On April 21, residents will learn about Alexander Guchkov, chairman of the third State Duma of tsarist Russia, on a tour led by historian Viktor Kozodoy, author of a book about him. Participants will learn why Guchkov was in Irkutsk in 1911, what linked him to the Russo Japanese War, and what places he visited during his short stay in the city.
As the event organizers, the public organization "Club of Young Scientists "Alliance", reported in a press release, on April 21 residents will be told about the chairman of the Third State Duma of Tsarist Russia. The tour will be led by Viktor Kozodoy, Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, and author of the book "Alexander Ivanovich Guchkov and the Great Russian Revolution". The walk will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, at the intersection of Karl Marx and Krasnoarmeyskaya streets.Background: former Chairman of the State Duma Alexander Guchkov arrived in the regional center in April 1911. This was the first stop on his way to the Far East, where Alexander Ivanovich independently decided to explore Manchuria and neighboring territories in order to understand relations between Russia and China. Questions about the country's situation after the Russo-Japanese War concerned many people. The former speaker himself, during that war, as an authorized representative of the "Red Cross", had been in Harbin, and it is possible that he stopped in Irkutsk on the way to the front in March 1904. This time Guchkov planned to visit a number of localities associated specifically with the war. A few days earlier, on March 15, he resigned as Speaker of the State Duma, unwilling to support the position of Pyotr Stolypin's government regarding the adoption of a bill introducing zemstvo institutions in the western provinces.
In Irkutsk he stayed no more than three days. He visited the residence of the governor-general. Already on April 6, at the station, he was seen off by the well-known merchant and property owner A.F. Vtorov, police chief Pirozhkov, and assistant bailiff Ponsilius.