Irkutsk is the chief town of the Irkutsk Oblast, is the most important place in Siberia, being not only the largest centre of population and the principal commercial depot north of Tashkent, but a fortified military post, an archbishopric of the Russian Orthodox Church and the seat of several learned societies. Population of Irkutsk is 593,400. It lies on the right bank of the Angara, a tributary of the Yenisei. The Irkut, from which the town takes its name, is a small river that joins the Angara directly opposite the town. It is an industrial center, a port, the site of a hydroelectric dam, and a major stop on the Trans-Siberian RR. Irkutskaya Oblast is vast and rich. There are minerals, hydroenergetics and manufacture of aluminium and woodworking, the enormous building complex. Irkutsk is one of the highly industrialized cities of Russia. But most of all citizens of Irkutsk are proud of the cultural level. Since olden times Irkutsk was a cultural capital of Siberia, and many well-known people of the country left their traces in the Irkutsk province. Irkutsk - one of the largest scientific and educational centers of Siberia. Today in these hard times for culture a network of museums continues to develop. In 90-es new museums, showrooms and picture galleries in Irkutsk, Angarsk, Shelekhov, Tulun, Nizhneudinsk, Bratsk, Ust-Ilimsk, Elantsy, Magistralny, Ust-Kut, Zalari, Sayansk, Khuzhir, Ust-Ud and other settlements appeared.