irkutsk regional memorial decembrists museum, volkonsky house

Fascinating story of the Decembrist revolutionaries who pre-dated the Russian Revolution. Well presented and informative with lots of captions in English. The women who followed these men into exile in Siberia were tough!

You should find out a bit about the Decembrists to get the best out of this museum. We found it excellent, a sophisticated evocation of the life of the Volkonsky family. The pyramidal piano and the winter garden are particularly interesting.

The history of the Decembrists' revolt is carefully laid out in this fascinating museum that was once exiled Prince Sergey Volkonsky's stately home, kept carefully by his educated, aesthetic wife, Maria. (Apparently Pushkin was so enamored of her that he wrote a number of poems for and about her). She bore up under her exile by bringing together artists, musicians and educators, forever transforming this region of Siberia. Really a fascinating story. As part of a National Geographic Trans-Siberian tour our group experienced the added pleasure of a concert that took place in her lovely concert hall.

Our Irkustsk guide Oxanna took us on an fascinating historical journey through this memorial-museum of the Decembrists. The museum focuses on the Volkonsky family who were exiled to Siberia after the Decembrist revolt. The house has two floors and numerous small rooms that contain many of the Volkonsky family's original possessions and items of the era. As part of our tour Oxanna had arranged for our small group to have a private classical concert in Maria Volkonsky's original parlour room, using her grand piano. After learning all about the life of the Volkonsky family, experiencing a concert was a memorable experience.

Tour took about an hour and we learned a lot about the era of the Decembrists. Our English speaking Russian tour guide took the extra time to make certain that we understood everything.

Glad we had the time to take a look at the spirit of freedom that thrives in man. This home and display is well worth your time.

Very interesting museum. Extremely well presented and obviously cherished by the staff. We were there on 29th Sept. a Sunday no one else was there. A few really funky effects like shadows of people going up the stairs. Mostly russian information with a few English ones. It helps to so some pre reading to get the best out of this spot.

If you like history, and especially enjoy hearing about how people lived, this is a great museum. It isn't too large, so it is easy to do in a few hours.

Cozy house displaying the stuff of wives of the Decembrists. English descriptions are available and staff there will show you around too.

In general, nothing to see inside. Good place for Russian history lovers. Beautiful area, trees, birds. Too much snow in front of the house. Impossible to park motorcycles.

I visited on 30 Oct - hardly another visitor there but the guides made me feel very welcome and although they spoke no English were willing to help as best they could - as someone interested in The Decembrists and in particular Maria Volkonskaya it was a great little visit

You have to visit it, if you are already in Irkutsk. The decabrists had such a big influence on the town and this museum gives a nice overview about the life of one of their leaders. The ladies in the museum are very nice and helpful, you need to know Russian in order to communicate with them. The information is also available in English (booklets in each room).

Lovely house with a wealth of information about the Decembrist's and their revolt of 26th December 1825. Good value at 200 roubles. Closed Monday's (the sister museum Trubetskoy nearby on Dzerzhinskogo Street is closed Tues/Wed).

This is definitely worth a look and has a very interesting history. The house and contents are well preserved and displayed well. You will have to pay extra for a English speaking guide.

Gives some indication of life in Siberian exile in the early 19th century. Most exhibits are in Russian. The building itself was constructed by the daughter of one of the leading Decembrists; this is not clear from the exhibits.