"Vladivostok – Siberian Gateway " a Vladivostok Travel Page by MikeAtSea

Vladivostok’s beginning started with the ratification of the "Aigunski Dogovor" between Russia and China in 1858, as an outcome of the Agreement Russia had obtained the seashore territory of the east of the country.
The first task was to find a non-freezing way into the pacific and to build a port. Soon the first settlement was developed in the bay which is today Vladivostok and with the ship Manchzhur the first settlers landed here with Captain Komarov in 1861.
A further boosts was given to the region when Tsar Nickolai, the heir of the Russian crown, visited Vladivostok and the ground work for the longest rail road in the world from Moscow to Vladivostok was started. He also initiated the building of a dry dock in the port.
In 1915 a large fortress was build which is known to be the best sea fortress in the world.
The October revolution also entered here in Vladivostok, most of the beautiful buildings that resembled something of the glory of the Tsarist times were destroyed.
For many years Vladivostok due to its strategic importance and massive Pacific fleet in port was a restricted area.

I found Vladivostok as a charming and interesting town far up from what I have seen in Western Russia. Yet people here seemed to be less enthusiastic about the changes that have taken place in the former Soviet Union and it appears that a lot of the economic reforms only reach here slowly. The mafia controls a lot of the business in the city and hence hampers a lot of possible growth.
The city is built on hills and offers a lot of view points across the bay and port.