Vladivostok

Vladivostok , literally ruler of the East) is a city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia, located at the head of the Golden Horn Bay, not far from Russia's borders with China and North Korea. The population of the city as of the 2010 Census was 592,034, down from 594,701 recorded in the 2002 Census. The city is the home port of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the largest Russian port on the Pacific Ocean.

Names

The name Vladivostok loosely translates from Russian as "the ruler of the East"—a name similar to Vladikavkaz which means "the ruler of the Caucasus". In Chinese, the place where the city is situated nowadays was known since the Qing Dynasty as Haishenwai (海參崴, Hǎishēnwǎi), from the Manchu "Haišenwei" or "small seaside village"; the Chinese name can also be interpreted as "sea cucumber bay". In modern-day China, it is officially known by the transliteration Fuladiwosituoke (符拉迪沃斯托克, Fúlādíwòsītuōkè), although the historical Chinese name Haishenwai is still often used in common parlance and outside mainland China to refer to the city. The Japanese name of the city is Urajiosutoku (ウラジオストク; a rough transliteration of the Russian originally written in Kanji as 浦塩斯徳 and often shortened to Urajio; ウラジオ; 浦塩). In Korean, the name is transliterated as Beulladiboseutok (블라디보스토크) in South Korea, Ullajibosŭttokhŭ (울라지보스또크) in North Korea, and Beullajiboseu-ttokeu (블라지보스또크) by Koreans in China.

History

The aboriginals of the territory on which modern Vladivostok is located are the Udege minority, and a sub-minority called the Taz which emerged through members of the indigenous Udege mixing with the nearby Chinese and Hezhe. The region had been part of many states, such as the Mohe, Bohai Kingdom, Liao Dynasty, Jīn Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Qing Dynasty and various other Chinese dynasties, before Russia acquired the entire Maritime Province and the island of Sakhalin by the Treaty of Beijing (1860). Qing China, which had just lost the Opium War with Britain, was unable to defend the region. The Manchu emperors of China, the Qing Dynasty, banned Han Chinese from most of Manchuria including the Vladivostok area (see Willow Palisade)—it was only visited by illegal gatherers of ginseng and sea cucumbers.

On June 20 (July 2 Gregorian style), 1860, the military supply ship Manchur, under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Alexey K. Shefner, called at the Golden Horn Bay to found an outpost called Vladivostok. Warrant officer Nikolay Komarov with 28 soldiers and two non-commissioned officers under his command were brought from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur by ship to construct the first buildings of the future city.

The Manza War in 1868 was the first attempt by Russia to expel Chinese from territory it controlled. Hostilities broke out around Vladivostok when the Russians tried to shut off gold mining operations and expel Chinese workers there. The Chinese resisted a Russian attempt to take Ashold Island and in response, two Russian military stations and three Russian towns were attacked by the Chinese, and the Russians failed to oust the Chinese.

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. That same year a commercial port was relocated to Vladivostok from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur. Town status was granted on April 22, 1880. A coat of arms, representing the Siberian tiger, was adopted in March 1883.

The first high school was opened in 1899. The city's economy was given a boost in 1916, with the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which connected Vladivostok to Moscow and Europe.

In the wake of the October Revolution, Vladivostok was of great military importance for the Far Eastern Republic, the Provisional Priamurye Government, and the Allied intervention, consisting of foreign troops from Czechoslovakia, Japan, the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and other nations.

The Czechoslovak Legion conquered the city in 1918 and waited for foreign reinforcements. In the ranks of Czechoslovak Legion was included the 2nd Romanian Volunteer Corps (Legiunea de trăgători transilvăneni-bucovineni din Siberia - literally, Transylvanian-Bukovinian Rifle Legion), of 5,000 men, commanded by a Czech officer. Japanese forces arrived in April 1918, followed by British soldiers in May, Americans in June, and later on French and Canadian soldiers. On arriving in Vladivostok, these forces witnessed open warfare going on across Siberia between the Bolsheviks on one side and the Czechoslovak Legions and White Russians on the other. The Czechoslovak Legion (around 67,000 soldiers), exhausted by their long trek across Siberia and eager to return to their new nation, returned via the port of Vladivostok to Czechoslovakia. All allied forces were evacuated by 1920, apart from the Japanese who stayed until 1922.

