Vladivostok is located in eastern Russia at the southernmost point of the Amur Peninsula. The north of the city is highlands, while the east, south, and west are adjacent to the Ussuri Bay, Peter the Great Gulf, and Amur Bay, respectively.
Vladivostok is the capital of Primorye Oblast and the final station on the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is also the largest city and economic and cultural center of Russia's Far East region. The city covers an area of 700 square kilometers with a coastline of more than 100 km. It had an urban population of about 1 million in 2012.
The city is the largest port city on the Pacific coast of Russia, with the largest cargo throughput among ports in the Far East region. Of its 10-million-ton in annual throughput, about 4 million tons are domestic shipments while about 3 million tons are foreign shipments.
There are about four months of ice in the port area of Vladivostok. But it is navigable throughout the year with icebreakers. Industrial types in the city include ship repairs, rolling stock, mining equipment, electronic instruments, building materials, and food processing. Its major exports are petroleum, coal, grains, and the imports are petroleum products and fish.
The city is also one of the main cultural, educational, and scientific research centers in the Far East. There are 12 colleges and 11 middle schools, including Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service, Far Eastern Federal University, and the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography. In addition, there are four museums, three theaters, and one concert hall in the city.
The biggest local festival, Russian Navy Day, falls on the last Sunday in July. With colorful national flags fluttering in the wind, warships from all over the world are docked on the shore of the military port.
