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Irkutsk, founded in
1661 on the Angara River, was one of the most important cities
in Siberia at the time when Russia was establishing settlements
in North America. As a large trading center and source of new
capital, it was from here that large-scale entrepreneurs sought
monopolistic control of Alaska's resources (Black 2004:101).
From this perspective, Irkutsk was key to the expansion of the
Russian fur trade into Alaska. During the 18th and 19th centuries
Irkutsk was the center of provincial government; a starting point
for scientific, trade, and military expeditions; a center of
Orthodoxy in Siberia (after 1727); and a center for the administration
of Russian colonial policy (Bychkov 1997:43-44).
The farms, factories, and cottage industries
of Irkutsk region produced a wide range of products for the Alaska
trade (e.g., wheat, flour, beef, butter, tallow, leather, silk,
coarse textiles, iron and iron hardware, glass, distilled spirits,
copper goods, salt, rope, and tar) (Crowell 1997:155). During
the late 18th century, Irkutsk was also heavily involved with
the Kiakhta trade, through which Chinese items (e.g., cotton
cloth, silk, tea, porcelain, earthenwares, tobacco, and glass
beads) were procured and redistributed to Russian America and
other locations (Crowell 1997:155). During the late 18th and
early 19th centuries, goods from Irkutsk were transported some
2300 miles overland to Okhotsk via the Lena River and Yakutsk,
thence by ship to Russian America. Aron Crowell (1997:156), who
excavated Alaska's Three Saints Harbor settlement (constructed
by G. Shelikhov in 1784), feels that most of the imported archaeological
materials from this site can be traced directly to the Irkutsk
region or China. He stresses the need for more material sourcing
studies, especially with respect to factories in western Russia
and Irkutsk (Crowell 1997:226). Archaeological excavations at
Castle Hill, the colonial capitol of Russian America from 1808-1867,
produced more than 300,000 items (McMahan 1999; 2001:94; 2002a:172-175).
The majority of these materials were recovered from a manufacturing
and living complex dating from the first quarter of the 19th
century. A high percentage of imported items from this area can
also be linked to factories in Russia (McMahan and Thompson 2002:83)
(Figure 1). Potentially, many of the items of Russian origin
were shipped to Alaska as described above, from Irkutsk. There
was an effort by the Russian-American Company to establish industries
in its outlying settlements, thus avoiding dependence on Irkutsk
and other locations in Russia, as well as the long arduous and
expensive haul of goods from European Russia and Siberia to Alaska
(Crowell 1997:218; Dilliplane 2002:209-214). At least 25 industries
/ work activities were founded in the colonies. These included
fur-gathering, brick-making, shipbuilding / boat-making, mining,
agriculture, the ice trade, grain milling, blacksmithing, coppersmithing,
and rope-making (Dilliplane 1980:231-246; 1981:1-23; 1982:5-27;
1990:131-143; 1993:1, 13). As the settlements grew, supplies
were shipped directly from the Baltic port of Cronstadt or purchased
from British and American trading vessels. In addition to the
importance of Irkutsk as a trade and administrative center, many
persons prominent in the settlement and history of Russian America
are linked to the region. These include Grigorii Shelikhov, Aleksandr
Baranov, Pavel Lebedev-Lastochkin, and Ioann Veniaminov (i.e.,
Saint Innocent of Alaska).
The Scientific Library of Irkutsk State University
has posted a concise history of Irkutsk at: http://www.manus.baikal.ru/eng/essay.htm
Photos: Click to Enlarge
Bering's travels from Irkutsk (arrow) across
Siberia (L'Isle 1736) |
 Circa
1880 View of Irkutsk |
 Russian American
Company Bldg., Irkutsk |
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