Irkutsk Circus, Entertainment venue in central Irkutsk, Russia

Irkutsk Circus is a reinforced-concrete building completed in 1964 on Proletarskaya Street, designed by architect Boris Kerbel in a rational socialist-minimalist style. Its auditorium holds 1,734 seats around a 13-metre arena, with 18 metres from the arena to the dome. Beneath the arena are stables, an illusion-trick room, an elephant enclosure and metal cages for bears, tigers and panthers.

Irkutsk's first wooden circus was built in 1868 by an Italian named Sulier near today's Kirov Square; it burned down in the early 1900s. A second wooden circus opened in 1885, and by 1958 seven circuses had operated in the city. The winter and summer circuses burned on 18 May 1958. The current reinforced-concrete building, designed with architect Boris Kerbel, opened on 19 December 1964 as the largest circus in Siberia and the Far East.

Irkutsk has never had its own troupe, so every act is a visiting company; troupes from Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Mongolia, Germany and Poland have performed here. The first show on 19 December 1964 featured acrobats, gymnasts, an illusionist, dog trainers and, most unusually for locals, trained elephants.

The circus stands on Proletarskaya Street in central Irkutsk. The building closed for reconstruction in autumn 2022, and demolition began in October 2024, so performances are not running there at present. The arena's 13-metre ring and 18-metre dome height follow the same standard as circuses worldwide, which lets visiting troupes use their own equipment without adjustment.

The arena's 13-metre ring and 18-metre dome height follow the same standard as circuses worldwide, so touring troupes do not have to adjust their trampolines, ropes or nets. The building also holds stables and an illusion room beneath the ring, plus an elephant enclosure and metal cages for bears, tigers and panthers.