Discovering Russia. Irkutsk Region
Siberia is an amazing and inimitable territory, a “forest continent” on the Earth. Siberia is immense, it occupies almost a third part of Russia’s territory. It is famous for “Siberian colds.” Everyone has heard a lot about them! Siberia is gorgeous, it boasts its ancient mountains, full-flowing thousand-kilometer rivers, vast forest areas, and, needless to say, Lake Baikal, a unique natural monument on a global scale, the largest freshwater lake on the Earth. It is here, near Baikal, that Irkutsk was founded in 1661. It is the capital of the Irkutsk Region, the fifth largest city in Siberia.
Today the city with a population of 600,000 is a large cultural center that regularly holds numerous cultural and film festivals, boasts 13 museums, the philharmonic with an organ hall, 8 theaters, more than 10 movie theaters.
Irkutsk is a university city. It has 16 universities including the national research university (a total of 29 Russian universities have this status). Other cities in the Irkutsk Region also have universities.
In recent years, the number of international students choosing the Irkutsk Region as a study destination has been increasing rapidly. Irkutsk alone has over 7,000 students from 40 countries. Most of them are citizens of China, Mongolia, Vietnam, and South Korea.
Facts about Irkutsk Region
The coastline of Lake Baikal is 2,000 km
The historic center of Irkutsk is included in the preliminary list of the UNESCO World Heritage
Pelmeni is a traditional Siberian dish
Minimum Monthly Expenses
21,669 RUB / ≈ 280 USD еxclusive of accommodation fees
From 13,000 RUB / ≈ 170 USD renting a one-room apartment
302 RUB / ≈ 4 USD standard menu per person at McDonalds
