Vladislav Stepanovich Ketov: biography. Headwind Vladislav Ketov traveler biography

Vladislav Ketov. Journey to the ends of the earth

Meeting place - Montreal_ Bi-weekly newspaper. Issue 28(70)

Truly, Montreal is a city of meetings.
For so many years I have been telling students and students about the world travels of Magellan and Drake, about the wonderful Russian travelers Miklukho-Maclay and Przhevalsky, about our contemporaries - Heyerdahl and Uemura. And how many years of life have passed at the TV screens with the "Cinema Travel Club"! And here is a real traveler in front of me. Cheerful. Vigorous. His fascinating stories are transferred from one corner of the planet to another.
Meet Vladislav Ketov. Behind him are nine years of travel, more than 200 thousand kilometers, 90 countries of the world ... He makes his travels on a bicycle. He doesn't like being called a cyclist. He is a traveler and also an artist. His poignant portraits of beautiful Parisians hang in apartments in Cape Town and Madras, Buenos Aires and San Francisco...
The press of the whole world wrote about Vladislav Ketov. His portfolio includes newspaper clippings in dozens of languages ​​and perhaps the world's largest collection of photographs of road signs.

Vladislav, when did you start this journey?
- May 14, 1991.
- So just sit down and go?
- Of course not.
- How did it all start?
- At the age of 33, he joined the section of cycling tourism. Some journalists called me a cyclist. I do not like it. Cyclists are racing, this is a serious sport. I'm a traveler, an artist. And I chose the bicycle as an environmentally friendly transport. Also, I love cycling. For 8 years I have traveled almost the entire Union, with the exception of Central Asia - the Sayans, Altai, the Karelian Isthmus, the Carpathians. In cycling I have the title of master candidate.
- And at what age did you go on a trip?
- At 42 years old. By the way, the bike helped me solve my health problems. I had a heart attack. And after that, I "seriously got on the bike." I believe that cycling is one of the best core sports. Circular movements of the legs relieve the load from the heart.
So, my first trip was from Leningrad through Kuibyshev to Sverdlovsk. Now it's St. Petersburg, Samara, Yekaterinburg...
I arrived at the Volga. I saw that I can! Here the coolest trips began to be remembered - Alain Bombara across the Atlantic, the Japanese Naomi Uemura, who died in Alaska. I remembered our Gleb Travin, who in the 1930s cycled along the borders of the Soviet Union, including along the northern borders. It is now almost forgotten.

But in those days it was a fantastic trip! One of the captains who led the ship in the Arctic Ocean was so amazed when he saw a man riding a bicycle in the ice! On the ice by bike!
When I remembered Gleb Travin, I got excited about the journey. But why should the journey be along the fence, I asked myself? The state border is a fence. Some people put up fences. Others walk along it.
- And you decided to go, crossing all borders?
Not certainly in that way. I don't like the idea of ​​crossing anything at all, like continents, like so many circumnavigations do. I came up with a simpler idea. And what will happen if I go along the sea. Sea on the right or sea on the left?
Thank God, I was good with geography. I mentally traced this picture. And I almost fell off my bike. It turns out that if you move along the coast, you can bypass almost all land except Australia and Antarctica, without crossing the oceans - one strait and two channels. But a strait is not an ocean. The Bering Strait is only 90 kilometers, and in the middle there are two more islands - the Russian Big Diomede and the American - Small Diomede. Canals - Suez and Panama - are also not a problem.
All dry land! The coastline is the only line you don't even need to draw. A natural contour, familiar to us from school maps.
After all, where does all travel begin? Everyone puzzles over what original route to invent for him. Think for years. No one wants to repeat other trips. And each traveler draws on the map his own, as it seems to him, the original line of the route.
I don't draw anything. I move along that natural line that everyone has had before their eyes since childhood and that nature has created. It is the only one in the world, there is no other like it. The natural boundary between land and sea is the actual coastline. Watch the TV screensaver - the contour of the continents, and everything is clear - we are talking about the Earth.
So no one has ever passed this single line!
- Everything ingenious is simple!?
- Everything ingenious is simple! I agree with you. More precisely, the ancients said: "The most difficult thing is to come up with a simple thing."
- So, the line of the route has matured, and you have gone? What about the idea of ​​travel itself? Some aspired to be the first on the poles, others on the highest peaks of the world, others conquered impenetrable deserts... And what did you want to conquer?
- I didn't want to conquer or prove anything. I don't like it. I wanted to show, to show people, that the world is beautiful without borders!
- However, the first border stopped you?
- That's it. I have already been stuck in Poland for three months, for the whole summer. Germany did not want to let me in, I had to wait for a visa. By the way, it took me almost half the time to get visas. I have applied for a visa to China six times. Once at the Foreign Ministry level. Even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was refused! Although by that time I already had Europe, Africa, Western and South Asia behind me.
- So how did you end up in China? Crossed the border illegally or married a Chinese woman?
- Well, tell you everything... A little secret. I was helped by a businessman, by the way, from East Germans. On the whole, it is amazing how much effort, time, and nerves it took to receive pieces of paper, which in many countries are not even asked for. It's a shame. What is the border for? First of all, so that any criminal elements do not cross it. So, criminal elements cross it! Calm and free. And for a simple traveler, this is worth many problems!
-Can I cross the border without a visa? And in general, do borders really exist everywhere? For example, in Africa?
And not only in Africa. In Europe, you can safely cross them. For example, I moved from Germany to Holland. The border runs along the canal. There, God himself ordered the border to be equipped.
- Towers, wire, control strip, checkpoint? ..
- That's it. I myself was a border guard, I remember. There is nothing of this at all. I see - a path went through the canal along the bridge. I think I'm crossing the line. So, the only prohibition sign there was that you can’t ride a bike, that this is a path for pedestrians. Naturally, I dismounted, crossed to the other side, and then only in a small shop for money I realized that I was already in Holland.

