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Foundation of Vladivostok
June 20 (July 2) 1860, on the banks of the Golden Horn Bay, a crew of a Russian sailing ship, "Manchuria" led by Lieutenant Commander A. K. Shefner, founded a military post, called "Vladivostok". Today the city is the administrative center of the Primorsky Krai of Russia, a major port in the Pacific Ocean, a scientific, cultural and economic center of the Far East, as well as the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The history and development of Primorsky Krai were closely connected with the history of Vladivostok. In 1859, Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, N. N. Muravyov-Amursky, bypassing on a ship the shore of the Gulf of Peter the Great, noticed a well-sheltered bay, called the "Golden Horn", on the banks of which was soon established a military post, Vladivostok. Two years later, this settlement was approved in the status of a free port (free trade zone).
In 1871, upon the decision of the public authorities, Vladivostok was established as the main Russian military port on the Pacific Ocean. Soon from Nikolaevsk-on-Amur there were transferred all maritime agencies, the residence of the military governor and the main base of the Siberian Flotilla. In February 1873, to the city moved a women's college - the first in the Far East women's school, opened on June 20 (July 2) 1862 in Nikolaevsk-on-Amur on the orders of the military governor of the Primorsky Region, P. V. Kazakevich.
In 1875, Vladivostok was granted the status of a city, and began to be built up rapidly: new administrative and residential buildings, shopping malls, industries began to emerge. Gradually, the area of the city expanded, already including the Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula and the Russky Island. In 1879, to Vladivostok arrived first steamer of the Volunteer Navy - a constant water communication between Vladivostok, St. Petersburg and Odessa was finally established.
In the 1880-1888 Vladivostok was a separate military governorship and then, up to 1920, was the center of the Primorsky Region. In 1889, the city received the status of a naval fortress. In 1893, between Vladivostok and Nikolsk (now Ussuriysk) opened a railway traffic, and in 1897 trains started going to Khabarovsk. In 1903, after the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway, a direct link between Moscow and Vladivostok opened via the Trans-Siberian Railway. During this period, a major role in the economy of the city also belonged to navigation and commerce. From Vladivostok departed numerous research expeditions (of N. M. Przhevalsky, of S. O. Makarov of V. K. Arsenyev, of V. L. Komarov).
After the collapse of the Russian Empire and the outbreak of the Civil War, a struggle for control over the territories of the Far East began, which involved the United States, Britain and Japan, who, in 1918, sent their military landings to Vladivostok. In 1920, due to the advance of the Red Army on the Eastern Front, the Americans and the British left Vladivostok, while Japanese troops remained in the city until 1922. During the Soviet rule Vladivostok first was made the center of the Primorsky Province, in 1926-1938 – the center of the Far East Krai, and in 1938 - the center of the Primorsky Krai.
Vladivostok has a form of an amphitheater with a terraced building of the streets. The first general plan of the city was developed in 1868, under which the city was built mostly with one-story wooden houses, and later with stone houses. In the 1896-1899, was built the very first in the Russian Far East higher education institution, the Eastern Institute (now the Far Eastern State Technical University).
In the early 20th century the works on the improvement of the city were carried out. In 1939, a reconstruction plan was developed, under which, over the next fifteen years were built large public and administrative buildings. From the 1960's began the reconstruction of the city center.
In 1951, by Decree of the Government of the USSR, Vladivostok became a regime territory. This was due to the strategic objectives of the country's defence: the deployment of the main base of the Pacific Fleet began in the Golden Horn, Ulysses and neighboring bays. Earlier, Sevastopol was closed according to the same scheme. Vladivostok has existed as a closed city and port for 40 years. On September 20, 1991, President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin signed Decree No. 1244 "On the opening of Vladivostok for foreign citizens to visit."
In 1970, for significant services of the city residents to the economic and cultural development of the Far East, the city was awarded the Order of the October Revolution, and in 1985 - the Order of Lenin.
To date, Vladivostok is a major industrial and cultural center in the Far East, a base for fisheries. The city hosts the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Far Eastern State University, the Far Eastern Technical University, three theaters, three museums, including the Art Gallery. In the wake of the APEC summit scheduled for September 2012 on the Russky Island, important construction works, aimed at infrastructure development, have been made.
Lit.: Алексеев А. И. «Якоря помалу травить!..»: Так начинался Владивосток. Владивосток, 2000; Владивосток. [К 100-летию со дня основания]. 1860-1960. [Владивосток], 1960; Владивосток сегодня и завтра. Владивосток, 2000; Краткий исторический очерк города Владивостока. 1860-1910. Владивосток, 1910; Матвеев Н. П. Краткий исторический очерк г. Владивостока. Владивосток, 1990; Рябов Н. С., Обертас В. А. К истории застройки Владивостока. Владивосток, 1961.
Владивосток: официальный сайт администрации города. 2018. URL: http://www.vlc.ru.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Port city Vladivostok: [digital collection];
Егорьев В. В. Операции владивостокских крейсеров в Русско-японскую войну 1904-1905 гг. М.; Л., 1939;