Vladivostok Fires Back at St. Petersburg Blogger's Critique

Emotional videos by St. Petersburg blogger Anastasia, who moved to Vladivostok a year ago, have taken an unexpected turn. Local Telegram channels and publics spread the videos across social networks, and under each post, heated discussions with hundreds of comments unfolded.

City residents reacted sharply and largely painfully. Vladivostok residents split into two camps: some took the blogger«s words as a personal insult, others as a painful but honest acknowledgment of accumulated problems.

Users openly suggested Anastasia return to St. Petersburg, calling her an «arrogant newcomer» and accusing her of misunderstanding Far Eastern specifics.

«Why did you even come here?», «Go back to your Peter and enjoy your city», «Greedy Muscovites and Petersburgers, if you didn»t come here, prices would be lower« – Primorye residents most often wrote.

«Let»s chip in a ruble each and send her economy class for 15 thousand to beautiful St. Petersburg. If she knew how much is invested annually in Moscow and St. Petersburg«s infrastructure and compared it with Vladivostok, she»d be even more surprised. In 2025, 1.327 trillion rubles (approximately $13.3 billion at current rates) were invested in Moscow, 848 billion rubles (approximately $8.5 billion) in St. Petersburg, and only 73 billion rubles (approximately $730 million) in Vladivostok. See the difference?« – summarized a man, adding that theft and »cutting« exist everywhere, but the scale and control in the capitals are incomparable.

Ironic remarks were also heard. Vladivostok residents suggested «sending the blogger to Khabarovsk or Komsomolsk-on-Amur» so that «the price tag would finish her off,» hinting that Vladivostok is not the most difficult city to live in the Far East.

They joked about delivering goods by quadcopters and advised «running to the store – it»s healthy.«

«If Vladivostok residents knew that such a diva would come to them. They would have implemented delivery by quadcopters long ago. Please excuse us, backward villagers. We»ll improve,« – joked a user.

Some noted that in decades of living in the city, «they haven»t encountered such problems,« and prices for manicures and fitness, according to them, can be found twice as low.

Part of the residents is sure that the problem is not in the city, but in the inflated expectations and «consumerist view» of newcomers.

«If the meaning of life is only in endless consumption, then the claims are understandable,» – noted one of the discussion participants.

Others reminded about logistics: Vladivostok is many times smaller than St. Petersburg, remote from main hubs by thousands of kilometers, and expecting service at the level of a metropolis here, in their opinion, is naive.

However, a significant part of the audience unexpectedly sided with the newcomer. These commentators admitted: behind the sharp form lies a reality that the region prefers not to speak about aloud.

«She told the truth – the truth hurts,» «In essence, one cannot disagree with much,» «Prices are sky-high, salaries are low, there»s no management,« – wrote residents.

City residents openly spoke about high prices, traffic jams, worn-out infrastructure, and weak management. They complained about ecology, exhaust fumes, wastewater that, according to them, flows into the sea, about spring and summer floods that the city is «traditionally unprepared for,» about ice and snow not cleared since December, broken viaducts, and even rats that «can be encountered in herds in the center.»

«Prices – sky-high, traffic jams – awful, no management, only profiteers. That»s why the outflow from the region,« – expressed one user.

At the same time, critics acknowledged the city«s strengths. Among the main pluses, they most often mentioned the sea, sun, wind, history, and developed catering.

«I live here only because of the sea and sun. In everything else – chaos,» – admitted a city resident.

Others noted that Vladivostok«s problems are typical for many non-capital cities in Russia, and »in St. Petersburg and Krasnodar it«s no better, just different scenery.»

«The worst is when people with the pride of the poor start shouting that everything is fine with us,» – summarized one of the discussion participants.

There were those who saw in the story banal PR. According to them, sharp statements are a proven way to attract attention, gain views, and subscribers.

«She came, trashed the city, and is pleased with herself,» – wrote outraged users, accusing the blogger of deliberately provoking a scandal.

Meanwhile, a newlywed couple, Tom and Pasha, without irony or desire to prove something, embarked on a risky walking journey from Moscow to Vladivostok. The young people started on January 19 from Red Square itself and have been walking for six days towards their goal. More about them can be read via the link.