Vladivostok is a city in Russia. It is the eastern terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway. It also is the home of the Russian Pacific Fleet, and as such was off-limits to foreigners and Russians alike until 1992, although it is now open to tourism.
Get in
By train
The Trans-Siberian Railway takes you here from Moscow. Fares are from $200 single. Trains to Harbin, China take around 30 hours and cost $50.
By boat
You can reach Japan from here. Ferries leave on alternate weeks for the ports of Niigata and Fushiki. Fares are from ¥25,200 ($235) one-way and the trip takes 2 days. A schedule for the Fushiki-Vladivostok line is here, though it may be outdated.
Ferry service runs to Sokcho on the East coast of South Korea.
From Russia to Korea: Only on Saturday does the boat leave from Vladivostok itself, departing for Zarubino at 10:30, arriving there at 15:30. From Zarubina boats leave at 18:00 on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday during summer, but only on Wednesday and Saturday during winter (September-May).
From Korea to Russia: Boats leave from Sokcho at 15:00. During summer on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and during Winter only on Monday and Thursday. All boats arrive in Zarubino at 10:00 the next day, only the Thursday boat continues on to Vladivostok, arriving there at 20:00 on Friday. Fares are US$170 one-way, US$300 round-trip.
(Site in Korean only.)
By plane
The airport code is VVO and a list of carriers servicing the airport is available at :WikiPedia:Vladivostok_International_Airport
Principal carriers include Aeroflot Russian Airlines, Domodedovo Airlines, Kras Air and Vladivostok Air. Korean Air also offers flights from the continental US via Seoul-Incheon.
The airport is very small and about a 30 minute drive out of Vladivostok so have your transportation plans set before you get there.
The airport is 30 km (19 mi) from the centre. There are suburban trains and local buses.
Get around
Vladivostok is best traversed by bus or by foot. They have yet to embrace the traffic light on a lot of their intersections and whoever pushes thru first has the right of way. Access to the out lying areas is generally best done by tour bus. The Train station is very accessable and a great way to see neighboring cities like Khabarovsk.
Bring good walking shoes as if you stay for any length of time you will end up walking to the market, cafes, or restaurants daily.
See
A virtual Historic Walking Tour of Vladivostok has been put together by Washington State University and the Far Eastern National University.
Interests
Museums
Learn
The Far Eastern National University is one of the top 5 Russian universities and has over 35,000 students. It offers Russian courses online for foreigners at $200 a credit or on campus. The Vladivostok State University of Economics also offers Russian Courses for foreigners at decent prices. Both universities can set you up in their dorms as well as do the necessary paperwork for you to study in Russia.
Buy
Local markets are spread throughout Vladivostok. They provide the basic groceries for a neighborhood. Some even have a butcher but most all provide sausages and frozen meat. Larger markets sell clothing, shoes, and everything else imaginable in addition to food.
Sportivnaya is the largest market in Vladivostok. Its maze-like warrens are full of people selling most everything. There is a large Chinese presence here, and knockoffs and Chinese imports abound. The range of food sold at this market is fabulous but its probably a bit out of the way for every day fare.
Sleep
Hotels
Vlad Motor Inn, #35, 8-th Street Sanatornaya, 7 (4232) 38-88-88 (fax: 1 (508) 590-2432) Reservations can be made online. They offer a free pickup service from the airport. Western managed hotel, staff speak english - probably the nicest hotel to stay at in Vladivostok. Ranked very highly in reviews, used by consulates in the city for visitors. Also has a very well reviewed restaurant on premises. $139 for standard room with one or two queen beds.
Dorms
Russian dorm rooms in Vladivostok range from awful to ok. Generally, foreigners are dormed in reasonable accommodations, but you should know exactly what you are getting into before arriving. Important things you might take for granted include: private or communal kitchen and bathrooms, number of roommates, number of clothing washers and dryers.
Far Eastern National University offers reasonable dorm rooms but foreigners are seperated from Russian students, so if you are looking for more Russian immersion, ask them about arranging a home stay.
Contact
Vladivostok () is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. It is situated close to the Russo-Sino border and North Korea. It is the home port of the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet. The city's name means "ruler of the east" in Russian.
Geography
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky peninsula (полуостров Муравьёва-Амурского), which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.
The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik (гора Холодильник)(Mount Refrigerator), the height of which is 257 m. Eagle's Nest Mount (сопка Орлиное Гнездо) 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 Coruña, 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 San Francisco—8,400 km, to Seoul—750 km, to Tokyo—1,050 km, to Beijing—1,331 km.
Climate
:Mean annual temperature:
:Average temperature in January:
:Average temperature in August:
:Average annual precipitation: 722 mm (strong summer maximum)
:Köppen climate classification: Dwb (warm summer continental)
Demographics
The city's population was 594,701 as of the 2002 Census; down from 633,838 recorded in the 1989 Census).
