The past is the stairway to the future. Nowadays the city of Irkutsk is one of greatest economic and cultural centers in the eastern part of the country. Many years ago the modern stately city expanded and grew beyond its former outskirts. The presence of an historic Polish Roman-Catholic church, a Tatar mosque, and a Jewish synagogue show that from the very beginning the city was multicultural and multinational. Formely cut off from central Russia by the rocky Urals, this distant Siberian city is now connected by living threads with all the world. The 100th anniversary of the East-Siberian steamship-line was celebrated in 1985. There are direct routes connecting the city with the Mongolia, Japan and China, as well as many routes within the country. Despite the fact that Irkutsk is well over three hundred years old, the average age of today's population is only 31.6 years. It is a city of youth and students. There are 36 institutes and colleges and 9 vocational schools. Every day 166,646 pupils attend school in the city. In 1949 the East-Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Science founded 9 research institutions and a regional Economy Department. Irkutsk is also a theatrical city. In the evenings bright lights are switched on at the entrances of five theatres. There are 15 cinemas and 34 libraries that house a total of 2.5 million books.