Irkutsk Oblast

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Irkutsk Oblast (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in south-eastern Siberia in the basins of Angara, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska rivers, and occupies an area of 767,900 km² (4.6% of Russia's territory). As of the 2002 census, 2,581,705 people lived in the oblast. The administrative center is Irkutsk.

Contents

1 Geography

1.1 Time zone
1.2 Climate

2 Administrative divisions
3 Demographics
4 See also

Geography

Irkutsk Oblast borders with the Buryat and Tuva Republics in the south and south-west, the Krasnoyarsk Krai in the west, the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic in the northeast, and the Chita Oblast in the east. A unique and world-famous lake, Lake Baikal, is located in the southeast of the region. It contains the autonomous district of Ust-Orda Buryatia.

Time zone

Irkutsk Oblast is located in the Irkutsk Time Zone (IRKT/IRKST). UTC offset is +0800 (IRKT)/+0900 (IRKST).

Climate

The climate is continental. Almost half the year the temperature is below 0°C. Winter is frosty, and the temperature is generally from -17°C to -33°C. Summer is hot, short, and dry in the first half, and humid in the second. The temperature is generally between +17°C and +33°C.

Administrative divisions

Demographics

The population of the region is 2.77 million, from which 79.6% are urban, and 20.4% are rural. The density of the population is 3.5 people per square kilometer, whereas the average density for Russia is 8.7. Irkutsk is the administrative center, with a population of 594,500. Other large cities are Angarsk (267,000 people), Bratsk (253,600 people), Usolye-Sibirskoye (104,300 people), and Ust-Ilimsk (107,200 people).