The world's largest and deepest lake Baikal is situated in the Irkutsk region in eastern Siberia, home to some of Russia's most breathtaking natural wonders. Russia's main gold-producing sites also lie along its shores.

The Siberian region is abundant with many other precious metals, as well as having hydro-electric power.

“We’d start our shift at 8 am. If you were 20 minutes late, you could get six months in prison!” recalled Efim Veshchev, a gold-digging veteran, now in his 90s.

The hunt for Siberian gold started on the shores of Baikal more than a century ago. The Irkutsk region still remains one of Russia’s main gold-producing sites.

Working in the goldmines was tough and risky and few wanted to take such chances. So the job was often done by prisoners and there were plenty of them here.

Since Tsarist times, the city of Irkutsk has been known as a place of exile. By the end of the 19th century, every second man here was a deported convict, many of them nobles. Over the years, the city’s turned into a real melting pot.

During the Communist years the region’s vast natural resources became a magnet for ambitious projects. In 1954 the construction of the Bratskaya hydroelectric plant started and it now provides power to hundreds of homes and factories.