The train station

Tour Starts: Train Station

“Ladies and gentlemen, you don’t have to hurry, because Russia ends here and there is nowhere to go from here,” the conductors of the Trans-Siberian express used to announce as the trains arrived in Vladivostok. This city was the end of Russia, and to many it seemed the end of the world.

Today it takes the transcontinental express Russia six days to reach Vladivostok from Moscow. If you arrive by train you will see a milestone with the figure 9,288 km. Nowhere else in the world is there such an enormous distance between a country’s capital and its most distant city. The last kilometers of the Trans-Siberian Railroad go through the coastal surroundings of Vladivostok.

The construction of a terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railroad on the shores of the Bay of Peter the Great began in 1891. Architect A. Basilevsky was commissioned to design it, and it was a most remarkable day on May 19 (June 1, New Style) when Tsarevitch Nikolai (Nicholas) Alexandrovich, son of Tsar Alexander III and heir to the Russian throne, began a visit to Vladivostok. The Tsarevitch--soon the last tsar of Russia, who in 1918 was to be so tragically assassinated--was on a tour around the world with his cousin, Prince George of Greece. After arriving in Vladivostok aboard the ship Pamyat Azova, the Tsarevitch laid the cornerstone for the foundation of the train station. An inscribed silver plate was bricked up in the northern wall to commemorate this extraordinary event; the specially designed hoe and wheelbarrow of silver that Nicholas used were kept in the local museum until the Revolution, when they were destroyed.

The original station building was dedicated in 1893, with the first trains running in May 1894. By 1907 the original structure had become too small to meet the needs of Vladivostok’s growing population and the decision was made to build a new station. Architect N. V. Konovalov took pains to preserve the old towers, the foundations, and part of the walls of the old structure, yet was able to create a beautiful new building, which was finished by the end of 1911. Cut into the hillside, it is much larger than the old station and exhibits outstanding architectural features in the traditional “Russian style”: towers and turrets crowning the roof, colorful majolica and tile panels in the niches of the golden walls, and a richly decorated entrance portal. Over the entrance arch of the southern wing there is a panel of bright mosaic tiles that portrays the emblem of Moscow, the well-known equestrian figure of St. George slaying the dragon. On the opposite wall there is a similar panel with the emblem of Primorye, namely, a tiger holding an anchor against a silver background. A two-headed eagle symbolizing the Tsar’s power crowns the picturesque and grand composition. Konovalov was awarded a special prize “for the best architectural design in the Russian style” by the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. Reminiscent of 17th century Russian masterpieces, this monumental structure was meant to symbolize Vladivostok’s inseparable connection with the rest of the country, indeed, its stature as an inalienable part of Russia. T he building was--and is perhaps still--the best and most beautiful one among all the train stations along the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

Vladivostok’s grand station has been remodeled several times: e.g., after it was damaged by artillery and machine-gun fire during the Gaida uprising in 1919, and when the frescoes were destroyed during the counter-revolutionary coup by the Merkulov brothers in May 1921. But most outrageously it was desecrated in 1924 when all the symbols of the Tsar were removed. The double eagle, for example, was so firmly fixed that the workers had to cut the heads first. At the same time the mosaic panels were covered with stucco. In 1927, the ceiling, which was covered with paintings of Biblical subjects, was also concealed by stucco; again, the building was considerably remodeled in 1935-1936. During the early 1990s, many of the city’s residents expressed great concern about this Vladivostok landmark, whose further restoration was delayed far too long due to lack of funds. At last, in 1994, the outside of our architectural gem was restored to its original 1911-12 appearance, including even the cobble stones on the square in front of it to give the building its original flavor. The interior of the station was lovingly restored in 1996 by Vladivostok architects in cooperation with the Italian firm Tegoli.

Looking back we must say that the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad radically altered the economic and demographic conditions in Vladivostok and Primorye.

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