gray and, as an exception, white, the former occur in higher places and on mountain slopes, and forest loam, which lies in higher places, is considered better than steppe for processing. This kind of soil with a depth of 3-4 tops is difficult to process for cultivation, but wheat will be born well on them. The second place belongs to the black lands, which are divided into strong and light; the latter are subdivided into the steppe and the so-called puffers or buzuns (bukhovina). This soil lies below the red loam, mostly at the bottom of the pads (intermountain valleys), more rich in humus; its depth is from several points to an arshin. In the steppes, black (light) soils contain less humus than bukhov, they soon lose their productivity and require a long rest, so that after removing 3 or 5 loaves they remain in the deposits for up to 15 years and are unsuitable for winter crops. Bukhov, lying in low places where there were swamps, is considered the poorest soil, tundra soils approaching it, located near swamps and halibut, are approaching it. Finally, sandy soils and sandy loams of various qualities, with silty soils sometimes being found nearby, are significantly widespread in the province. These soils are unsuitable for sowing; silty soils found with sandy loam and salt marshes requiring fertilizer, which, with the exception of Kirensky okr. and some large villages, it is not used anywhere, and depleted arable lands usually rush under deposits for decades. Although local conditions include all the data on the development of a three-field crop rotation, the majority - 8/9 - of the cultivated area is operated by a two-field system together with a fallow crop, and the field is sown for several years in a row, until complete depletion (up to 15 years), or completely throws , being replaced by a new one, for which the subsection serves. Land under sowing in 1892 shows a total of 348,400 acres; of this number accounted for 39.8% of the Balagan district, Irkutsk province - 22%, Verkholensky - 16.1%, Nizhneudinsky - 14.6%, Kirensky - 7.5%. In recent years, the number of stocks has increased, especially in the Balagan and Irkutsk districts. Of grain, winter crops are sown more in Verkholensky and Nizhneudinsky, and spring crops in Balagan District. The average yield of bread for a seven-year period (1880–1887): for winter rye Sam-5.9, spring 3.4, wheat (spring) 3.2, oats 3.1.

Everywhere bred potatoes , hemp; crops of buckwheat, peas and millet are less common. In addition to the quality of the soil, the degree of the crop is affected by the height of the field, since in lower places of bread they often suffer from frost and frost; Further, the degree of protection against winds, the direction of the slope of the field - in the north or south, the presence of mountain grasses - sow thistle . The sale of bread is carried out mainly in the city of Irkutsk and on the Lower Slobodskaya pier on the river. Ilge, in the Verkholensk district, from where it is rafted to the Olekminsko-Vitimsky gold mines.

Gardening is industrial in nature only in villages lying near the city of Irkutsk, and the other few points of more significant demand. In the village of Alexandrovsky, vegetables are considered the best in the province; Galumet village produces excellent onions; all L. Belsky has developed hop production with the sale of up to 40,000 pounds of hops annually. Tobacco is bred in gardens, mainly in the Irkutsk district, where in 1892 it was harvested from 154.5 dessiatins. up to 21595 pounds. Hemp for the sale of seeds is bred in the villages closest to the provincial city. Foreigners almost do not gardening.

Livestock

After farming, cattle breeding is most developed, which is favored by extensive steppe places in the central part of the province, where the Buryats are engaged in cattle breeding as a craft; but for the most part it serves only as an aid to agriculture. In total, more cattle are bred in the Balagan district and in the Tunkinsky basin of the Irkutsk district; but cattle breeding does not meet the needs of the population, and therefore part of the cattle is annually driven for the city of Irkutsk and the gold mines from Transbaikalia, Mongolia and even from Tomsk. Local livestock are small, cows give little milk; horses are rare endurance. The total number of cattle was in the province (in 1892), with the exception of cities: horses - 292111, cattle - 380336, sheep - 356408, goats - 51112, pigs - 88572, deer - 3930, camels - 210.

Hunt

Farming is the exclusive occupation of the Tungus and Karagas; from the Russian population, the inhabitants of villages lying in remote taiga, or in mountainous areas, or in the valleys of Tungusok, Ilim, Kirengi and a friend, are engaged in the extraction of the beast. rivers They mainly hunt squirrels, and partly other fur-bearing animals, catching them with rifles, dies, pits, etc. Bears and wolves are only beaten by chance when hunting other animals. Of the birds, hazel grouse, black grouse and water birds are the subject of fishing. Of the products of the animal industry, skins of fur animals, cabaret stream (musk), antlers (young horns of red deer) are sold for 100-200 rubles. by the piece or by weight from 6 to 12 rubles. per pound. In 1888, in 3 districts (Irkutsk, Balagan, and Nizhneudinsky), 4,822 people were engaged in animal industries, which produced animals in the amount of 122,246 rubles.

