Leonid Gaidai lived in Irkutsk until he was 26. A museum and film space named after him is planned to open in early 2028.
On 16 September 2026 the authors of the Gaidai Centre project presented its expanded concept. The creative cluster will be housed in a historic building at 9 Uritskogo Street: plans include an interactive gallery built on the principles of Gaidai’s directing method, a 55-seat cinema, a film studio office, a café and a summer cinema on the roof of the annexe.
Leonid Gaidai lived in Irkutsk until the age of 26; he studied here and took his first professional steps. At first the museum was to open in the house at 35 Kasyanova Street where the director lived (the house was recognised as a monument in 2021), but the idea was dropped for legal reasons. In August 2026 an agreement was signed with the director’s daughter, Oksana Gaidai, on creating the museum and naming the space after him. The project is private and needs about 200 million roubles; the opening is planned for early 2028.
Source (in Russian): Teleinform, 18 September 2026.
