Vladivostok

Vladivostok Harbour

Dobroye Votro!

We are in Russia, albeit the furthermost southern point but it’s still Russia.  Looking ashore I could see movement in the heavy morning mist. Tall, slim, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, square-jawed men and women that are the populace of this city were moving in and out of visibility in the early morning mist setting a scene reminiscent of a Steven King novel.

Lenin

They “the white ones” occasionally turned a head as a multi-coloured, passport-waving clatter of puttyish flesh and aluminium disability aids spewed down the gangways and streamed into the concourse of the shipping terminal and entrance to the Trans-Siberian Railway, cameras clicking and whirring in every direction. 

 

The territory on which modern Vladivostok is located had been part of many states, such as the Mohe, Bohai Kingdom, Goguryeo, Jon Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, and various other Korean and Chinese dynasties. The Opium Wars between China and Britain had wide impacts. The 1860 Treaty of Beijing gave the far-flung territory to Russia and, not slow on the uptake, the Russians quickly sent a military supply ship into Golden Horn Bay to found an outpost naming it Vladivostok.

Russia is the largest country in the world with a population of over 140 million and has been closed to the outside world for most of the Soviet period. Vladivostok is situated on a rocky peninsula, 30 kilometres x 17 kilometres, near the Chinese and North Korean border. Vladivostok has only been receiving tourists since 1992 and has a paltry 500,000 Russians live here. Vladivostok is both a vital naval base and the hub for Russia’s whaling and fishing fleet.

Trans Siberian Railway - last stop Vladivostok

Vladivostok is also the final destination in the 9000 kilometre Trans-Siberian Railway built in 1880. Nicholas II, the last Czar of Russia, laid the cornerstone to the building. The Trans- Siberian is the longest continuous railway track in the world. It is over 6000 kilometres to St Petersburg and Moscow.

Shopping District

 As the ship is docked in the centre of the city, much like Circular Quay in Sydney, it was easy to step out and taste the local culture and sights. Vladivostok is a modern city with pedestrian underpasses and street front shopping mixed in with the architecture that is the city’s history. Most of the major points of interest could be reached by walking. 

Shopping however was a step into the past. Village handicrafts were dominant with local needs more the focus than international trends and matching trivialities.

Much of the city is being upgraded in readiness for the 2012 APEC Leaders conference including new bridges and monuments. 

In readiness for the APEC the international messages in the public amenities have been updated to include other nations' cultural habits.