Unit I.
History of Vladivostok
In summer of 1859 Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, N.N.Muravyov, visited the peninsula and the bay, which was somewhat similar to the Bay of the Golden Horn in Konstantinopol (Istanbul), aboard the steam corvette America. The peninsula was named Muravyov-Amursky. The future outpost was later named Vladivostok, and the bay - The Golden Horn Bay (Zolotoy Rog). The first Europeans to visit this bay were two English Frigates Winchester and Barrakuda in 1855.
On June 20 (July 2), 1860 the military supply ship Manchur, under the command of Captain-Lieutenant A.K Shefner. called at the Golden Horn Bay to found an outpost of Vladivostok. 28 soldiers under the command of Ensign N.V.Komarov, were brought from Nickolaevsk-on-the-Amur by ship to construct the first buildings of the future city. In 1862 the outpost of Vladivostok officially became a Port. With the purpose to encourage foreign trade, a Free Port Status, or Free Trade Status for imported goods, was established. Foreigners began visiting Vladivostok. Vladivostok's first street was Americanskaya Street, which was named to commemorate the above-mentioned corvette America in 1871. Two years later it was renamed Svellanskaya Street, in honor of the frigate Svetlana, on which the Grand Duke Alexey Alexandrovitch visited Vladivostok.
In 1878, 40% of over 4,000 residents in Vladivostok were foreigners. This was reflected in the names of the young city streets, such as Koreyskaya, Pekinskaya, Kitayskaya (Chinese), etc. Their present names are Pogranichnaya, Admirala Fokina and Okeansky Prospekt. In 1880 the Volunteers' Fleet with the help of the government organized regular trips between Odessa, Petersburg and Vladivostok. On April 28 (May 10), 1880 Vladivostok was officially proclaimed a city and a separate administrative unit, independent from the Primorye Oblast. At that time the city population totalled 7,300 people, which is twice as many as in 1878.
In 1883 The Resettlement Administration was established in Vladivostok, and the steamships of the Volunteers' Fleet began a mass transport of peasants from European Russia to the Far East, where active settling had recently begun. Vladivostok became the main shipping center. In 1889 Vladivostok was proclaimed a Fortress, and two torpedo-boats, brought disassembled from the Black Sea, were launched.
In the 1880's the cultural life in Vladivostok became more active and a music school at the Siberian Fleet Depot was opened. In 1883 the first newspaper Vladivostok began circulation. In 1887 the public Reading-Hall was opened in Vladivostok and the professional theatre performed in Vladivostok for the first time. The city began to acquire modern amenities. The trees were planted along the main streets and 120 kerosene street-lamps were installed on the city streets.
By the end of the 1880's Vladivostok had approximately 600 wooden and more than 50 stone houses, some of them were 2 and 3 story buildings. The main urban buildings were grouped in the area of today's central square and the Matrosskaya Sloboda (Sailors' Suburb) - a territory from the Obyasneniya River as far as Gaydamak Tram Stop. These figures are not large for a city which was about 30 years old. But considering the fact that it is located 10,000 km from the major cultural centers of the Russian Empire and that it took 3 or 4 months for the mail to arrive from those places, one can admire the persistence and stubbornness of the first settlers, which is reminiscent of the first colonies on the North American Continent.
In 1891 the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad began in Vladivostok. This is one of the world's longest railroads, and has been very important for the development of many remote Russian outlying districts.
In 1899 the first Far Eastern higher educational institution - The Oriental Institute - was established. Today it houses the main building of DVGTU (Far Eastern State Technical University).
During the first Russian Revolution the city was involved in the conflict. In the beginning of 1906 it was even governed by the rebelling military units.
In the period between the two Russian Revolutions (1907-1917.) a Railway Station of Russian Architecture of the 17th century style (which resembled the Yaroslavsky Railway Station in Moscow), the City Power Station, two Girls' Schools, the School of Commerce and Versailles Hotel were constructed. Trams began operating on the city streets. In 1909, for example, the Port was visited by a total of 795 steamships, including 477 foreign ships.
By 1917 Vladivostok had become a scientific, cultural and industrial center, the largest in the Far East and Eastern Siberia. Many newspapers and magazines were published, and the first theatre buildings of stone were constructed in the city.
After the October Revolution of 1917 a new stage of life began in Vladivostok, as well as in the whole country.
From 1916 through 1922 the Vladivostok population increased from 97,000 to 410,000 people, as a result of the opponents of the new Regime settling in the port city while retreating to the East together with the White Army. Among them were many Russian cultural workers. From 1920 through 1922, 650 representatives of the Moscow and Petersburg creative intelligentsia lived in Vladivostok. They established two conservatories, two theatres and several symphony orchestras here. They also published a number of art magazines. (After the victory of the Bolsheviks the majority of these people moved to Australia, China, USA and other countries. By 1926 the population of Vladivostok totalled 108,000 people). On October 25. 1922 the last units of the interventionists left the city, and the units of the Red Army completely took control. On November 15. 1922 the Far Eastern Republic, which existed from 1920 through 1922, was included into the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic).
