Between 1826 and 1827, 105 Decembrists were sent to Irkutsk Governorate. Their fates are told through archival documents on interactive panels.
On 28 January 2026 a multimedia version of the project “Siberia as Destiny” opened at the Volkonsky House Museum — a joint work of the State Archive of Irkutsk Region, the Russian State Historical Archive and the Irkutsk Decembrist Museum.
Instead of many display stands there are interactive panels, projections and digital copies of documents: reports on the arrival of the first Decembrists, lists of convicts, sentences of the Supreme Criminal Court. Separate sections tell of the restrictions faced by the exiles’ wives and of the parcels and letters Sergei Volkonsky received from his family. In 1826–1827, 105 Decembrists were sent to Irkutsk Governorate: 90 to penal labour, 11 to settlement, three became soldiers of the Irkutsk garrison, and one was sent to live there without losing his rank and nobility. The documents are also available online at decembrists.ogkugaio.ru.
Sources (in Russian): Glagol, 27 January 2026; Oblastnaya Gazeta, 4 February 2026.
