Merchants of Irkutsk were known in France and Sweden, St. Petersburg and Tomsk, Perm and Blagoveshchensk, Yalta and Moscow. They headed public organizations, built hospitals, classical schools and plants. 

Thus, the patron of arts and bibliophile V. Basnin developed one of the first bills on protecting monuments, whereas the banker and businessman Nikolay Vtorov, the richest man of the early 20th century, took part in  construction of three artillery ammunition plants and founded the town of Electrostal in the vicinity of Moscow.

The exhibition prepared by the Museum of Moscow and A. M. Sibiryakov Museum of Irkutsk History presents photos, documents and paraphernalia of Irkutsk merchant families. 

The exhibition runs from October 10 till November 10.

Sources: russia-ic.com