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Saturday at 2pm repeated Wednesday at 1pm Monday 09/01/2006 Vladivostok – Lord of the EastFounded in Tsarist times Vladivostok – which means ‘Lord of the east’ – was to defend the fringe of the then Russian empire from encroachments by China and Japan. It was a ‘free port’ known for its frontier characters and rough way of life. In Soviet times it was closed off to all foreigners (and most Russians) and remained that way until the end of the Cold War. Now it feels like a capital city in rambunctious decay. It has cowboy politicians and potholes in the roads the size of bomb craters. The entire region of the ‘Real Far East’ - as Tony Barrell calls this zone of Russia that lies between Siberia and the Pacific - is depopulating at an alarming rate. But Vladivoistok still has something special – an ocean city with an Asian prospect. But can it and the region stay Russian – or will it become Chinese? See The Real Far East feature page which includes audio of the programs and photographs taken by Tony on his visit to far eastern Russia. Sound engineer: Angus Kingston Produced by Tony Barrell and Neil McCarthy for ABC Radio National and the BBC World Service. also in the program: Story: The Snapshot, by Irina Polyanskaya. Translated by Eugene Ulman. The reader is Zoe Carides. Publications:
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