The founding of Vladivostok is considered to be on June 20, 1860, when the military transport Manchurian reached Golden Horn Bay with Russian settlers under the command of Ensign Nikolai Komarov for the purpose of developing a military post there.
In 1864, a resolution was adopted to establish Vladivostok as the main Russian port on the Pacific Ocean - the admiralty building was constructed, the shipyard became operational, shops opened and a timber processing factory, five brickworks and a brewery opened.
On April 28, 1880, Vladivostok was officially declared a city and was administratively separated from Primorye Territory.
The period from 1881 to 1891 was a new stage in the history of Vladivostok. This decade saw the rate and scale of industrial and civil construction increase considerably, with the emergence of new cultural buildings and socio-political life.
The first city newspaper, Vladivostok, was originally published in 1883 and played a major role in the formation of political and cultural life in the city.
On August 30, 1889, Vladivostok was declared a fourth-category fortress, which raised its status. The Vladivostok fortress is a one-of-a-kind military monument - the last sea fortress of the 20th century. It was built in the early 1900s, with the Russian-Japanese war in mind, and is a network of forts, 10 of which are located on the continental part of a city and six more on the island of Russky, with a number of separate artillery batteries and casemates.
By 1905, Vladivostok grew to be an industrial, trade, economic and cultural centre. This is the year that the National House opened. In 1906, the Golden Horn theatre was built. In 1907, the telephone exchange was commissioned. In 1908, tram tracks were laid from the train station to Lugovaya Street, the construction of which was finished in 1912.
By 1910, Vladivostok had 97 factories and plants and was one of the largest industrial centres from the Urals to the Pacific coast.
Vladivostok is a major industrial and transport centre in the Far East and it is one of a number of cities with a promising future - it boasts an exclusively favourable geographical location, has sufficient natural, human and industrial potential and can support steady social and economic development. The Trans-Siberian Railway terminates in Vladivostok and it is a gateway to all the countries of Asian-Pacific region. Transcontinental shipping lanes to all of the world's seas and oceans start in Vladivostok. Freighters from the Far Eastern Shipping Company annually visit more than 300 ports in 60 countries.
Municipal transportation is well-developed in Vladivostok including trams, trolley buses, buses, commuter trains and taxis. Built in 1962, the city has the only funicular railway in Russia as long as 175 metres long.
Vladivostok Airport has international status. It offers regular flights to Anchorage, Seattle, Toyama, Niigata, Harbin, Changchun, Seoul, Pusan, Pyongyang, Bangkok, Singapore, as well as cities in the Russian Federation.
Vladivostok is the largest scientific and cultural centre in the Far East, home to the Far East branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, major institutions of higher education and research establishments.
The city's theatres - the Primorye Maxim Gorky Academic Drama Theatre, the Regional Youth Drama Theatre and the Pushkin Theatre - play a major role in the city's cultural life. The city is also home to the Primorye Philharmonic Society, a circus, art galleries and museums. Vladivostok also has the oldest regional studies institution in Primorye Territory - the Primorye branch of the Geographical Society of Russia. The city's most distinctive museums in terms of collections are the Arseniev Primorye State Unified Regional Museum, the Pacific Fleet History Museum and the Oceanography and Fishery Museum. A marine conservation area is located near the city.