Vladivostok
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Vladivostok (English) Владивосток (Russian) |
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 View of Vladivostok and the Golden Horn Bay |
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  Location of Vladivostok on the map of Russia
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| Coordinates |
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| Coat of Arms | |
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| City Day: First Sunday of July | |
| Federal subject Municipal status In jurisdiction of Administrative center of |
Primorsky Krai Urban okrug Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai |
| Head | Vladimir Nikolayev |
| Legislative body | Duma |
| Charter | Charter of Vladivostok |
| Area | |
| Area - Rank |
600 km² n/a |
| Population (as of the 2002 Census) | |
| Population - Rank - Density |
594,701 inhabitants 23rd 991.2 inhab. / km² |
| Founded | July 2, 1860 |
| Town status | April 22, 1880 |
| Other information | |
| Postal code | 690xxx |
| Dialing code | +7 4232 |
| Official website | |
| http://www.vlc.ru/ | |
Vladivostok (Russian: Владивосто́к (help·info)) is a city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia, 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; in Chinese, the city is now officially named 符拉迪沃斯托克[1] (pinyin: fúlādíwòsītuōkè), but it is known as 海參崴 (pinyin: Hǎishēnwǎi) — "Sea Cucumber Marsh" too.
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[edit] History
[edit] 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.
[edit] Climate
- Mean annual temperature: +4.3 °C (39.7 °F)
- Average temperature in January: −13.7 °C (7.3 °F)
- Average temperature in August: +20.2 °C (68.4 °F)
- Average annual precipitation: 722 mm (strong summer maximum)
- Köppen climate classification: Dwb (warm summer continental)
[edit] 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[1] and Chinese populations.[2] Some Koreans who were deported during Stalin's rule from the Russian Far East have since came back, particularly to Vladivostok.[3] In recent times, North Korean refugees have also began settling in the city.[4]
Vladivostok has one of the largest Armenian communities in eastern Russia. There are a number of Armenian bakeries and restaurants in the city.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Education
Vladivostok is home to numerous educational institutions, including six universities:
- the Far Eastern National University (Дальневосточный государственный университет, or ДВГУ),
- the Far Eastern State Technical University (Дальневосточный государственный технический университет имени Куйбышева or ДВГТУ),
- the Marine State University (Морской государственный университет имени адмирала Г.И. Невельского),
- the Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service (Владивостокский государственный университет экономики и сервиса or ВГУЭС),
- Vladivostok State Medical University (Владивостокский государственный медицинский университет), and
- Pacific State University of Economics (Тихоокеанский государственный экономический университет).
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).
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Sport
Vladivostok is home to the football club FC Luch-Energia Vladivostok, who play in the Russian Premier League, and basketball club Spartak-Primorye.
[edit] Miscellaneous
Vladivostok is a sister-city of:
Niigata (Japan)- Akita (Japan)
- Hakodate (Japan)
Pusan (South Korea)
Dalian (China)
San Diego (USA)- San Francisco (USA)
- Tacoma (USA)
Yul Brynner was born in the city; his childhood home is now preserved as a museum.
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.
[edit] Notable people
- Igor Ansoff, mathematician
- Vladimir Arsenyev, explorer
- Feliks Gromov, admiral
- Eugene Kozlovsky, writer
- Igor Kunitsyn, tennis player
- Elmar Lohk, architect
- Yul Brynner film actor
- Mary Losseff, singer and film actress
- Igor Tamm, physicist
- Alexey Volkonsky, canoer
- Victor Dmitrievich Zotov, botanist
- Mumiy Troll, Russian rock group:
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Trofimov, Vladimir et al, 1992, Old Vladivostok. Utro Rossii Vladivostok, ISBN 5-87080-004-8
[edit] External links
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Cities and towns in Primorsky Krai |  |
| Administrative center: Vladivostok Arsenyev | Artyom | Bolshoy Kamen | Dalnegorsk | Dalnerechensk | Fokino | Lesozavodsk | Nakhodka | Partizansk | Spassk-Dalny | Ussuriysk |
