Panorama of Vladivostok (Golden Horn Bay). Fly view to city center

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay not far from the Russo-Chinese border and North Korea. It is the home port of the Russian Pacific Fleet.

Names

For historical names, see History of Vladivostok.
The name Vladivostok loosely translates from Russian as "rule the East" a name based on that of Vladikavkaz, at that time a Russian fortress in the Caucasus. The traditional Chinese name for the city is Haishenwai (also pronounced Haishenwei; literally "sea cucumber cliffs"). In mainland China (PRC), it is often known under the transliteration of Fuladiwosituoke today[1] but not in Taiwan (ROC).[2] The Japanese name of the city is Urajiosutokku (a rough transliteration of the Russian originally written in Kanji and often shortened to Urajio;). In Korean, the name is transliterated as Beulladiboseutokeu in South Korea, Ullajibosuttokhu in North Korea, and Beullajiboseu-ttokeu by Koreans in China.

History

Main article: History of Vladivostok
Before Russia acquired the Maritime Province by the Treaty of Aigun (1858), the Pacific coast near Vladivostok had been settled by the Jurchen and Manchu. A French whaler visiting the Zolotoy Rog in 1852 discovered several huts of Chinese or Manchu fishermen on the shore of the bay.
The naval outpost was founded in 1859 by Count Nikolay Muravyov-Amursky, who named it after the model of Vladikavkaz, a Russian fortress in the Caucasus. The first child was born in Vladivostok in 1863. An elaborate system of fortifications was erected between the 1870s and 1890s. A telegraph line from Vladivostok to Shanghai and Nagasaki was opened in 1871, the year when a commercial port was relocated to this town from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur. The municipal coat of arms, representing the Siberian tiger, was adopted in March 1883.
The city's economy was given a boost in 1903, with the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway which connected Vladivostok to Moscow and Europe. The first high school was opened in 1899. In the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution, Vladivostok was of great military importance for the Far Eastern Republic, the Provisional Priamurye Government, and the Japanese interventionists. The taking of the city by Ieronim Uborevich's Red Army on 25 October 1922 marked the end of the Russian Civil War.
As the main naval base of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, the city was closed to foreigners during the Soviet years. Nevertheless, it was at Vladivostok that Leonid Brezhnev and Gerald Ford conducted the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks in 1974.

Geography

The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.
The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m. Eagle's Nest Mount is often called the highest point of the city; however, with the height of only 199 m (214 m according to other sources), it is the highest point of the downtown area, but not of the whole city.
Vladivostok shares the latitude with Sapporo, Sukhumi, Almaty, Florence, Marseille, A Coruna, Boston, and Toronto.
Railroad distance to Moscow is 9,302 km. The direct distance to Moscow is 6,430 km. Direct distance to Bangkok is 5,600 km, to Darwin-6,180 km, San Francisco-8,400 km, to Seoul-750 km, to Tokyo-1,050 km, to Beijing-1,331 km.

Economy

The city's main industries are shipping, commercial fishing, and the naval base. Fishing accounts for almost four-fifths of Vladivostok's commercial production. Other food production totals 11%.
In 1995, Vladivostok's annual international trade totalled 725 million USD, including 206 million USD of exported goods, and 519 million USD of imported goods. The main export items were fish, timber products, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, and ships. The main import items were food products, medicine, clothing, footwear, automobiles, household technical items, and ships.
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many businesses have opened offices in Vladivostok, taking advantage of its location.

Transport

Vladivostok railway stationThe Trans-Siberian Railway was built to connect European Russia with Vladivostok, Russia's most important Pacific Ocean port. Finished in 1905, the rail line ran from Moscow to Vladivostok via several of Russia's main cities. Part of the railroad, known as the Chinese Eastern Line, crossed over into Manchuria, China, passing through Harbin, a major city in Manchuria.
Air routes connect Vladivostok International Airport with Japan; People's Republic of China; North Korea (irregular); South Korea and Vietnam. It is possible to get to Vladivostok from several of the larger cities in Russia. Regular flights to Anchorage, Alaska and Seattle, Washington were available in the 1990s but have been cancelled since. However, starting in July 2008, Vladivostok Air will resume flying to Anchorage.

Urban transport

On 28 June 1908, Vladivostok's first tram line was started along Svetlanskaya Street from the railway station in Lugovaya Street. On 9 October 1912, the first wooden cars manufactured in Belgium entered service. Today, Vladivostok's means of public transportation include trolleybus, bus, tram, train, funicular, ferryboat and cutter. The main urban traffic lines are City Center-Vtoraya Rechka, City Center-Balyayeva, and City Center-Lugovaya Street.

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