Biryulka
Encyclopedia
Biryulka is a rural locality (a selo) in Kachugsky District
of Irkutsk Oblast
, Russia
, on the Lena River
near its headwaters northwest of Lake Baikal
. Its population can be estimated from the number of voters: 1,021.
It is the administrative center of the Biryulskoye Rural Settlement. Its head is Tatyana Sergeyeva, of the United Russia
party who was elected in October 2009.
word.
In 1688, 16 peasant families formed a settlement here. The founders were Stepan Alexandrovich and Michael Kostyakov. The Yakutsk stavlenik Onichkov allocated them an average of 1 arpent per family. It seems that seven of these families were exiles and nine were of freed serfs. The population increased quickly through natural increase and immigration. Other villages developed in the area around Biryulka. A Biryulskaya Volost which established subordinate to Yakutsk. In 1696 inhabitants of village staged a revolt led by Pavel Haletsky.
At the beginning of 20th century the well-known archeologist Alexey Okladnikov went to school here, but he later moved to the village of Anga where he finished high school in 1925. One of the streets in Biryulka is named after him.
Near the village in 1920 was one of the battles of the 'Great Siberian Ice March
', a retreat of the White Army east across Lake Baikal.
During the Great Purge
a number of inhabitants were arrested and some of their names have survived.
s. These have been used on the upper Lena for centuries.
Near the village is the archaeological site
of Mokrushinsky burial ground.
Work has been conducted since the 1980s, in part by pupils and student-archeologists.
In 2006, a volunteer fire department was organised with its own fire-engine and a water tower.
In the winter there is a Winter road
with an ice-bridge across the Lena River. This is the uppermost crossing of the Lena.
Kachugsky District
Kachugsky District is an administrative district , one of the 33 in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia....
of Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. Population: -History:...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, on the Lena River
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
near its headwaters northwest of Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
. Its population can be estimated from the number of voters: 1,021.
It is the administrative center of the Biryulskoye Rural Settlement. Its head is Tatyana Sergeyeva, of the United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
party who was elected in October 2009.
History
The village is named after the small Bira River, the name of which comes from an EvenkEvenks
The Evenks are a Tungusic people of Northern Asia. In Russia, the Evenks are recognized as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 35,527...
word.
In 1688, 16 peasant families formed a settlement here. The founders were Stepan Alexandrovich and Michael Kostyakov. The Yakutsk stavlenik Onichkov allocated them an average of 1 arpent per family. It seems that seven of these families were exiles and nine were of freed serfs. The population increased quickly through natural increase and immigration. Other villages developed in the area around Biryulka. A Biryulskaya Volost which established subordinate to Yakutsk. In 1696 inhabitants of village staged a revolt led by Pavel Haletsky.
At the beginning of 20th century the well-known archeologist Alexey Okladnikov went to school here, but he later moved to the village of Anga where he finished high school in 1925. One of the streets in Biryulka is named after him.
Near the village in 1920 was one of the battles of the 'Great Siberian Ice March
Great Siberian Ice March
The Great Siberian Ice march was the winter retreat of Vladimir Kappel's White Russian Army in the course of the Russian Civil War in January–February 1920....
', a retreat of the White Army east across Lake Baikal.
During the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
a number of inhabitants were arrested and some of their names have survived.
Economy, infrastructure, showplaces
The village is well-known for the manufacture of shallow-draft river boats called ShitikShitik
Shitik is a small broad-bottomed vessel in which parts of the case have been sewed by belts or juniper and fur-tree rods .There are two basic explanations for the origins of the name of these boats:...
s. These have been used on the upper Lena for centuries.
Near the village is the archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
of Mokrushinsky burial ground.
Work has been conducted since the 1980s, in part by pupils and student-archeologists.
In 2006, a volunteer fire department was organised with its own fire-engine and a water tower.
In the winter there is a Winter road
Winter road
Winter roads are temporary highways carved out of snow and ice. They facilitate transportation to and from communities without permanent roads, and are commonly seen in isolated regions in Canada's north....
with an ice-bridge across the Lena River. This is the uppermost crossing of the Lena.