Vladivostok: "Lord of the East"

     World Adventurer (August 1, 2003 Chautauqua)

   The home to Russia’s Pacific Fleet had been closed for more than 30 years, and these days the fleet is a rusting relic of the past. The city is open for business, though, and the tourist trade is picking up.

   Founded in 1860 during Russia’s colonization of the area east of the Amur River, Vladivostok became the fleet’s home after Japan seized Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese war. Tsar Nicholas II paid a visit in 1891, inaugurating the Trans-Siberian railway line. Korean and Chinese labourers helped build the city, accounting for four out of five of its citizens. French, German, and Swiss speculators helped turn the city into a boom town. Japanese, American, French and English troops poured in during the civil war that followed the 1917 revolution, helping to support the tsarist counterattack. Soviet forces eventually gained the victory, marching in to establish control in 1922. Stalin got rid of the Chinese by shooting several hundred of them as spies, and deporting the rest. The northern part of the city became a vast transit centre, the way station for thousands sent to labour camps, never to be heard from again. The U.S. consulate was forced to close in 1948, and the city was closed off entirely in 1958.

   The city has reopened since the fall of the communists, and has been striving to establish itself as a cosmopolitan tourist destination. There are many Japanese and Korean cars on the streets. As I said in my last column, the ferry I traveled on had picked up a large shipment of vehicles. The Japanese drive on the left hand side of the road, and their cars have right hand drive. All of the cars the Russians bought had this feature, and you can see them all over the streets of Vladivostok. The thing is, the Russians drive on the right hand side of the road, which must make it very interesting, to say the least. I also noticed a complete absence of traffic lights. There were very few signs. I think each driver must have to rely on one direction only: “first come, first served.”

   I docked at 9:00 AM on Saturday, April 26^th, and made my way to the hotel I had decided on after checking the “Lonely Planet” guide. The hotel was named after the city, and turned out to be quite a bit more expensive than the guide had led me to believe. They were remodelling the place in an ancient Egyptian theme, with sphinxes and golden “King Tut” masks all over the place. I was happy just to relax after the trip, and the walk up from the ferry terminal. I got in touch with my travel agent, and made an appointment to meet the next day.

   After lunch, I walked around the downtown area, and saw a few museums. Down the block from my hotel is one of the central squares, featuring a statue of Lenin gesturing towards Japan. Across the street are the train and ferry terminals.  North of this square is the Arsenev Regional Museum, which offers a variety of stuffed animals and displays of city history, including one featuring one of its most famous sons, Yul Brynner.  In the gift shop, I picked up some old Soviet era pins.

   Next to the waterfront is the ploshchad Bortsov za Vlast Sovietov na Dalnem Vostoke, or the “Square of the Fighters for Soviet Power in the Far East.” Some kind of festival, featuring schoolchildren doing some folk dancing in colourful costumes was going on. There were a variety of citizens enjoying the show.

   Traveling further to the east, I came across a couple of museums dedicated to naval history. They had been established inside two naval vessels.

   An S-56 submarine, which sank 10 ships during World War II, lies on a grassy plot across the street from the Krasny Vempel, the Soviet Pacific Fleet’s first vessel. There is another military museum even further west, that is now undergoing extensive renovations.

   I was able to get a bird’s eye view of the harbour from a height above Sukhanova street. Normally, you can get there on the “Funicular,” which is a kind of trolley that goes up the 200 metre slope, but it was also under repair. Seeing the “under repair” sign can get to be quite a large part of any tour of Russia, and the seasoned traveler should be prepared.

   My last stop was the museum “Vladivostok Fortress,” which occupies a former gun battery. There are a variety of weapons and military vehicles on display outside the museum, including the guns which used to guard the harbour approaches from attack.

   Inside the museum are displays of how the battery and the city developed, from its early days to the present time. There is an English-speaking guide, and a lot of the displays feature English descriptions.  It reminded me a lot of a similar museum on Waikiki, in Hawaii. That one is run by the U.S. Army, and is very similar in its set-up. Both are very informative, but they have different surroundings. The American museum is right on the beach, with palm trees and sand all around. The Russian museum is on top of a hill, with a seedy run down neighbourhood all around. I wasn’t sure I was at the right place until I was right on top of it.  The sign directing the pedestrian is very small, and points the way between two derelict-looking buildings to a large, metal gate. There was no attendant at that time, so I pushed it open and walked on in.

   There are some other sights to see in Vladivostok, but I had no more time to take them in. After meeting with my travel agent, he guided me to the train station, where I was going to purchase my tickets for the Trans-Siberian express. He explained that I could leave on Monday, the 28^th, or the following Wednesday. Not wishing to delay my departure any more, I plumped for the Monday departure, and went back to my hotel to pack. I was about to spend six days doing nothing but watch Mother Russia pass by my window.