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| yna@yna.co.kr 2025-01-03 10:13:02
About 440 years ago, in 1578, the Cossack cavalry crossed the Ural Mountains and began to pioneer Siberia. The "Don Cossacks" mentioned in the "Song of Stenka Razin," which speaks of the uproar in the Don Cossack ranks, refers to these very people.
These were the Cossack cavalrymen who rebelled along the Don River, the same Cossacks that Michael Sholokhov's "And Quiet Flows the Don" (Tikhii Don), which won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1965, famously depicted. In essence, the Cossacks were military communities formed by peasants who had rebelled against the rule of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and gathered along the banks of the Don River.
As they moved eastward, they founded several cities, and in 1625, a base for these cavalrymen was established at the confluence of the Irkut River, a tributary of the Angara River. The Angara River, as mentioned later, is the only river that flows out of the vast Lake Baikal and eventually joins the Lena River, draining into the Arctic Ocean. The region’s abundant water resources and the endless pastures behind it provided a geographical backdrop where food scarcity was minimal.
In 1686, the Tsarist Russian government recognized it as a city, and it rapidly developed into an industrial hub for Eastern Siberia. So, when the Decembrists (a group of young Russian officers who revolted for a constitutional monarchy and were influenced by European liberal ideas) arrived here in 1825, the city was already playing a central role in Siberia.
Even today, the city, powered by hydroelectric energy from the Angara River, has the lowest electricity rates, with all city heating supplied via electricity. This has been a driving force for the development of light industry in the area.
It’s also notable that the Russian space project, which provided the launch vehicle for our Naroho spacecraft, was called the "Angara Project," which offers a clue as to how Russians view the Angara River.
The name Irkutsk comes from the Irkut River, a tributary of the Angara River. "Irkut" in Buryat (the language of the Buryat Autonomous Republic) means "fierce" or "wild." The Angara Hotel, where we stayed, is the largest and best hotel in the city, located at the central Kirov Square, opposite the city hall, regional government office, central bank branch, and the National University of Foreign Languages.
While the administrative capital of the Republic of Buryatia and the Baikal region is Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk hosts the regional government, the central bank branch, and major universities such as the National University of Foreign Languages, the National Economics University, and the Polytechnic University. From this, it is clear that this city is the cultural, industrial, and financial center of the region.
With an average citizen age of 36, the city appears youthful and vibrant, and is also renowned for its beauty, with many notable women. Originally the stronghold of the Buryat people, it is now predominantly inhabited by Russians.
Kirov Square is named after the revolutionary member "Kirov," who was assassinated while living in this city after the Russian Revolution. Kirov is a well-known figure in Russia, and his name has been used for various establishments, including the Kirov Ballet.
The regional government building, constructed in a modern architectural style, now stands on the site where the largest and most magnificent Kazan Church in Siberia once stood. This church was destroyed during Stalin's campaign to demolish churches across the country, and the government building was later erected in its place.
Directly visible from the government building is the beautiful Spasskaya (Saskaya) Church, which was completed in 1710. It is the oldest and best-preserved church in Eastern Siberia. The frescoes painted on the three exterior walls of the building are particularly famous. The central fresco depicts a statue of Jesus, with scenes on the left showing the baptism of the indigenous Buryat people, and on the right, the first saint of Irkutsk is portrayed.
In essence, the church commemorates the spread of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Siberia. In a broader sense, it represents the subjugation of the local Buryat people by the Slavic ethnic group through religion, which also symbolizes the seizure of their land to expand Russian territory.
The Russian Empire sent Cossack rebels to these vast plains, which had been home to various ethnic groups like the Mongols, Turkic peoples, Malgal, Buyeo, Yemaek, Xianbei, and Jurchen, to drive out the indigenous peoples. The empire then sent exiled criminals to colonize these lands, thus securing Siberia.
As a result, Russia today possesses the largest landmass on Earth, abundant resources, vast birch forests, and fertile grasslands, which were simply claimed by sitting there and taking control.
The current name of the Buryat Autonomous Republic holds little significance. There were once five cathedrals in this area, but they were destroyed during the Great Fire of Irkutsk. In their place, a new cathedral was built with donations from Catholic settlers who had migrated from Poland. Thus, at the top of the spire of the Limsky Cathedral is a Latin cross.
It is fascinating to note that Polish immigrants were particularly numerous here, and they made great efforts to preserve their Roman Catholic faith. They were likely Catholics who had been forcibly relocated here after Napoleon's army was pursued and entered Paris, following the retreat of the Russian army, and the Russian emperor’s decree that they settle here after being given new ownership of Poland.
This is a matter to be confirmed when looking back at books in Seoul, but the Limsky Cathedral is the only Catholic church in the vast Siberian region. Inside, there is a pipe organ, and concerts and organ performances are frequently held. Some sources mention that masses are conducted, while others suggest that the church is primarily used as a music hall, indicating that the number of parishioners and priests might be quite small, and it may now be used only for occasional services.
Behind the regional government building is a memorial square dedicated to World War II. Of the 210,000 Irkutsk citizens who went to war, 50,000 never returned. As you cross the square, there is a "Flame of Eternity" burning in front of a wall engraved with the names of the fallen soldiers.
This flame also commemorates the Siberian heroes who died fighting the German fascists during the war. It was lit with the Eternal Flame from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Kremlin in Moscow and carried here in a relay. Fresh bouquets of flowers are placed on the altar. The story goes that every newlywed couple who finishes their wedding ceremony visits this site to wish for their love to continue burning like the eternal flame.
Around the altar, rectangular memorial plaques dedicated to the various ethnic minorities of Siberia have been installed. Among them is a plaque dedicated to the Koreans from Siberia, commemorating the deceased from the Korean diaspora, which was particularly striking.
It was also touching to hear that the soil placed there was brought from North Korea.
The reason why one must stop in Irkutsk before heading to Lake Baikal is, of course, because this airport is the largest in the region and the closest to the destination. Additionally, just like one needs to acclimate to the altitude when heading to Mount Everest or Machu Picchu, some acclimatization to Russia, and specifically to Siberia, is also necessary here.
The inefficient social system that makes immigration procedures take over an hour, combined with the lingering atmosphere of socialist totalitarianism that persists even decades after perestroika, requires understanding and adaptation. Furthermore, once you leave the city and enter the vast steppes of Siberia, you must accept the reality that outside the Korean-made bus we are traveling on, there will be no signs of modern civilization. All aspects of tourism infrastructure—transportation, accommodation, food, sanitation—are underdeveloped.
Of course, if such conditions are a source of dissatisfaction, then Lake Baikal may not be the place for you. (To be continued)
[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]