Fishing

Fishing was determined by the proximity of villages to the Angara and Lena rivers, and mainly to Lake. Baikal , which is engaged in fishing annually up to 1,500 people. In Baikal, the subject of fishing is fishing for Baikal omul , Baikal grayling , and whitefish , lenok , taimen , Angara grayling , and occasionally sturgeon and friend , are caught in rivers. In Baikal in 1892, 707 barrels of omul were caught for summer fishing, each from 800 to 1000, and in autumn - 785 barrels; caviar 57 barrels, fat 201 pounds, totaling 66,000 rubles. 1171 workers (1020 men and 151 women) were hired for fishing, on 9 vessels, with 50 seines. In addition, the Olkhon Buryats at the Small Sea industrially 905 barrel. fish, 173 pounds of fish oil and 591 pounds of seal oil .

Handicraft

Handicraft production is poorly developed in the province and serves mainly as an aid in the household, such as cooperage, the manufacture of carts, wheels and other crafts from wood, weaving of nets and nets, twisting of ropes, the preparation of coarse felt (tar), rugs from wool and hair , knitting wool stockings and mitt for mittens, dressing furs and leathers, picking resin or sulfur - for chewing (local custom). This can also include charcoal, tar, tar, collecting pine nuts. Blacksmithing, pottery and brick making are common throughout the province.

Littering

Larger trades are much more important in the economic life of the population: hiring for gold mines, for hiring, for the rafting of ships and their construction, as well as postal pursuit and yard cleaning.

The population of the districts of Irkutsk, Balagan, and in particular Nizhneudinsky is mainly engaged in export fishing; the pickup causes an increase in sales of local products and janitorial services, that is, the maintenance of inns, which number up to 587 along the Moscow highway, annually 48,256 carts are sent from the city of Irkutsk (290,446 seats, or about 1 million pounds), and all carts with goods pass Irkutsk 75,000; delivery of goods costs about 3 1/2 million rubles. A mass of bread is delivered to Nizhny Slobodskaya pier on the river. Ilge.

In the districts of Verkholensk and Kirensky, export fishing is less significant; more important is the postal chase, delivering a gross income of 500,000 rubles to the population in the last district.

In the last two districts, the population finds significant income in the construction of ships, their load and rafting. Shipbuilding is mainly carried out in the Verkholensk district, in villages located at pp. Ilge, Lena and Tuture; here, an average of up to 690 ships are being built — baroque, half-barrels, pauses, carbases, boats, for the amount of up to 100,000 rubles, and up to 1,300 people are engaged in shipbuilding. From all 7 marinas of the Verkholensk district, 1,191,000 poods were melted on these ships in 1892 in the amount of 3942950 rubles.

Residents of the Kirensky district are also involved in the delivery of hay to the gold mines, helping them to annually up to 180,000 rubles.

Industry

Despite the remoteness of the Irkutsk province from the industrial centers of Russia and the high cost of transportation (up to 9 rubles per pood), the factory and factory industries are poorly developed and far from satisfy local demand; besides, locally produced products with a quality lower than those brought in (for example, iron, glass, cloth, porcelain and glassware). All the plants and factories were listed in the province of 116, of which 10 did not operate in 1892; there were 2235 workers; production is shown in 2027210 rubles. Most of the factories and plants are located in the city of Irkutsk - 60, and in the Irkutsk District - 36. Of the factories of the most tanneries - 24 (1 did not operate), with 117 workers and production for 254464 rubles, then brick - 14, with 96 workers and production of 25810 rubles. In terms of production, the first place belongs to 10 distilleries (of which 3 were not operational) with 213 workers, with production of 318,394 rubles. Two cloth factories (1 did not work), with 105 workers, with production at 61438 rubles .; 1 ironworks, with 667 workers and production for 254,491 rubles .; 2 porcelain and faience factories, with 210 workers, with production at 206800 rubles .; 4 saltworks, with 250 workers and production for 1,709,929 rubles .; 4 glass factories (2 did not work), with 84 workers, with production of 68813 rubles.

5495 were selected for trade documents, certificates and tickets in 1893 in the Irkutsk province. Trade developed quite well, which was facilitated by the transit route crossing the province, although tea transportation has been greatly reduced in recent years due to sea transportation and improvement of local waterways. The development of trade is greatly facilitated by the significant sale of local bread for gold mining, especially in the Yakutsk region. Imported goods are purchased mainly at the Nizhny Novgorod and Irbit fairs and in Tomsk. Local productivity delivers the export of bread, alcohol, beer, leather, iron, glass, cloth, tobacco and porcelain to the Yakutsk and Zabaykalsky regions. and partly to the Yenisei province. Rural works find their sales in daily or Sunday bazaars in cities and in more populated villages, as well as at some fairs, of which the most significant in terms of turnover, except for Irkutsk, 5 fairs in the Verkholensky district and 2 in Kirensky.

