FROM THE BARENTS SEA TO THE SEA OF JAPAN

THE PURPOSE OF THIS WEBSITE IS TO GIVE A BRIEF ILLUSTRATED DESCRIPTION OF ALL RUSSIAN ADMINISTRATIVE TERRITORIES WITH SOME EMPHASIS PUT ON ADVANTAGES OF TRAVELING BY ROAD. I INTEND TO UPDATE THE WEBSITE ON A REGULAR BASIS ADDING PICTURES AND INFORMATION OBTAINED DURING RECENT TRIPS.

Traveling by car gives you freedom and flexibility you never have when traveling by train, plane or coach in organized groups as a regular tourist. You do not have to be on time on the coach and to listen to a torrent of facts, figures and “true” fabulous stories impartially narrated by the guide.

Are you wary of the language barrier, unfamiliar road conditions, strange driving manners, corrupted Russian traffic cops, unable to drive a car yourself? This is where I can help you.

My name is Mikhail Rybochkin. I am Russian. I speak English and some Spanish. In the past, I took part in organization and execution of a number of skydiving, skiing, mountaineering expeditions in the North Pole, Antarctica, Caucasus, climbed Kilimanjaro and Mount Elbrus. In 1995 I and seven other skydivers landed on the east summit of Mount Elbrus (5621 m ASL) having exited the helicopter at the altitude of 7000 m. I traveled by car across the USA, Argentina, Chile, United Kingdom, Portugal, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Egypt, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Spain, Colombia, Panama etc., sailed in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. I am a former military officer and parachute stuntman. Over the recent years, I have driven across 83 out of current 85 Russian administrative territories extended from the Russian-Norwegian to the Russian-North Korean border, completed several road trips Moscow – Vladivostok and back, Ulyanovsk - Magadan - Ulyanovsk and many, many others.

Choose the direction or destination you would like to go and I will develop a detailed itinerary. You will travel individually or in a small group of like-minded people looking to stretch their limits and appreciate the thrill of discovery and personal achievement. The specific itinerary can be customized to meet your specific demands. The trip can start and end in any point.

Actually, innumerable number of itineraries can be developed. Russia is big and diverse enough. Some people are attracted by historic sites and architecture, others by nature and mixing with locals. Some think in terms of miles driven, territories and cities visited. All these requirements will be met if you choose to undertake a road trip across Russia with me as your personal guide, assistant, translator and driver.

A ROAD TRIP ACROSS RUSSIA

Nowadays much fewer people traveled all the way across Russia by road then visited the North Pole. Believe me: I guided hundreds to the top of the world and only a few across Russia. I mean a road trip Moscow - Vladivostok (or Moscow – Magadan) or Saint Petersburg - Vladivostok (or Magadan) or Murmansk - Vladivostok (Magadan) - a trip truly across the entire Russia from the Barents Sea to the Sea of Japan (the Sea of Okhotsk if you choose Magadan as your final destination).

During any of these trips you will cross 10 time zones, ride through various climatic zones, see diversity of Russian nature (tundra, taiga, steppes, mountains, lakes and rivers), culture, architecture, visit 15 - 20 major cities of Russia, 22 - 30 Russian territories populated by different nationalities practicing all major religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Shamanism. National republics like Tatarstan, Mari-El, Chuvashia, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Khakassia, Tuva, Yakutia and so on. If you cannot afford much time, the drive can be divided in two-three legs. As a rule we stay at centrally located hotels so there is a chance to see central parts of the cities we overnight in.

Russian administrative territories are called "oblast" or "krai". “Oblast” means “region”. In this meaning "krai" is synonymous to "oblast". National formations are called "republics" or "autonomous oblasts".