Our conversation with Vladislav Ketov did not end there. We think that we can publish a sequel. And a request to our readers. Vladislav travels on the funds that he earns himself. He is a professional graphic artist and portrait painter. He painted in Poland and France, South Africa and India. If you don't like the portrait (which is unlikely), the artist will keep it. Graphic portrait Vladislav performs in 20-25 minutes, color (pastel) - in 45-50 minutes.
Montrealers have always been responsive. Remember, we wrote about how the traveler George Back was sent on a long journey (see MW No. 46). Maybe there will be sponsors among our businessmen?! Vladislav was left with the most difficult route of his unusual circumnavigation - the northern coast of Canada and Russia...

Irina Lapina

Developed and implements the project of the world's first travel truly around the earth (land) along the coastline of the continents - Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America on environmentally friendly transport.

He has the title of "Outstanding Traveler of Russia" (certificate No. 1).

Born on February 10, 1949 in the village of Karlykhanovo, Belokataysky district of Bashkiria. He spent his childhood in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg).

In 1968 - 1971 he served in the border troops on the Amur on the Soviet-Chinese border.

In Sverdlovsk, he worked as a graphic designer, sculptor, decorator, design engineer and head of the production part of the puppet theater, and was engaged in interior design. In 1977 he graduated from the Department of Art History of the Ural State University. Diploma wrote about portrait drawing, which he has been doing all his life.

In 1979 he moved to St. Petersburg and became a volunteer at the Mukhinsky Art School, or "Fly". For a year he actively attended three groups of sub-courses and an elective in nude drawing. Then he entered the Academy of Arts as a volunteer, where he studied for another two years.

In 1983 he created the creative association "IMAGE" and led it until 1991. Since 1986, he organized the first free exhibitions-fairs in Leningrad, worked under an agreement in the Pavlovsk Palace - painted graphic portraits.

1983-1990. Cycling instructor - navigator and leader of more than 10 cycling trips (from the first to the fifth category of difficulty): Karelian Isthmus, Crimea, Caucasus, Carpathians, Sayans, Altai, East Germany, Poland.

1983. Made his first long-distance single cycle route: Leningrad - Kuibyshev - Ufa - Sverdlovsk. 2 200km. During this trip, the idea came up for the first ever trip really around the earth - that is, around the land, along the contour of the continents.

September 30, 1988. The idea of ​​travel is patented by the Soviet-American Cultural Initiative Foundation. (Patent No. 3101).

From May 14, 1991 to the present, I have been implementing the first ever trip to truly circumnavigate the earth along the coastlines of the continents.

1995. United Nations Organization for the Environment - UNEP assigned the status of its representative - UNEP globetrotter.

2003. The Tourist and Sports Union of Russia of the State Committee for Sports of the Russian Federation was awarded the title "Outstanding Traveler of Russia" (certificate No. 1) "for making a unique, first in the history of mankind trip around the earth along the coastline of the continents." To date, 155,000 km have been covered across 93 countries.