1,600 Chinese troops also intervened in response to a request by the Chinese community in the area for aid. The taking of the city by Ieronim Uborevich's Red Army on October 25, 1922 marked the end of the Russian Civil War.

As the main naval base of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, Vladivostok was officially closed to foreigners during the Soviet years. The city hosted the summit at which Leonid Brezhnev and Gerald Ford conducted the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks in 1974. At the time, the two countries decided quantitative limits on various nuclear weapons systems and banned the construction of new land-based ICBM launchers.

In 2012, Vladivostok hosted the 24th APEC summit. Leaders from the APEC member countries met at Russky Island, off the coast of Vladivostok. With the summit on Russky Island, the government and private businesses inaugurated resorts, dinner and entertainment facilities, in addition to the renovation and upgrading of Vladivostok International Airport. Two giant cable-stayed bridges were built in preparation for the summit, namely the Zolotoy Rog bridge over the Zolotoy Rog Bay in the center of the city, and the Russky Island Bridge from the mainland to Russky Island (it is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world right now). The new campus of Far Eastern Federal University will be completed on Russky Island by 2012.

Geography

The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and 12 km wide.

The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, 257 meters (843 ft). Eagle's Nest Hill is often called the highest point of the city; but, with a height of only 199 meters (653 ft), or 214 meters (702 ft) according to other sources, it is the highest point of the downtown area, but not of the whole city.

Transportation

The 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. Today, Vladivostok serves as the main starting point for the Trans-Siberian portion of the Eurasian Land Bridge.

Vladivostok is the main air hub in the Russian Far East. Vladivostok International Airport (VVO) is the home base of Aurora airline - a Russian Far East air carrier, a subsidiary of Aeroflot. The airline was formed by Aeroflot in 2013 by amalgamating SAT Airlines and Vladivostok Avia. Vladivostok International Airport was significantly upgraded in 2013 with a new 3500 meter runway capable of accommodating all aircraft types without any restrictions. Terminal A was built in 2012 with capacity of 3.5 million passengers a year. International flights connect Vladivostok with South Korea, Japan, China, North Korea , Philippines and Vietnam.

It is possible to get to Vladivostok from several of the larger cities in Russia. Regular flights to Seattle, Washington, were available in the 1990s but have been canceled since. Vladivostok Air was flying to Anchorage, Alaska, from July 2008 to 2013 before its transformation into Aurora airline.

Vladivostok is the starting point of Ussuri Highway (M60) to Khabarovsk, the easternmost part of Trans-Siberian Highway that goes all the way to Moscow and Saint Petersburg via Novosibirsk. The other main highways go east to Nakhodka and south to Khasan.

Urban transportation

On June 28, 1908, Vladivostok's first tram line was started along Svetlanskaya Street, running from the railway station on Lugovaya Street. On October 9, 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.[disambiguation needed] The main urban traffic lines are City Center—Vtoraya Rechka, City Center—Pervaya Rechka—3ya Rabochaya—Balyayeva, and City Center—Lugovaya Street.

• Cars of the Vladivostok funicular

• Buses in Vladivostok

• Tram in Vladivostok

In 2012, Vladivostok hosted the 24th Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. In preparation for the event, the infrastructure of the city was renovated and improved. Two giant cable-stayed bridges were constructed in Vladivostok, namely the Zolotoy Rog Bridge over the Golden Horn Bay in the center of the city, and the Russky Bridge from the mainland to Russky Island, where the summit took place. The latter bridge is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world.

Port

The port is ice-free all year round, and in 2002 had a foreign trade turnover worth $275 million. In 2015, a special economic zone has been settled with the free port of Vladivostok.

