Russian control History of Vladivostok

count nikolay n. muravyov

during summer of 1859 governor-general of eastern siberia, nikolay n. muravyov, visited peninsula , bay (somewhat similar bay of golden horn in constantinople) on steam corvette amerika. peninsula named muravyov-amursky in honor. first europeans visit bay, later named golden horn bay, crews of british warships hms winchester , hms barracouta in 1855.

origins of modern city

on june 20, 1860 (july 2 gregorian style) military supply ship manchur, under captain-lieutenant alexey k. shefner, called @ golden horn bay found outpost of vladivostok. warrant officer nikolay komarov, 28 soldiers , 2 non-commissioned officers under command, brought nikolayevsk-on-amur ship construct first buildings. pitched camp, selecting site entrance golden horn bay visible.

in 1862, under leadership of yevgeny burachyok, vladivostok became official port. encourage foreign trade, designated free port imports. in 1864, southern harbors command moved vladivostok nikolayevsk-on-amur. year later shipbuilding yard founded in city, , first settlers nikolayevsk-on-amur began arriving. in 1871 naval port, military governor s residence, , main base of siberian military flotilla moved nikolayevsk-on-amur vladivostok, , great northern telegraph company connected vladivostok nagasaki , shanghai underwater cable.

vladivostok s first street amerikanskaya street (ул. Американская), named corvette america in 1871. 2 years later, renamed svetlanskaya street (ул. Светланская) in honor of frigate svetlana on grand duke alexei alexandrovich of russia visited vladivostok. @ time, consisted of present svetlanskaya street amursky bay number 85. other parts separate streets names such portovaya (Портовая), afanasyevskaya (Афанасьевская), , ekipazhnaya (Экипажная).

in 1878, 40 percent of city s on 4,000 residents foreigners. reflected in street names such koreyskaya (korean), pekinskaya (peking), , kitayskaya (chinese), present names pogranichnaya (ул. Пограничная), admirala fokina (ул. Адмирала Фокина), , okeansky avenue (Океанский проспект).

imperial russian navy torpedo boat sungari @ vladivostok

in 1880 russian volunteer fleet, government aid, organized regular trips odessa , saint petersburg. on april 28, 1880 (may 10 gregorian style), vladivostok officially proclaimed city , separate administrative unit primorskaya oblast. @ time city population 7,300, double of 1878. 3 hotels in operation: moscow, vladivostok, , hotel de louvre.

in 1883 resettlement administration established in vladivostok, , russian volunteer fleet steamships began mass transport of peasants european russia far east. vladivostok became shipping center, , in 1888 residence of oblast governor moved khabarovsk city. in 1889 vladivostok proclaimed fortress , 2 torpedo boats, brought disassembled black sea, launched.

trans-siberian railway terminal in vladivostok

during 1880s vladivostok s cultural life improved, , music school @ siberian fleet depot opened. in 1883 city s first newspaper (vladivostok) began, , following year society of amursky territory study (headed fyodor f. busse) founded. in 1887 public library opened, , professional theater performed in vladivostok first time. trees planted along main streets, , 120 kerosene streetlamps installed.

by end of 1880s vladivostok had 600 wooden , more 50 stone houses, 2 or 3 stories. buildings grouped in area of today s central square , matrosskaya sloboda (sailors suburb), obyasneniya river gaydamak tram stop. in 1891, construction of trans-siberian railway began in vladivostok. during 1890s, shipping kobe, nagasaki, , shanghai began. in 1897 new commercial port opened in vladivostok, , regular rail service khabarovsk began.

in 1899 first far eastern higher educational institution, oriental institute, established. presently houses main building of far eastern state technical university (festu).

from 1899 1909, 4 theaters opened in vladivostok: tikhy okean (pacific ocean) theater, public theater (inspired moscow artistic theater), zolotoy rog (golden horn) theater, , pushkin theater (which hosted russian actress vera kommisarzhevskaya). in 1912 newspaper, theater , music, first published.

cruiser varyag in golden horn bay, 1903

during russo-japanese war, japanese squadron of warships fired on city. vladivostok cruiser group participated in war, blocking approaches besieged port-arthur.

vladivostok involved in revolution of 1905, , governed rebel military units in 1906. unrest in city quelled force , diplomacy general georgi kazbek.

