Irkutskaya oblast

It’s the capital and the urban soul of Siberia, a place where contrasts are natural.

Just as England created London and France Paris, so Siberia created Irkutsk.

Pre-eminently among Siberian cities, Irkutsk is the beneficiaryof the region’s extraordinary

cross-current of wealth, culture and adventurous attitudes.

I met a group called the Pilgrim’s Theatre, a rock-opera-musical-theatre group from Irkutsk two years ago at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. I’d love to see them again.