Modern Times
Places in Irkutsk, with “Decembrists” in the name:
- Street of Decembrist Events
- Bar of the Decembrists
- Square of the Decembrists
- Monument to the Wives of the Decembrists
-- Located in Irkutsk on Volkonsky Square near the Volkonsky House.
-- The monument depicts Maria Volkonskaya, but represents all 11
Decembrist wives who followed their husbands to Siberia.
-- The monument was constructed for the celebration of the 350 th year of
Irkutsk, using funds provided by businessman Victor Zakharov.
- House Museum of Volkonsky (part of the Decembrist Museum)
- House Museum of Trubetskoy (part of the Decembrist Museum)
We filmed interviews on the street with three strangers. Their ages – 16, 38, 69. From these interviews we learned that older people, as a rule, know more about the Decembrists than younger people. The most repeated opinion about the Decembrists, which we heard on the street, is that the Decembrist wives are an excellent example for all Russian wives because they followed their husbands into the unknown place of Siberia.
In our time, many Siberians are interested in learning about the Decembrists. For example, we filmed an interview with a historian who has studied the Decembrists for a long time. We also filmed an interview with two guides at the Volkonsky Museum who love to explain the history of the Decembrists to the museum visitors. We learned that these guides love to spend their own free time with books about the Decembrists.
Final thought: the influence of the Decembrists will never be able to be fully understood. But through one and a half months of research, we are able to say that their mere presence in Siberian society more than 150 years ago made an impact on modern Siberians and on the shape of modern Irkutsk.