The main trade routes in the Irkutsk province are land. The Moscow, or Big Siberian, tract cuts through the province in its entire width from west to east; its continuation is the Circum-Baikal tract, along which there is movement of goods in spring and autumn, during the termination of communication through Lake Baikal. The second tract, the Yakut postal service , from the city of Irkutsk goes by dry route to the Zhigalovskaya station, and from here by water to Yakutsk along the river. Lena, on which steamboats have been sailing since 1862 , mostly rising only to Ust-Kuta. From Irkutsk on the right bank of the river. Hangars goes Zaangarsky tract ^[5] , past the city of Balagansk, to the villages. Ust-Udy; The Osinsky tract adjoins it. In the Nizhneudinsky district there are two branches going from the Moscow highway, and the road leading to the Shelashnikovsky highway, laid to the Lower Slobodskaya pier on the river. Ilge; the last road is very important for the significant transportation of bread intended for rafting on the river. Lena. Another way to the river. Lena leads from the villages. Tulun by pp. Ie and Oke to the villages. B. Mamyrsky on the Angara, from here turns onto the river. Ilim through the Ilimsky port, and then on the river. Ust-Kutu, which flows into the river. Lena. The Tunkinsky tract leads to Mongolia along the river valley. Irkut. Water communication is made mainly by pp. Lena and Angara; The thresholds prevent the correct communication of the latter, but the steamers rise unhindered for 600 miles. to the villages. Brotherly Ostrog. In 1885, Mr .. M. Sibiryakov was given permission to arrange in the rapids of the Angara a tuer shipping company and a tug from t. Bratsky to the city of Yeniseisk. A rather active ship communication with the Transbaikal by six ships belonging to the Kyakhta partnership is made on Lake Baikal; in addition, another steam vessel belonging to a fishing company runs along the lake.

Archaeological studies of recent years have revealed the existence in the Irkutsk province, in the valleys of the river. Hangars and its tributaries of people of the Stone Age, contemporaries of the mammoth and antediluvian bull: weapons, jewelry and utensils of the stone period were found in different places. In these same places, many things have also been found relating to periods of a person's acquaintance with metals; but nothing is known of the tribes that left these monuments on their own.

The earliest historical news of the local population of the Angara region dates back to the end of the 12th century, that is, by the time, as is assumed, the occupation of these places by the Buryats. By the time the Russians appeared on the banks of the river. The Buryats hangars were already the most numerous and powerful tribe here; there lived the Tungus .

In 1628 , in the middle reaches of the Angara, the first prison on this river appeared - Rybinsky. In 1630 , the Ilimskoye winterhouse was founded, on a trail leading to the river. Lena, and at the last Nikolsky Pogost, renamed in 1655 in Kirensky Ostrog. In 1652 , the foundation was laid for the Irkutsk lambing wintering ground, and in 1654 , the Balagan prison was laid in the very center of the Buryat nomads. The Tunkinsky Territory was annexed only in 1709 , with the construction of the Tunkinsky prison.

In 1719 , the Irkutsk province was formed, in 1764 the Irkutsk province, in 1822 the East Siberian governor-general (since 1887 the Irkutsk governor-general ). Only since 1851 , from the time of the separation of the Trans-Baikal region , the Irkutsk province was in its present borders.

The region was originally settled either by the resettlement of peasants and servants from Russia as designated by the government, or by the voluntary resettlement of peasants. At first, there were few hunters for resettlement: in 1648 , peasants voluntarily settled near Verkholensk prison, in 1653 60 families were settled near Balagansk , in 1697 , in 500 different villages, 500 families of farmers from Verkhoturye , etc.

Temporary measures against voluntary resettlement, for example, decrees of 1743 and 1846 , interfered with the settlement of the region. Mostly the settlement of the Irkutsk province was carried out by exiles.

A significant part of the settlers (exiles) is constantly located, however, outside the province: either in gold mines, or in an unknown absence. A large contingent of immigrants was made up of fined soldiers, prisoners of war, and especially Polish rebels of 1830 - 1831 and 1863 : in 1866, there were up to 18,000 exiled Poles in Siberia.

The population of the region with an exiled element continues to this day: for example, in 1890 4019 people arrived in the Irkutsk province of exiles of various categories; In addition, 1088 people were sentenced to hard labor, who completed the term of work, including members of their families 261. There were 1682 men and 2 women who were sentenced to imprisonment in Alexander Central Prison and in 3 factories. There were 27 staged buildings in the Irkutsk province along the Moscow highway and 5 along the Yakut highway , 4 prison castles, 3 orphanages for arrested children; in the latter there were 75 boys and 62 girls.

Governor Generals

Irkutsk Military Governors

Governors-General of Siberia

Governors

Rulers of Viceroyalty

Governors

Vice Governors

Chairmen of the provincial board

Vice Governors

• Babr

• “Materials for the study of land use and the economic life of the rural population of the Irkutsk and Yenisei provinces” (M., 1890)
• “Address-calendar of the Irkutsk province”, Irkutsk, 1916
• the rest see Mezhov, “Siberian Bibliography” (St. Petersburg, 1892)
• That which before the mind speaks. (Essay on the Angarsk dialect)
• Library Tsarskoye Selo, books on the history of the Irkutsk province of the XIX - XX century, PDF