The Port of Vladivostok is a seaport and government center for the Primorsky territory in far southeastern Russia. Located just 60 kilometers west of mainland China and 140 kilometers northeast of North Korea, the Port of Vladivostok is on the Golden Horn Bay on a peninsula that separates the bay from the Sea of Japan.
Port History
Founded in 1860 as a military outpost, it was in a critical strategic location for Russia, making it an important naval base and seaport. Russia’s main Pacific naval base was moved there in 1872, stimulating the city’s growth. Completion of the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1903, linking Manchuria to Chita, gave it an easier connection to the rest of Russia.
In World War I, the Port of Vladivostok was Russia’s major entry for supplies and equipment from the United States. Foreign troops occupied the city after the Russian Revolution in 1917 and stayed there until 1922 when Soviet power was re-established.
The Port of Vladivostok was home to the Soviet Pacific fleet, growing rapidly after World War II. Because it was an important military asset, it was closed to foreign contact from the late 1950s until the fall of Soviet Communism in 1990 when it re-emerged as an important port for trade. Today, the Port of Vladivostok is a principal exporter of coal, grain, and petroleum and an importer of automobiles, clothing, and consumer electronics. It is also an important port for the fishing industry, which accounts for most of the city’s production.
The Soviets diversified industry in the Port of Vladivostok. They added yards for repair of ocean-going vessels, railway workshops, and manufacturing facilities for mining equipment. Light industries also grew, including timber-working ships producing veneer and furniture, instrument and radio manufacturing, pharmaceuticals manufacturing, and a chinaware works. The food processing and building industries are also important to the local economy.
After the Soviet period ended in the 1990s, industries other than food processing declined, though mechanical engineering is still important to the city. But the Port of Vladivostok is the most important center for education and culture in Russia’s far eastern territories. Much of the city’s population is made up of students who attend the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Far Eastern State University, or one of the many technical and trade institutes there.