From 1958 to 1991, only Soviet citizens were allowed to live in or even visit Vladivostok (and even Soviet citizens had to obtain official permission in order to enter the city). Before this closure, the city had large Korean and Chinese populations. Some Koreans who were deported during Stalin's rule from the Russian Far East have since come back, particularly to Vladivostok. In recent times, North Korean refugees have also begun settling in the city.
Recently many Chinese illegal immigrants have moved to this city. They tend work in the retail trading, catering and farming industries.
This is a considered such a serious social and economic problem to some that the government is actively legislating against them.
Vladivostok has one of the largest Armenian communities in eastern Russia. There are a number of Armenian bakeries and restaurants in the city.
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.
Unfortunately, the crime rate and cost of living have also increased, and the city is believed to be a hotbed of organized crime activity and abuse of power by regional and municipal authorities.
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.
Air routes connect Vladivostok International Airport with
Japan (Tokyo Narita Airport, Niigata, Toyama, Osaka Kansai Airport); People's Republic of China (Beijing, Harbin, Dalian, Mudanjiang); North Korea (Pyongyang-Sunan) (irregular); South Korea (Seoul-Incheon, Busan); Vietnam (Hanoi).
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.
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, the following means of public transportation are in use in Vladivostok :: 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.
Education
Vladivostok is home to numerous educational institutions, including six universities:
The Presidium of the Far Eastern Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ДВО РАН) as well as ten of its research institutes are also located in Vladivostok, as is the Pacific Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (Тихоокеанский научно-исследовательский рыбохозяйственный центр or ТИНРО).
Media
Over fifty newspapers and regional additions to Moscow publications are issued in Vladivostok. The largest newspaper of the Primorsky Krai and the whole Russian Far East is Vladivostok with a circulation of 124,000 copies at the beginning of 1996. Its founder, joint-stock company Vladivostok-News, also issues a weekly English-language newspaper Vladivostok News. Another source of information on the city is the online daily Vladivostok Times. The subjects of the publications issued in these newspapers vary from information around Vladivostok and Primorye to major international events. Newspaper Zolotoy Rog (Golden Horn) gives every detail of economic news. Entertainment materials and cultural news constitute a larger part of Novosti (News) newspaper which is the most popular among Primorye's young people.
As of 2006, there are fourteen channels broadcasting. They are Channel One, RTR, OTV-Prim, Rambler, STS, TNT, MTV Russia, Muz-TV, Kultura, Ren-TV, NTV, DTV Viasat.
As of 1999, there are also seven radio stations, the most popular being 24-hour VBC (612 kHz, 101.7 MHz) and Europa+ (738 kHz, 104.2 MHz). Europa+ normally broadcasts popular modern British-American music, while the ratio of Russian and foreign songs over VBC is fifty-fifty. Every hour one can hear local news over these radio stations. Radio Vladivostok (1098 kHz) operates from 06:00 till 01:00. It broadcasts several special programs which are devoted to the music of the 1950s-1980s as well as New Age.
Arguably Russia's most famous rock band, Mumiy Troll (Мумий Тролль), hails from Vladivostok and frequently puts on shows there. In addition, the city played host to the now-legendary "VladiROCKstok '96" 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 (band)) and Seattle (Supersuckers), as well as several leading local bands.
Pollution
Two thirds of Vladivostok's suburbs are so polluted that living in them is classified as a health hazard, according to the local ecological specialists, Ecocenter. Some areas, such as those near the printing works in Pokrovsky Park and the Far Eastern National University campus, are so polluted that they are defined as ecological disaster zones. Only a few areas have permissible levels of contamination. Professor Boris Preobrazhensky, a top ecologist at the Pacific Institute of Geography said that there was nowhere in the area that was really healthy to live.
The Ecocenter report has taken ten years to compile and is believed to be the most comprehensive of its kind. It was based on analysis of over 30,000 samples of water, snow, soil, air and human tissues taken between 1985 and 1993. Samples showed significant rises over that period in the levels of heavy metals, such as cadmium, zirconium, cobalt, arsenic, and mercury, which severely affect the respiratory and nervous systems.
The pollution has a number of causes, according to Ecocenter geo-chemical expert Sergei Shlikov. Vladivostok has about 80 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.
Sport
Vladivostok is home to the football club FC Luch-Energia Vladivostok, who play in the Russian Premier League, and basketball club Spartak-Primorye.
Miscellaneous
Vladivostok is a sister-city of:
It is the nearest city to the massive Sikhote-Alin Meteorite, which fell on February 12, 1947, in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains, approximately 440 km northeast of Vladivostok.
Notable people
See also
References
External links
