We all come from childhood spent in different times, different backgrounds, and different places. It constitutes our biography in its geographical dimension.



We cannot choose time to live in

Georgiy Ignat'evich Levitsky was born in Yekaterinburg in the middle of the XIX century (1840). From travel perspective the epoch was amazing – the time of Jules Verne and mass tourism formation. First trains, first real ascents of the mountains, steamers, bicycles, cars, spa and resorts, cameras appeared.

«Make a journey, hypo, to cure from hypochondria! Make a trip, misanthrope, to love humankind! Travel everybody who can afford it!" – wrote N.M. Karamsin in "Letters of a Russian traveler" published in 1791-1792.

He was heard and people moved on. For the Russian nobility it became a must. Travelogues and journey accounts enjoyed popularity of all genres: in 1888, 144 books on geography and travel with circulation of 141 062 copies compared to 33 books of 31 070 copies on "political and social issues" and 46 works on philosophy of 62 920 copies came out.

G. Levitsky could be easily found among these travelers. He did not belong to the noble class but his family was wealthy enough to travel (his father was an archpriest of the largest cathedral in Yekaterinburg) in spite of the fact that it cost a fortune and was available to "glitterati" of that time.

Despite mass character of tourism in the world just 23 thousand international passports were issued in Russia (0,2 of the empire population) and only wealthy Russians could afford to go abroad in the early XX s.

The range of destinations was limited, too. The most visited locations included European countries, holy orthodox places, the Caucasian Riviera, domestic sights. Africa (except for Egypt), both Americas, Asia (except for neighboring locations in China and Japan) let along Australia and Russia which were off beaten tracks.

In this respect G. Levitsky was out of his time context assuming his routes from Kronshtadt to Osaka, calling at ports in Arabia, India, Ceylon.

Among "the chosen", though, from another epoch, was Pyotr Varezhkin, the chief operating manager of the Ural railroad. In 1980 he went to Cuba – his 19^th country of visiting.

Just a few in the USSR could think of it. In 1983 exit permits (58% total) to capitalist countries and (35,5% of total) were revoked. Thirteen thousand tourists from the Sverdlovsk region (0,34 % of the region population)were lucky to go abroad.

Passport and Visa service was recommended to "pay attention to tourists who have already travelled abroad, since these people can be suspected of illegal currency and import goods trade; thoroughly check up spouses, and do not grant exit permits if possible" not to say about going abroad with children.

"Comrade Varezhkin P.N. is morally stable and politically competent. In 1972 he visited Poland and Czechoslovakia and gained the reputation of a disciplined tourist.
We recommend him as a Soviet tourist for the Baltic and the North Seas cruise.
The given recommendation is considered at the Management Committee of the Sverdlovsk railroad meeting (protocol №13 of 30 May, 1974)".

The "iron wall" was partly compensated by vast territories and outstanding variety of climatic zones and landscapes of the country. As a result, people born before the 1990s did not go abroad in principle.

Nowadays we can hardly find such travelers as both G. Levitsky and P. Varezhkin. All the borders are open. Tour prices and fares have decreased. Airlines low-costers, couchsurfing, hostels, booking portals have emerged alongside with exurcopedia and other brilliant things that save our money for and on a trip. Travel has become a basic element of "mobile" culture of modernity.

Nevertheless, less than 10 % of the Russian make international trips and 75 % of the population does not travel by domestic routes. It means, that not only political and economic factors determine this pattern but also our mind barriers.


Are you your parents all over?

As we have already mentioned G. Levitsky was born to a family of hereditary priests. His destiny was pre-defined: to graduate from a seminary, then from a clerical academy, and later to follow his father step and reach the rank of archpriest and higher if lucky. To continue the dynasty of priests and be able, at best, visit the Monastery of Optina or Jerusalem.

But the plan failed. At 54 he undertook world tour and his final position was of an ordinary priest at Nikolaevsk prison. Yet, it could have been his father that had influenced his fate. His influence acted through a wonderful home library containing bestsellers of the time, travelogues, Jules Verne books and many others.

A hundred years later, in 1973, another young guy Maksim Shipulin was taken by his father to a car trip from Sverdlovsk to the Baltic (the car was a notoriously known hunchbacked "Zaporozhets"). A route of over 10 000 kilometers and a navigator' role entrusted to him impressed him greatly and made him a life-long traveler. The last USSR champion in spelunking, a diver, yachtsman often acts as "The White Sun Of A Desert" character, Vereschagin did : "Shall we go? Sure!" And life kind of thanks him for this, for instance, his team was employed to lift the Cheluabinsk meteorite from the bottom of the Chebarkul lake

Maksim's life motto runs: «Previous and future merits should not be recognized: what matters is what' going on here and now!"

In the 1970s little Pavel was allowed to do what every child could not help envying. Both his parents worked in the Ministry for Internal Affairs and had the right for free return train tickets to any place of the USSR once a year. Pavel stood in front of the map and pointed his finger at the place they would go that time. And they did go there!

In the 1990s Pavel "yo-yoed" back and forth on a business trips, was engaged in shuttle business. In the year 2000 he started a tour company and since then he has been working and traveling a lot.

What geobiography did your family predestine?


I was born in a small house near the station …

I grew up a house next to the rail wails. The noise of trains and their lights on the ceiling accompanied all my childhood. The trains ran and ran. And I wanted to go somewhere. I waved at passing trains but nobody waved back at me. When a 5-year-old girl, some passengers saw a tiny figure at the platform, waved and drew me with them. Then I believed I would travel one day

Larissa Kataeva has been carrying craving for travel all her life. Her daughter, a certified psychiatrist, diagnosed her mom's case as "dromomania" (from Greek drómos — running, mania – insanity, obsession) [1].

– an irresistible, paroxysmal urge for shuffling, nomadism. This disorder manifests itself in boyhood's days and relates to impulsive states. A driving force can be a so called sensor hunger – a need for new and bright impressions.

It is great that Larissa Kataeva proved to be the very person to run the F.M. Reshetnikov Museum. The writer Reshetnikov came from a family of postal officials and created vivid images of the Russian yamschiks' life and the Russian road. The museum located in a former post office possesses post carts, yamschik room, everyday road life objects, stables and a coach house.

Is the one born near the road predestined to live on it?