during period between 2 russian revolutions (1907–1917) 17th-century-style railway station, power station, 2 girls schools, school of commerce, , versailles hotel built, , trams began operating. in 1909 port visited 795 steamships, including 477 foreign ships, , there 3,000 shops in vladivostok. in 1913, local publishers produced 61 titles in russian , other languages.

after revolution

american wolfhounds on parade in vladivostok, august 1918



a 1919 poster depicting japanese occupation of vladivostok

after october revolution of 1917, on december 31, japanese, british , american cruisers entered golden horn bay. in april 1918, japanese company isido attacked in vladivostok. after incident, japanese , british commands landed troops protect citizens. entente expanded siberian intervention; canada sent 4,000 troops, headquartered in pushkin theatee barracks @ second river , gornostai bay.

bolshevik supporters conducted partisan struggle in city. 1916 through 1922, vladivostok s population increased 97,000 410,000 opponents of new regime (including white army) retreated east.

from 1920 1922, cultural refugees moscow , saint petersburg founded 2 conservatories, 2 theaters , several symphony orchestras , published art magazines. after bolshevik victory, moved abroad , 1926 vladivostok had population of 108,000.

on october 25, 1922 last interventionist units left city, , red army assumed control. on november 15 far eastern republic, had existed since 1920, became part of rsfsr.

the bolsheviks understood vladivostok s strategic importance, , during 1920s , 1930s reconstruction of port began. in 1930s direct air service moscow began, , in 1932 city became base of pacific naval fleet.

during 1920s, far eastern state university established in vladivostok; in late 1930s, under stalin, closed twenty years. in 1925 pacific scientific-commercial station, reorganized pacific scientific-research institute of fisheries , oceanography (tinro) in 1930, established in city. in 1932, far eastern division of ussr academy of sciences founded.

in 1926, vladivostok s first radio station began broadcasting. 3 theaters , 3 cinemas opened in city in 1931. primorye picture gallery s collection assembled 1929 1931. 1,000 pictures brought there hermitage, russian museum , tretyakovskaya gallery.

many ethnic groups considered rebellious stalin s eyes, including chinese, manchu, jews, ukrainians, poles, crimean tartars, chechens, , armenians, transported. during 1930s mass repression began in country, , transit camp political prisoners sent western russia kolyma opened in vladivostok. prisoners arrived train , left on prison ships in terrible conditions. soviets @ first, after 1939 prisoners came eastern europe , japanese pows after world war ii. factories, ports , cities in far east built prison labor during 1930s. after american pilots bombed tokyo on april 18, 1942, 1 of sixteen b-25 bombers landed in vladivostok when ran out of fuel; bomber confiscated , crew interned. although captain edward york , crewmates well-treated, diplomatic efforts return them united states failed. moved ashgabat (20 miles (32 km) iranian border); york bribed smuggler them cross border , reach nearby british consulate on 11 may 1943. according declassified soviet archives, smuggling staged nkvd because soviet government felt not repatriate them legally due neutrality pact japan.

in 1954 first secretary of communist party nikita khrushchev visited vladivostok, first russian leader so. after khrushchev s visit, urban development began.

vladivostok in 2003

in 1956 far eastern state university, classical university in russian far east, reopened. microdistrict of churkin built during late 1950s, , vtoraya rechka (second river) , morgorodok developed during 1960s. vladivostok s last large district built new, multistory houses @ patrisa lumumby , neybuta streets, begun in 1980.

from 1950s 1980s fishing industry developed. many years ports of vladivostok ranked first in freight turnover in russian far east, yielding nakhodka. city produced large volume of military goods.

from 1930 1970s, foreigners not allowed visit vladivostok, in 1974 vladivostok summit meeting on arms control held general secretary of central committee of communist party of soviet union (cpsu) leonid brezhnev , president gerald ford. after ford s visit city, home pacific fleet, again closed until 1992. of 1996 there 6 consulates, 4 offices of japanese television companies, information service, more 100 offices of foreign companies , 600 joint ventures in vladivostok.

december 2008 protests in city against higher import duties on used cars reported around world, although coverage limited in russia. protests seen first visible public anger @ russian government s response global financial crisis. police clad in riot gear detained protesters other demonstrators blocked roads, lit flares , bonfires in protests blocked traffic in city centre. protest later briefly blockaded city s airport.