Tourism in Russia > Irkutsk > House of Soviets (Government of the Irkutsk region)

House of Soviets (Government of the Irkutsk region)

The initial design of this building was drafted by architect Andrey Kryachkov in 1936. The construction was carried out in 1937-1939 but due to the engineering mistakes it stopped. It was resumed only in 1955 under the direction of architect K. Guriev and finished in 1959. In 1969 the region was awarded Lenin’s medal – the highest award of that time. To commemorate that award a granite memorial tablet was put on its wall. The other memorial plaque was added in 1995, and it lists the important events in the history of the Irkutsk region are listed. The Government building stands on the place where Irkutsk’s biggest cathedral stood before. The cathedral was built at the end of the 19th century and was not considered a historical monument, so the new Soviet government decided to get rid of it. The chapel in front of the government building was built in 2000 and it reminds us of that cathedral. It is a replica of one of the cathedral’s domes. Lenin's street, 1а