Founded in the second part of the 19th century, Vladivostok is the capital and the largest city of Primorye region. It is located less than 100 km east of the Chinese border and just across the Sea of Japan from the main Japanese island of Honshu. Due to its favorable location Vladivostok became Russia's main naval base in the East in 1905, after Port Arthur fell during the Russian-Japanese War. Since its foundation in 1860 and up to 1958 Vladivostok was indeed a cosmopolitan city. In the early part of the 20th century, Russians were actually outnumbered by Chinese in Vladivostok, and during the years following the Revolution, there were large Japanese and US populations. In 1958 the Soviet authorities closed the city as a strategically important port to the all non-Soviets and this ban was annihilated only in 1991. But now anybody is welcome to visit this wonderful city.
