Map of Irkutsk

History

Mongolic-related Slab Grave cultural monuments survive in Baikal territory. The territory of Buryatia came under the control of the Xiongnu Empire (209 BC – 93 CE), of the Mongolian Xianbei state (93–234), of the Rouran Khaganate (330–555), of the Göktürk Khaganate (555–603), of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate (603–744), of the Uyghur Khaganate (744–847), of the Yenisei Kyrgyz (847–1219), of the Mongol Empire (1206–1368) and of the Northern Yuan (1368–1691).

Medieval Mongol tribes like the Merkit, Bayads, Barga Mongols and Tümeds inhabited Buryatia. Today Buryat-Mongols remain in the territory of the oblast.

Russian presence in the area dates from the 17th century: the Russian Tsardom expanded eastward following the conquest of the Khanate of Sibir in 1582.

Geography

Irkutsk Oblast borders the Republic of Buryatia and the Tuva Republic in the south and southwest, which separate it from Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia; Krasnoyarsk Krai in the west; the Sakha Republic in the northeast; and Zabaykalsky Krai in the east.

Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest lake in the world (containing over a fifth of Earth's fresh liquid surface water), is located in the southeast of the region. It is drained by the Angara, which flows north across the province; the outflow rate is controlled by the Irkutsk Dam. The two other major dams on the Irkutsk Oblast's section of the Angara are at Bratsk and Ust-Ilimsk; both forming large reservoirs. The Lena has its source in Irkutsk Oblast as well, and flows north-east into the neighboring Sakha Republic.

Demographics

The oblast is very thinly populated, with a population density of 3 people per square kilometer, compared to a national average of 8.4. Irkutsk is the administrative center and largest city, with 612,973 residents. Other large cities are Bratsk (238,825 people), Angarsk (229,592 people), Ust-Ilimsk (83,635 people), and Usolye-Sibirskoye (80,331 people).

Most of the population are ethnic Russians. A minority group, the Buryats, have a special Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug inside the oblast. Russians and other Slavic/Germanic groups make up 92.9% of the population, according to the 2021 Census, while Buryats are 3.6%. Tofalars number 659, a decrease from 722 in 1989.