During the trip, he painted many hundreds of portraits, and now they hang in the homes of people from all continents except Antarctica. During the ten years of the journey, most of the portraits were drawn in Poland, Paris, Spanish Cadiz, Rome, Athens, Dakar, Cape Town, Nairobi - at UNEP headquarters, in San Francisco and Montreal. In recent years, the most significant series of portraits has been created in the Russian north from Murmansk to Yamal.

2010. Teaching activity at StArtAcademy - Center for Graphics, Painting and Design. Conducted master classes in graphic portraiture and nude drawing.

From May 13 to September 13, 2010, the Russian stage of the project took place from Olenegorsk, Murmansk Region, to Sovetskaya Gavan, Khabarovsk Territory. Thus, the contour of the Old World was closed by option “B” - on a bicycle, I traveled 10620 km in 105 running days.

From May 5 to August 30, 2011, he completed the North American stage, again according to option “B” - bicycle. By analogy with the Russian stage, he rode a bicycle across the North of America from the Atlantic Ocean (Blanc-Sablon, Canada) to the Pacific Ocean (Seward, Alaska, USA) and closed the circuit of the New World. Traveled 10,086 km through eight provinces of Canada and Alaska (USA).

From May 13 to June 3, 2012, he completed the cycling part of the project with the “Baltic” stage from Braniewo (Poland), where he started the project in 1991, along the coastline of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Leningrad region with a finish at the Bronze Horseman in St. Petersburg. 1750 kilometers covered.

The result of the project is 4 continents, 96 countries, over 167,000 kilometers covered in 21 years and 21 days.

Petersburger Vladislav Ketov completed a unique journey around the land.

The name of the Petersburger Vladislav Ketov will not say anything to the majority of Russians. The traveler artist, like his project, is much more famous abroad. For 21 years, Ketov has been on the road. The journey around the land he conceived has no analogues. Vladislav has already managed to overcome more than 167 thousand kilometers and visit 96 countries.

Walking along the coast

Since the time of Magellan, many have dreamed of traveling around the world. Vladislav Ketov, however, was the first to come up with the idea to go around the whole Earth in the truest sense of the word. Just go to the sea and move along the coast.

- You don't even need to draw this route on the map - it is on any globe,- Vladislav Stepanovich tells the correspondent of "Russian Tourism". - The traveler only needs to move along the border created by nature - the coastline of the continents. Only in this way can you literally go around the earth - that is, around the land. It is strange that no one before me came up with something like this. Former lone travelers moved along state borders - fictitious fences that separate one person from another.

Vladislav came up with a non-standard idea back in 1983 during his first solo bike trip. For not such a long time, the artist managed to travel from Leningrad to Sverdlovsk. Even then, Ketov dreamed of distant lands.

It is quite clear that in the days of the Iron Curtain, the implementation of such a project was impossible. That is why Ketov did not tell even the closest people about his own plan.

In September 1988, Vladislav Ketov patented the idea of ​​traveling around the earth in the Soviet-American Foundation "Cultural Initiative". However, no one believed in the possibility of implementing such a bold project, and many looked at the artist-traveler as if he were crazy. And yet, in 21 years and 21 days, the Russian managed to literally go around the world.

Without money and language

The first trip around the earth in the history of mankind began on May 14, 1991. Vladislav Ketov set off on a bicycle with 260 rubles and 10 dollars in his pocket. Neither material nor language problems, however, never embarrassed Vladislav.

- If people want to understand each other, sooner or later they will explain themselves,- says the traveler. - Scientists have long established that words convey only 30-40 percent of information. Everything else - facial expressions, gestures, and most importantly intonation. Even animals understand it. If something did not suit me, I could roar in Russian, and believe me, everyone understood without translation.

On his own bicycle, Vladislav Ketov carried everything necessary for life - from a small tent and stove, to items without which no art workshop is inconceivable. The whole first trip - for almost ten years the Petersburger lived by drawing. The language of art turned out to be understandable to everyone - both semi-wild Africans and Asians and American Indians. On the way, Ketov painted more than a thousand portraits. This, by the way, helped not only to get food and funds to continue the journey, but also to support the family that remained in St. Petersburg. On the way, Vladislav Stepanovich, however, drew not only for self-interest. The traveler spent four months in the capital of Morocco, waiting for a visa. Not wanting to waste time for nothing, Ketov was engaged in the restoration of the painting of the local Orthodox church absolutely free of charge. In addition to the frescoes that shone with new colors, the traveler left four icons painted by his own hand to the Moroccans.

