Kirensk
| Kirensk (English) Киренск (Russian) |
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.svg) Location of Irkutsk Oblast in Russia |
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 Kirensk
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| Administrative status (as of July 2013) | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Irkutsk Oblast |
| Administrative district | Kirensky District |
| Administrative center of | Kirensky District |
| Municipal status (as of November 2013) | |
| Municipal district | Kirensky Municipal District |
| Urban settlement | Kirenskoye Urban Settlement |
| Administrative center of | Kirensky Municipal District, Kirenskoye Urban Settlement |
| Statistics | |
| Population (2010 Census) | 12,640 inhabitants |
| Time zone | IRKT (UTC+08:00) |
| Founded | 1630 |
| Town status since | 1775 |
| Previous names |
Nikolsky pogost (until 1665), Kirensky Ostrog |
| Postal code(s) | 666700–666703, 666705 |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 39568 |
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Kirensk (Russian: Киренск; IPA: [ˈkʲirʲɪnsk]) is a town and the administrative center of Kirensky District in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kirenga and Lena Rivers, 950 kilometers (590 mi) north of Irkutsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 12,640 (2010 Census);13,712 (2002 Census);16,137 (1989 Census).
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.
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