East Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Union of Soviet

created in 1949 in Irkutsk with the aim of studying the natural wealth and developing the productive forces of Eastern Siberia. The branch originally included institutes of geology, energetics, and chemistry and sectors of biology and of geographic economics. In the years 1950-60 the branch’s work was mainly directed toward the study of the geological structure and the principles of distribution of the minerals of Eastern Siberia, the investigation of engineering and geological conditions in connection with the construction of industry and transport, the chemical and technological study of coal and raw material resources for the metallurgical and chemical industries, the study of the soil and plant life of the territories, and the comprehensive investigation of Lake Baikal.

In 1957 the branch was incorporated into the Siberian Division of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.