| Kirensk (English) Киренск (Russian) |
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Location of Irkutsk Oblast in Russia |
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Kirensk
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| Administrative status | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Irkutsk Oblast |
| Administrative district | Kirensky District |
| Administrative center of | Kirensky District |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi) |
| Population (2010 Census, preliminary) |
12,652 inhabitants[1] |
| Population (2002 Census) | 13,712 inhabitants[2] |
| Density | 602 /km2 (1,560 /sq mi)[3] |
| Time zone | IRKST (UTC+09:00)[4] |
| Founded | 1630 |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 39568 |
Kirensk (Russian: Киренск) is a town and the administrative center of Kirensky District of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kirenga and the Lena Rivers, 710 kilometers (440 mi) north of Irkutsk, 240 kilometers (150 mi) north-northwest of the northern tip of Lake Baikal, and 170 kilometers (110 mi) northeast of Ust-Kut. Population: 12,652 (2010 Census preliminary results);[1] 13,712 (2002 Census);[2]
There is ship transport along the Lena in summer and an airport, but no railroad, and no proper road link to the rest of Russia. The port is used to transfer goods to smaller ships going further up the Lena.
It was founded in 1630 by the Cossacks under Vasily Bugor as a winter settlement called Nikolsky pogost. Along with Ust-Kut, it was one of the two main portages between the Yenesei and Lena basins. In the 1630s, Yerofey Khabarov ran a salt works here. In 1665, it was renamed Kirensky Ostrog. In 1775, it was granted town status. In the 19th century, a large number of political prisoners were forcibly resettled here, among whom was Józef Piłsudski. Under Stalin there was a GULAG transit camp. In 1991, over eighty bodies were found buried in the basement of the former NKVD building. All were said to have been killed on a single day in 1938 and all were killed by blows on the head, apparently to hide the noise. During the construction of the Baikal Amur Mainline goods were shipped up the Kirenga to Magistralny. In the 1970s, a dam was built across one mouth of the Kirenga (the place was originally an island) to reduce flooding and ice jams. In 2001, there was a major flood.
It is served by Kirensk Airport. During World War II, it was a staging point for American aircraft transferred to Russia via Alaska.
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