The path of the painter, however, ran not only through the city. On a bicycle, Ketov moved in the mountains, deserts and crossed the war zones in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

- I am often asked: where was the hardest?- says Vladislav Ketov. - Probably in the south of Angola. The war had been going on there for twenty years. There was no path along the coast with the impressive name of the Skeleton Coast, only the road inland was found on the map. Three or four days later it turned out that she remained only on the map. By the way, there are no settlements there either. In the nearest of them I was going to replenish the supply of water, but found only ruins. And it was dry season! I managed to cover 130 kilometers in ten days. Usually such a distance is overcome in a day, even on a heavily loaded bike. And yet I went in the right direction! Later, in Cape Town, the Russian consulate told me: “You know, there was a concentration camp that didn’t even have a fence, because everyone knew that it was impossible to get out of there.” I replied that I did not know this, which is probably why I left.

The artist treated the savages

The invaluable experience gained by a traveler in Africa and Asia could easily become the basis of a textbook on survival in extreme situations.

In the same desert, there are difficulties and dangers, but they are caused, first of all, by the wrong actions of the person himself, - Vladislav Ketov believes. - If you don't play the fool and are able to take the necessary precautions, then the journey will be successful in whatever zone it takes place. The desert is no exception. You just need to understand and comply with its laws.

In the Sahara, the St. Petersburg traveler traveled on a lightweight bicycle with a minimum of luggage. All the free space in the bags was occupied by water containers. Vladislav took with him up to 17 liters of water, which allowed him to live autonomously in the desert for four to five days. In Africa, Ketov became a real tracker and learned to find life-giving moisture even among the sands.

- In such places, all living things strive for water,- says Vladislav Ketov. - The last sources of water can only be found on animal tracks. Once in the desert I managed to catch a sick and weakened goat. I tied her to a tree and wanted to kill her, but then I regretted it and even gave her my last water, and I went in search of a source. The tracks of the animals went up and ended on the stones. I wanted to get out of there twice - there are no traces on the stones, and what kind of water can be at the top. Suddenly I heard a bird chirp. I went to the sound and almost fell into a well, eight meters deep, carved right into the rock. It was possible to notice it only by coming close, and finding it by chance was unrealistic.

On the wings of the north

During the first ten years of travel, Vladislav Ketov actually went three and a half round the world. Incredibly, the artist and traveler managed to overcome a huge distance without any third-party support. Only the Russian and American coasts of the Arctic Ocean remained unexplored. It was not easy to overcome this segment according to the rules set by Ketov. Both the Russian and American north are accessible only for a few months of the year, and the traveler had to move only along the coast in environmentally friendly vehicles.

- So far, it has not been possible to close the contour of the earth along the coast of the Arctic Ocean,- says Vladislav Stepanovich - The trip was completed according to option "B" - cycling. On wheels, I drove along the northernmost road in Russia and America. And yet, I'm not going to abandon the original idea. You can travel along the northern shores, for example, by gyroplane: a kind of hybrid of a glider and a helicopter, quite simple to operate. I also have another dream: to repeat the journey around the land on an aircraft in order to prove once again that this is possible and thus realize the natural human dream of freedom, which has only natural boundaries.

After a three-hour lecture given in the media hall of the Pskov Drama Theater by the traveler Vladislav Ketov, I asked him: does he ride a bike today like an ordinary person? Petersburg, for example, where he lives. The fact is that Vladislav Ketov did most of his journey, which lasted 21 years and 21 days (with interruptions), on a bicycle. But his incredible journey through 96 countries ended in 2012. How about now? “I rarely travel,” Vladislav Ketov replied. As far as I understand, Vladislav Ketov is not satisfied with “crazy drivers” and generally unsuitable Russian conditions for cyclists. But at the same time, he did something that no other person in the world has done. And will never do it again. He traveled 169 thousand kilometers.

“I did not find much understanding in my homeland. And to be completely honest, I didn’t find a little understanding ”

I will explain why no one can repeat such a trip. Not only because few people are able to devote so much time and effort to such a journey, constantly risking their lives ( Vladislav Ketov along the way visited 8 war zones and overcame 7 deserts in the driest time). It's just that the world has changed a lot since 1991. The boundaries have changed.

For Vladislav Ketov, it was very important to clarify: for the first time in history, he made a trip around the earth, or rather, a solo trip along the coastline of the continents. