One of the youngest museums in the city of Irkutsk is the Museum of History named after A.M. Sibiryakov. It was opened in 1996. The museum building is history in itself. It was built at the end of the 19th century by the Irkutsk merchant and patron of the arts Alexander Mikhailovich Sibiryakov in memory of his sister Antonina Mikhailovna Kladishcheva as a charity school for children from low-income families. Alexander Sibiryakov was actively involved in the study of Siberia and in the promotion of education and culture in communities.
The museum building was transferred to the education system after 1917. A school for working youth was located there, as well as departments of the city's educational system. The building became the Museum of the History of the city of Irkutsk in 2007. Nowadays, the museum contains over one hundred thousand exhibits: paintings, graphics, documents, and photographs.
The leading structural unit of the institution is the Department of History. In addition, the Museum includes four more branches: Museum of Urban Life, House of Crafts, "Soldiers of the Fatherland," and the City Exhibition Center. V.S. Rogal where creative exhibitions are held. The museum also organizes thematic exhibition projects, conducts interactive excursions, lectures, scientific, and practical conferences. Local historical societies meet in the museum as well.
