Vladivostok

Vladivostok the largest city in Far Eastern Russia, serves as the homeport of the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet, and sits just north of Japan, China and the Koreas. Often compared to San Francisco due to the many hills and ocean views, Vladivostok (direct translation from Russian - "Ruler of the East") is one of the most beautiful cities in Russia. Today home to multinational energy companies, bustling ports, and enormous factories, the city will continue to be an integral part of Russia's industrial development.

The city's ideal geographical location is of great interest to developers of international and domestic trade. Strong forces lobby for a Free Economic Zone, hoping that the city might eventually be another Hong Kong or Singapore. Japan and Korea have invested heavily, and Vladivostok generally believes that the city's economic future is much more tied to Asia than to the West. The heavy foreign investment and influence help to fuel Vladivostok resistance to the economic and political grip of Moscow, which is in many ways expressed through the strong military presence, controlled from Moscow.

Thanks to geographical proximity to Japan, Korea, USA, local providers of offshore software development services see these countries as target markets.

Vladivostok is the largest scientific and educational center of the Russian Far East with more than 16 R&D organization of the Russian Academy of Sciences and 14 higher education institutions. Five of the universities graduate specialists in information technologies majors.