28 buildings in 13 years, 33 monuments under the DOM.RF programme and private stories — from a burnt-out 1880s house to architect Kudelsky’s adobe house.
The Irkutsk Region has inventoried 1,966 heritage sites, and many of Irkutsk’s wooden houses are in poor condition. Several mechanisms help to restore them.
The agency and investors
With the help of investors, the Irkutsk Monuments Development Agency has brought 28 buildings back to life in 13 years. An investor chosen by tender buys a monument with an obligation to restore it and pays in instalments, while the agency acts as the technical client.
Preferential loans
By 2030, 33 sites are to be restored under the DOM.RF programme at a rate of 9%, or 6% for future hotels. Investors have already been found for 11 buildings.
Private stories
Under the direction of Tatyana Fomina, two 1880s houses on Trilissera and Baikalskaya streets were restored over four years — one of them now houses a coffee shop. Architect Kudelsky’s adobe house was taken apart, strengthened with a frame and reassembled.
Sources (in Russian): Irkutsk Segodnya, 18 September 2026; Oblastnaya Gazeta, 22 April 2026; Glagol, 22 June 2026.
