page_title: APEC Russia 2012
section_title: Preparation
hierarchical_section_title: APEC Russia 2012 / Preparation
caption_attribution_description: English: A view of the beach at Philippovsky Bay, Russky Island.
context_page_description: The APEC Russia 2012 was the 24th annual gathering of APEC leaders. Leaders from the member economies met on Russky Island, off the coast of Vladivostok, Russia on September 9–10, 2012.
  The summit on Russky Island saw the resort, catering and entertainment facilities, in addition to the renovation and upgrading of Vladivostok International Airport.
  Two giant cable-stayed bridges were built in preparation for the summit, namely the Zolotoy Rog bridge over the Zolotoy Rog bay in the downtown, and Russky Island Bridge from mainland to Russky Island. The new campus of the Far Eastern Federal University was also completed on the island by 2012 to house the summit.
context_section_description: At APEC Vietnam 2006 in Hanoi, Russia put forward a proposal to host the 2012 summit. Originally, Patrokl Bay (southern part of Vladivostok) was suggested as the site to hold the summit. The original plan was to build a palace to host the actual summit, and a number of five-star hotels for visitors. After the summit, the palace would be converted into a wedding palace, its conference centre into the Opera, and the hotels into residential buildings. The original estimate for development costs was in the excess of 382 billion rubles, and included money the city felt was necessary to bring infrastructure such as the sewage system, roads, bridges, and water pipes to up-to-date condition. German Gref, then-Minister of Economics and Trade, who visited Vladivostok in December 2006 to ascertain the city's readiness to hold the summit, promptly dismissed this plan, stating that the cost estimate was overblown and that he was not responsible for solving the city's problems, and further accused the Vladivostok administration of unprofessionalism.
  In January 2007, Vladimir Putin, then-President of Russia, stated that holding a summit in Vladivostok was a distinct possibility, and that at least 100 billion rubles would be required to prepare the city for the summit, which, at the time, was three-times more than the budget of Primorsky Krai as a whole. On 27 January 2007, Putin visited Vladivostok to participate in a meeting regarding Russia's upcoming rotational presidency of APEC.
  The proposal put forward for Russia to hold the 2012 summit on Russky Island, which was a closed military zone during the Soviet-era, was confirmed  at the end of the APEC Australia 2007 summit in Sydney, Australia. At a press conference in Sydney, Sergey Darkin, the Governor of Primorsky Krai, estimated the cost of hosting the summit at 147.5 billion rubles, 50% more than previous estimates. The construction of infrastructure serving the summit, by Darkin experts' estimates, would aid the economic development of the Russian Far East and would see more than a sixfold increase of the Gross Regional Product of Primorsky Krai by 2020.
  In February 2008, Governor Darkin announced that the general plan of the city development would incorporate summit preparation activities, and that hosting the summit was not a goal in itself, but rather a tool to strengthen Russia's positions in the Asia-Pacific region. The construction projects were to include the building of bridges across Zolotoy Rog Bay and to Russky Island, new roads, modern hotels, a Theater of Opera and Ballet, as well as overall improvements to the city's infrastructure. Later in April, the governor also stated that the buildings serving the summit would later be efficiently re-purposed. In particular, it was suggested to use the conference centre as a new library, while the hotels would remain to facilitate tourism to the island. Vladivostok International Airport was also to be modernised. By the end of April, Primorsky Krai received the first amount of 437 million rubles from the federal budget to commence summit preparations.
  On 18 December 2007, the results of the contest to create the summit logo were announced. The logo was to conform to three main criteria: it was to be patriotic, to portray the summit as the main cultural and economic event in Primorsky Krai in 2012, and to use the historical and cultural symbols of Primorsky Krai and Vladivostok. The winning emblem was created by Yevgeny Pogrebnyak, a professional designer and a resident of Vladivostok, who was awarded 65,000 rubles in prize money.
  On 8 April 2008, Sergey Stepashin, head of the Account Chamber of Russia, visited Vladivostok with the purpose of auditing summit preparation activities. The audit showed that only six out of 36 summit-related construction projects were properly documented. Stepashin also stated that one of the main priorities was the de-criminalisation of the region, as its criminal image may impede the in-flow of investments, and announced that the development of the Russian Far East region is one of the national p
caption: A view of the beach at Philippovsky Bay, Russky Island (2008).
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