Vladivostok was founded in 1860 as a military outpost on the Muravyev-Amurski Peninsula by soldiers brought to the spot on the schooner Manchzhur. It became the main Russian naval base on the Pacific in 1872, and thereafter began to grow.
The foundation stone for the Trans-Siberian was laid here in 1891 by Tsarevich Nicholas. After construction of the East Chinese Railway and subsequent completion of the Amur Line, Vladivostok became a vital port and outpost on the Pacific. It was the chief entry port for American military supplies and railway equipment during World War I where huge stockpiles were maintained.
Today, Vladivostok is a key port and distribution center for CIS foreign trade. Home to 800,000 people, it is also an air, submarine and surface fleet base for the Pacific Ocean area - sailors and fisherman comprise one third of the population. Passenger and merchant shipping are leading income earners with petroleum, coal and grain being leading exports, and petroleum products and fish the principal imports. There are also ship-repair yards, railway workshops, mining equipment plants, light industry and food processing. Vladivostok is a receiving point for processed fish from other Far Eastern ports for inland distribution, and a home port for one of the country's two Antarctic whaling fleets.
The city is the chief educational and cultural center of the Soviet Far East. The Far Eastern Scientific Center, Far Eastern State University, and several other foundations of higher education - including medical, art-education, polytechnic, trade and marine-engineering institutions - are located here.
***NOTE: The Far East has only recently been opened to tourists. Check with Intourist for travel details.
