Читать книгу The most detailed guide around Circum-Baikal Railroad: Irkutsk, Listvyanka, Slyudyanka, Shelekhov - - Страница 9

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).