Culture

Theater

Maxim Gorky Academic Theater, named after Russian author, Maxim Gorky, was founded in 1931 and is used for drama, musical and children's theater performances.

In September 2012, a granite statue of actor Yul Brynner (1920-1985) was inaugurated in Yul Brynner Park, directly in front of the house where he was born at 15 Aleutskaya St.

Museums

The Arsenyev Primorye Museum (Приморский государственный объединенный музей имени В.К. Арсеньева), opened in 1890, is the main museum of the Primorsky Krai. Besides the main facility, it has three branches in Vladivostok itself (including Arsenyev's Memorial House), and five branches elsewhere in the state. Among the items in the museum's collection are the famous 15th-century Yongning Temple Steles from the lower Amur.

Music

The city is home to the Vladivostok Pops Orchestra.

Russian rock band Mumiy Troll hails from Vladivostok and frequently puts on shows there. In addition, the city had played host to the now legendary "VladiROCKstok" International Music Festival in September 1996. Hosted by the Mayor and Governor, and organized by two young American expatriates, the festival drew nearly 10,000 people and top-tier musical acts from St. Petersburg (Akvarium and DDT) and Seattle (Supersuckers, Goodness), as well as several leading local bands. Nowadays there is another annual music festival in Vladivostok - Vladivostok Rocks. V-ROX (Vladivostok Rocks) – International Music Festival and Conference It’s a 3-day open-air city festival that claims Vladivostok as an international artistic beacon of the Asia Pacific area. Music festival and international conference of music industry and contemporary cultural management. The unique opportunity for aspiring artists and producers to gain exposure to new audiences as well as leading international professionals.

The Russian Opera House houses the State Primorsky Opera and Ballet Theater.

Parks and squares

Parks and squares in Vladivostok include Pokrovskiy Park, Minnyy Gorodok, Detskiy Razvlekatelnyy Park, Park of Sergeya Lazo, Admiralskiy Skver, Skver im. Neveskogo, Nagornyy Park, Skver im. Sukhanova, Fantaziya Park, Skver Rybatskoy Slavy, Skver im. A.I.Shchetininoy.

Pokrovskiy Park

Pokrovskiy Park was once a cemetery. Converted into a park in 1934 but was closed in 1990. Since 1990 the land the park sits on belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church. During the rebuilding of the Orthodox Church, graves were found.

Minny Gorodok

Minny Gorodok is a 91 acres (37 ha) public park. Minny Gorodok means Mine Borough Park in English. The park is a former military base that was founded in 1880. The military base was used for storing mines in underground storage. Converted into a park in 1985, Minny Gorodok contains several lakes, ponds, and an ice-skating rink.

Detsky Razvlekatelny Park

Detsky Razvlekatelny Park is a children's amusement park located near the center of the city. The park contains a carousel, gaming machines, a Ferris wheel, cafes, an aquarium, cinema, and a stadium.

Admiralsky Skver

Admiralsky Skver is a landmark located near the city's center. The Square is an open space, dominated by the Triumfalnaya Arka. South of the square sits a museum of Soviet submarine S-56.

Pollution

Local ecologists from the Ecocenter organization have claimed that much of Vladivostok's suburbs are polluted and that living in them can be classified as a health hazard. The pollution has a number of causes, according to Ecocenter geo-chemical expert Sergey Shlykov. Vladivostok has about eighty industrial sites, which may not be many compared to Russia's most industrialized areas, but those around the city are particularly environmentally unfriendly, such as shipbuilding and repairing, power stations, printing, fur farming and mining. In addition, Vladivostok has a particularly vulnerable geography which compounds the effect of the pollution. Winds cannot clear pollution from some of the most densely populated areas around the Pervaya and Vtoraya Rechka as they sit in basins which the winds blow over. In addition, there is little snow in winter and no leaves or grass to catch the dust to make it settle down.