Directory_and_Chronicle_1920 — Page 523

EASTERN SIBERIA

VLADIVOSTOCK

+

Vladivostock is the capital of the maritime province which embraces the Pre- Amurski Krai or southern region of the Amur, the Transbaikal and Amur provinces, and the Russian half of the island of Saghalien. The administrative centre is at Khar- barovsk, where the Governor-General resides.

!

The port of Vladivostock, on some charts still called Port May,lies in latitude 43 deg. 7 min. N., longitude 131 deg. 54 min. E., at the southern end of a long peninsula reaching into Peter the Great Bay. Of the ports in East Siberia it is by far the most important both as a military and commercial centre. Vladivostock is one of the most magnificent harbours in the East. From its peculiar long and narrow shape and the once supposed hidden treasures in the slightly auriferous soil of its surrounding hills it has not inappropriately been called the Golden Horn. The entrances to the harbour are hidden by Russian Island, which divides the fairway into two narrow passages. This fine sheet of water first runs for about half a mile in a northern direction and then suddenly bends to the east for a distance of about one mile. On all sides it is surrounded by hills, low on the southern and higher on the northern shore; these hills slope sharply down to the water's edge. Once verdant with foliage, they have been completely denuded of trees by reckless felling. The harbour, capable of accommodating an almost unlimited number of vessels of deep draught and large capacity, affords a safe anchorage. During the winter months it is kept open by icebreakers so that steamers can always find their way in without difficulty. There is a floating dock capable of taking in vessels up to 3,000 tons, and a fine graving dock of the following dimensions:-Length over all, 625 feet; length at bottom, 555 feet; breadth, 120 feet; breadth at entrance, 90 feet; depth, 30 feet. There are also two large docks built especially for purposes of the State war fleet, but merchant vessels are now permitted to dock in them.

A large import business was formerly done, the main lines being cotton goods, iron, machinery, flour, fresh and potted meat, boots, and tea for transportation into the interior. The closing of the free customs zone in the Russian Far East in 1909, and the consequent imposition of protective duties, materially changed the character of the trade returns and, of course, the disturbances in Russia affected trade very seriously. Before the war there was а large passenger traffic between Vladivostock and China and Japan ports, the annual returns showing about 70,000 arrivals and 63,000 departures. The municipal affairs of Vladivostock were managed by a Mayor and Town Council elected by and from among the Russian civil community. The town is built on the southern slope of the hills running along the northern shore of the harbour, and handsome brick residences have been erected in recent years, replacing the old wooden structures. The entire area, with the exception of some unoccupied lots intervening here and there, is covered by buildings, and the town is well laid out with wide but ill-kept roads. The sanitary arrangements are bad, though the town is fairly healthy. Most conspicuous among the buildings are the government offices, the post and telegraph offices, municipal house, the barracks, the railway station, the museum, the Russian church, the Governor's residence and that of the Admiral Commanding, which is surrounded by a public garden, while the houses of the more affluent merchants are well and substantially built. There is a naval club, to which civilians are admitted as non-voting members, two or three hotels, a high Oriental lyceum with a gymnasium and school for boys, an institute for girls, and military, naval and civil hospitals. The town had a population of about 91,000, the majority of whom were of European extraction. About one-third of the population was Chinese, and the Japanese numbered about 2,000. Naturally these figures have undergone many modifications during the past two or three years, and exact statistics are not

16*