In Irkutsk on the Lower Embankment, an outdoor exhibition Irkutsk and Irkutsk residents in the Patriotic War of 1812 opened, timed to the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino. The exhibit tells about military units, historical figures, and the contribution of residents of the Irkutsk province to victory, including rare facts about Nikolai Lebedev and Anton Skalon. The opening was marked by a cannon salute and a concert at the Moscow Gates, and the exhibition can be seen until October 31.

On September 7, in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino, a ceremonial opening of the outdoor exhibition “Irkutsk and the People of Irkutsk in the Patriotic War of 1812” took place on the Lower Embankment. The exhibition was organized by the city charitable foundation “Heritage of Irkutsk Philanthropists” and the Irkutsk City History Museum with the support of the Irkutsk administration.
After the welcoming speeches, a cannon salute opened the exhibition to all visitors. The stands present the history of military units and historical figures associated with Irkutsk who contributed to victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. Here you can learn interesting facts from the life of Irkutsk military governor Nikolai Petrovich Lebedev, who in the Patriotic War of 1812 was the head of the Smolensk militia, or read about the heroism of the commander of the Irkutsk Dragoon Regiment, Anton Antonovich Skalon, and other residents of the Irkutsk province of that time. During the years of the Patriotic War, the people of Irkutsk collected more than 185 thousand rubles. Today, that would be an enormous sum of money, amounting to hundreds of millions of rubles. Donations were made by prominent Irkutsk merchants, townspeople, peasants, and workers of the Telma factory. More than 1,000 residents of the province took part in the Patriotic War; in addition, about 600 recruits were called up from Irkutsk.
Next, on the Lower Embankment near the Moscow Gates, in honor of the opening of the exhibition and the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812, a concert took place featuring the Governor’s Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ilmar Lapinsh and the Irkutsk Chamber Choir under the direction of Elena Boyarkina. To the sounds of music by Tchaikovsky, Sviridov, Mozart, and Rachmaninoff, actor Alexey Lobanov of the Ohlopkov Irkutsk Academic Drama Theater read the Manifesto of Russian Emperor Alexander I, dated 1812, as well as excerpts from well-known works about the War of 1812 by Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, and Tyutchev.
The exhibition “Irkutsk and the People of Irkutsk in the Patriotic War of 1812” will run until October 31.
Based on materials from the press service of the Irkutsk city administration