The Japanese company Isido was attacked in Vladivostok. After this incident, the Japanese and British commands landed troops to protect their citizens. The Entente soon expanded its Siberian Intervention; Canada sent 4,000 troops, headquartered in the Pushkin Theatee with a barracks at Second River and Gornostai Bay.

Bolshevik supporters conducted a partisan struggle in the city. From 1916 through 1922, Vladivostok's population increased from 97,000 to 410,000 as opponents of the new regime (including the White Army) retreated to the east.

From 1920 to 1922, cultural refugees from Moscow and Saint Petersburg founded two conservatories, two theaters and several symphony orchestras and published art magazines. After the Bolshevik victory, most moved abroad and by 1926 Vladivostok had a population of 108,000.

On October 25, 1922 the last interventionist units left the city, and the Red Army assumed control. On November 15 the Far Eastern Republic, which had existed since 1920, became part of the RSFSR.

The Bolsheviks understood Vladivostok's strategic importance, and during the 1920s and 1930s reconstruction of its port began