The Bolsheviks who won control of Russia understood very well the importance of Vladivostok as a major Russian port on the Pacific Coast and as an outpost of the Communist Empire in the East. In the 1920's - 1930's the reconstruction of the Vladivostok Port was carried out, and the construction of the Fishing Port began. In the beginning of the 1930's direct air traffic to Moscow and Vladivostok began. In 1932 Vladivostok became the base of the Pacific Naval Fleet.
Science and culture acquired the spirit of that time, which was reflected in their zigzag development. In the beginning of the 1920’s the Far Eastern State University was established in Vladivostok. At the end of the 1930's, during Stalin's Regime, it was closed for 20 years. In 1925 The Pacific Scientific-Commercial Station was established in Vladivostok. It was reorganized into the Pacific Scientific-Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (TINRO) in 1930. In 1932 the Far Eastern Division of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR was created in the city.
In the 1930's the mass repressions began in the country, and the transit camp for political prisoners carried from the Western regions of Russia to Kolyma, was opened in Vladivostok. The prisoners, at first Russian, and after the end of the World War II the Japanese POW, constituted a considerable part of the labor force which built factories, ports and cities in the Far East from 1930 through 1940.
In 1954 the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khruschev, visited Vladivostok. Nikita Khruschev was the first acting leader of Russia and the whole USSR, who visited the city. Khruschev became famous worldwide for his eccentric statements and actions. He also used to compare Vladivostok with San-Francisco. After his visit intensive development of the city of Vladivostok began.
In 1956 the Far Eastern State University, the only classical university in the Russian Far East until today, was reopened.
From 1930 till 1970's foreigners were not allowed to visit Vladivostok. In 1974 a historic meeting between the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (the Communist Party of the Soviet Union) Leonid Brezhnev and the president of the USA, Gerald Ford, was held in Vladivostok. Nevertheless, after Ford's visit to Vladivostok the ordinary citizens of the USA and other countries could not visit the city, which was home base of the Pacific Fleet, for almost 20 years. In 1992, for the first time in 70 years, Vladivostok was officially opened for visits by foreigners.
Discussion
1. Fill in the spaces in the following sentences with appropriate words and phrases.
1) In summer of ..... Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, ....... visited the peninsula and the bay aboard the stream corvette “America”.
2) The peninsula was named .... and the future outpost was later named ......, and the bay - ...... .
3) In 1862 with the purpose to .... a Free Port Status was established.
4) Vladivostok’s first street was .... street, two years later it was renamed ..... street, in honor of the frigate ‘............’.
5) On April 28 (May 10), 1880 Vladivostok was........., it’s population totalled ........ .
6) In the 1880-th the cultural life in Vladivostok became .......... .
7) In 1891the construction of Trans-Siberian Railroad ....... . It’s one of the world’s ....... .
8) In the period between the two Russian Revolutions (1907-1917) ....... were constructed.
9) From 1920 through 1922 creative intelligentsia established ...........
2. Answer the questions:
1) Who were the first Europeans to visit the Gold Horn Bay?
2) Why were the main streets of the city named Koreyskaya, Pekinskaya, Kitayskaya, etc?
3) How much time did it take for the mail to arrive from the centre of Russia to our region at the end of the 19-th century?
4) For many years the foreigners and even ordinary citizens of the USSR couldn’t visit the city. Why?
Effective Tour Presentation
I.
Before making an excursion about the town do the following:
- Think of the topic.
- Find out who your audience is.
- State the purpose (to inform, to intertain, to prove smth, etc).
- Brainstorm (generate ideas, think of some facts, get information on the topic, etc).
- Select the main idea.
- List the supporting ideas.
- Choose the method of organisation (chronilogical, order of importance, comparison and contrast, etc).
II.
Making a start:
1. If you are able to do effective tour presentation you will capture the attention of your audience. The items given below may be included in the introduction to your presentation.
- Your name and position
- The subject of your presentation
- The length of time you will take
- The points you will cover
- Visual aids you will use
- When the audience may ask questions
Practice putting these items together to introduce a fluent introduction of yourself.
2. Complete the presentation.
Good afternoon. Thank you for your being here with us. My name is .... and I’m your guide today. I’d like to talk today about ... Firstly, I’m going to talk about ....., secondly ......., and ...... . If you have ...... just interrupt me as I ....... I’d be glad to answer ......
III
The ending.
Positive conclusion to a presentation will have a good effect.
1. This is the list of things you should say in a presentation ending.
- Transition word or phrase which shows conclusion
- A brief summery of what you have said
- An invitation for questions, to make comments
2. Read the final parts of presentations which you can use in your own one.
a) So, ladies and gentlemen, that completes my presentation. I realise that many of you already knew about our city. Hopefully, I’ve filled in some of the gaps. I’ll be glad to see you again
b) That covers all I wanted to say today. I’ll briefly summarize the main issues. I’d be glad to answer any questions.