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Being home to the Russian Pacific Fleet, Vladivostok was wrapped in a shroud of mystery for decades. From 1958 to 1991 the city was even entirely closed. Some naval vessels still remind of the maritime period, but the city is now trying to shake off this image and wants to become a main business and tourist centre in the Russian Far East.

Vladivostok is a city of around 650,000 inhabitants and has few tourist attractions but a large variety of bars, nightclubs and restaurants. The United States, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India and the Philippines have consulates in this Russian Far Eastern city. There are an estimated 70 to 80 expatriates – mainly consulate workers and company representatives – based in Vladivostok. The expat community meets every Friday night in the Sushi bar ‘Eden’. The main western-style hotels are the Hotel Hyundai in the city centre just behind the central square and the Vlad Motor Inn midway between the airport and the centre. If you want to visit the city between flights, take into account that it takes over an hour to get to the centre.

Vladivostok is beautifully situated in a hilly area. Some of the hills are over 200 metres high and offer a great view over the city. Low-rise wooden dwelling houses alternate with high-rise apartment buildings; they are scattered criss-cross on the hillsides, giving the city a different look than the well-known straightforward Soviet city design.

The heart of the city is the ‘Square of the Fighters for Soviet Power in the Far East’. Even Vladivostok citizens can’t seem to remember its name – we asked several people and none of them knew, for them it’s just ‘the square’. A large monument to the Fighters in its centre acts as a focal point for musicians, protesters, etc. At the west side of the square stands one of the tallest buildings in the city, the White House, home to the regional administration. South of the square is the ‘Bukhta Zolotoy Rog’ or Golden Horn Bay.

A few hundred metres away on the harbour road lies an S-56 submarine as a reminder of the fleet’s glory days. This submarine is said to have won 14 battles in the Second World War. It was put there in 1975 during the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in the Second World War. The submarine houses a small museum exhibiting mainly photographs. The front of the submarine gives an impression of life in a submarine; the bunk beds shown are much smaller than the torpedo’s lying underneath.

Another highlight is the fort, which is almost impossible to find. Taking Ulitsa Batareynaya leading to the seafront (maps in Russian are available at some kiosks), turn to the right on Ulitsa Zapadnaya. After two hundred metres, turn left and take the path up hill left of the sports centre. Don’t expect to see any fancy, castle-like ruins. All that’s left of the fort constructed between 1899 and 1916 is a bunker housing a museum describing the history of the fort. Remains of the fort are spread all over the city; they are hidden between modern buildings and difficult to distinguish.

A little further on Batareynaya is the Okeanarium, showing live fish existing in the Russian Far East, including the source for black caviar ‘Beluga’, white sturgeon. It also shows non-living sea creatures from other parts of the world. In summer, the Okeanarium gives shows with dolphins; in winter, pictures are shown of dolphins making watercolours and some of their creations are offered for sale for a few hundred roubles.

There are a few restaurants at the seashore offering a great view over Amurskiy Bay. Two of them offer Chinese food: the Chinese restaurant Imperator, recommended by local expats and Oasis. If you long for Chinese food, don’t go at the beginning of February, as we did. All the Chinese chefs had left for China to celebrate Chinese New Year, so we had to do without the only type of cuisine offered in Vladivostok that is different from what’s available in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The Russian cafeteria in between the Chinese restaurants offered horrible food downstairs, but a note said that there was an excellent restaurant upstairs with a great view over the sea. Half of the dishes listed on the menu were not available and preparation of relatively simple soups and salads took more than half an hour. The view only partly compensated for this.

Nightlife promised to be more promising as little of these establishments are owned by Chinese people. Royal Club is popular both as a restaurant – it has a British chef – and as a nightclub. It reminds a bit of the Holiday entertainment complex in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with its super tight security and its large, dark disco. Royal Club also has billiards, a bar and a casino. Thursday didn’t seem to be a popular night to go out as there were only twenty people visiting the disco at midnight.

Close to the economic faculty of the university is the student club BSB – also popular with expats. It is a small disco with a relaxed atmosphere. It was absolutely packed on Saturday night. The entrance fee is 150 roubles when a live band is playing. If you want to sit at one of the ten tables you have to buy a separate ticket for 100 roubles.

Another nightclub popular with the local youth is Nautilus, easy to find due to its laser lights outside. Even though it is a huge place, the cloakroom seemed too small for a Saturday night. A second, unheated cloakroom in the basement didn’t really give a warm welcome. Dancing shoulder to shoulder on the crowded dance-floor allowed warming up again quickly.

Half way between the airport and the city is the suburb Sanatoraya, named after the numerous Soviet type sanatoriums based in the area. Government-funded vacationers from all over the Soviet Union used to come here to spend their holidays. At times, this type of vacationers comprised up to 80 percent of the sanatorium’s business. Today, most of the sanatoriums are rundown, but in an attempt to create new business, some of them are trying to become more flexible, offering other than the usual Soviet time treatment programmes of 21 to 30 days. One of them, named Stroyitl, even advertises in Vladivostok Air’s in-flight magazine and allows one-day visitors. Foreigners are rarely seen here, but visiting this sanatorium is an experience in itself. It’s difficult to find your way around if you don’t speak Russian. The room charge for one night is 600 roubles and every service can be paid for separately. A set menu is served in the canteen at set times.

Stroyitl has a Russian banya and sauna with swimming pool with different opening hours for men and women in sessions of 90 minutes. The solariums are another option for short-term visitors. The sanatorium offers different types of massage that have to be booked in advance, but they can squeeze you in their schedule if you’re lucky.

Coming at a time at which neither the Russian banya nor the sauna were officially open, the staff allowed the use of the sauna anyway and charged the normal rate of 120 roubles a person.

The schedule for regular massage was fully booked, but hydro-massage was possible. Lying in a huge bathtub, a lady worked the muscles with a high-pressure spraying pistol, which was a bit painful at some places, but definitely gave a relaxed feeling afterwards.

© 2002 Petra Wijnsema

Last update: 13 February 2003