Landmarks and places of interest in Far East

In 1889 Vladivostok was officially declared a fortress, and at the same time the city began a grandiose construction of defensive structures which took more than a decade. The cost of the building of the entire complex was fantastic for those times - 98 billion gold rubles! For 15 years Russian military engineers and soldiers have created hundreds of kilometers of new roads, including a ropeway, forts, an airfield and many unique underground structures with a thickness of walls up to four meters!

The very first, grand and long street of Vladivostok was once called the American, then it became Svetlanskaya (after the name of one of the frigate-founders - "Svetlana"), and in 1924 it was called Lenin. On the eve of the holiday dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the creation of the Russian regular fleet in 1996, the street again became Svetlanskaya. 

Muravyov-Amursky Street in Khabarovsk is the main transport artery of the city. It was named after Count Muravyov-Amursky, who was Governor-General of Eastern Siberia from 1848 to 1861. It was he who concluded a border treaty with China and gave the city the name of the pioneer Yerofey Khabarov. The construction of the city began at the period of his governing.

Khabarovsk City Ponds are artificial ponds in the center of Khabarovsk. A cascade of three ponds appeared in the city in 1983, the year of the 125th anniversary of the founding of Khabarovsk. Ponds are divided by dams, which look like pedestrian walkways from above.

The pedestrian Admiral Fokin Street was originally called Pekinskaya Street in honor of the capital of China. This name was given in memory of the treaty of 1860 which defined the Russian-Chinese borders. Then for some time it was called Torgovaya. But since 1964 the street has been named after the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Fokin, who held this position for four years. However, the people often call this street the Vladivostok Arbat - in honor of the most famous pedestrian street in Russia - the Moscow Arbat. 

Unforgettable landscapes, salty sea winds, steep cliffs and cozy bays meet those who arrive on the Russky Island named so in honor of those Russians who broke new ground.

The embankment of Admiral Nevelskoy at the Amur River in Khabarovsk is one of the most picturesque and crowded places in the city. It is named in honor of Admiral Gennady Nevelskoy - a researcher of the Far East. The central place of the embankment is the Amur cliff. There is an observation deck here, from which Amur is magnificently visible as well as China on the other side of the river.

Petroglyphs of Sikachi-Alyan or Amur petroglyphs are rock carvings on basalt boulders near Khabarovsk. There was an ancient Nanai settlement in this place, the inhabitants of which left drawings on the stones lying here. Unique stones were entered by UNESCO in the preliminary list of World Heritage.

 Vladivostok Train Station is of a special significance. It is here that the great Trans-Siberian Railway ends. The first stone in the foundation of the station was laid down by the heir to the Russian throne, the future Emperor Nicholas II. The first building of the station looked very laconic. Only after 1912 it was rebuilt in the style of the tower, like the Yaroslavskaya Railway Station of Moscow, from which trains depart for the Far East. At the same time the old building was carefully built into the new station, saving, for example, Japanese clay slabs on the floor. 

The Aleutskaya Street in Vladivostok is a reminder of the dead on the coast of Japan as a result of the accident of Russian sailors from the military ship Aleut. The crew of this schooner was engaged in active exploration of the shores of the Far East and broke the first clearing in a dense forest, and much later a street was formed from this glade. It was decided to call it later Aleutskaya Street in memory of the ship's crew. 

More than 150 years ago the schooner Aleut entered the Golden Horn Bay. A few years later a stone pier was erected in this place, and in the early 1900s a modest building was built. It was Vladivostok's first marine station. 

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God is one of the largest Orthodox churches in Khabarovsk and the first stone church in the city. The initiator of its construction was a local merchant. The construction work began in 1876. But when the temple was half-built, it turned out that the merchant’s funds are insufficient. So, the project was frozen. And only in 1884 the work continued. As a result, in 1886 a five-domed temple appeared in the city in the classical Russian style with elements of eclecticism.