Irkutsk Region
The Irkutsk Region is a constituent part of the Siberian Federal District of the Russian Federation. It is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia. The region's total area is 774,800 square kilometres, which accounts for 4.6% of the country's territory.
The region's population is 2,513,800 (as of January 1, 2007), of which 79% is urban.
The region consists of 33 municipal districts, 9 urban districts, 67 towns, and 365 villages.
The capital of the region is Irkutsk with a population of 575,900 (as of January 1, 2007), located 5,042 kilometres from Moscow. The Irkutsk Region is the sixth largest by area (774,800 square kilometres) among the 20 regions of Siberia, and the eighth largest by population density. In population, it is the fourth largest region in Siberia after the regions of Tyumen, Krasnoyarsk, and Kemerovo.
The temperature in the region falls below 0 approximately 160 to 180 days a year. Winters are cold (January's temperature ranges between -17 С and -33 С). Summers are hot and dry (July's temperature ranges between +17 С and +33 С); with frequent rain in the second half of the season.
The region is rich in mineral resources. Major natural resources include hydrocarbon deposits, gold, mica, iron, brown coal, coal, and common salt. There are also many deposits of non-metallic raw materials used in ferrous metallurgy.
The region's three largest hydropower plants have a total capacity of over 50 billion KW/hours. The total untapped hydropower reserves are estimated at 200 billion KW/hours per year.
Cheap energy supplies and large energy generation facilities in the region have contributed to the development of power-intensive enterprises, including aluminium, cellulose, and synthetic resin manufacturers. At the beginning of the century, Irkutsk Region-based companies account for 35% and 44% of Russia's total aluminium and cellulose production respectively.
The region has a well developed and extensive transport infrastructure, comprising various means of transportation. The total amount of the region's railway lines is 2,500 kilometres. The Tran-Siberian Railway and the western section of the Baikal-Amur Railway (BAM) are the region's major transport arteries.
An extensive network of roads (a total of 12,000 kilometres of paved public highways) makes it possible to truck goods to most settlements of the region.
The Angara, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska rivers are the region's major waterways. Water transport accounts for approximately 10% of the region's freight traffic.
International and domestic flights are available from the region's two major airports, located near the cities of Irkutsk and Bratsk.
With a favourable geopolitical and geo-economic location and a great amount of natural resources, the region is well positioned to become a link between Europe the Asia-Pacific region. The large fuel and energy reserves available in the Irkutsk and other eastern regions of Russia provide for large-scale exports of almost all types of energy resources to Asia-Pacific countries.
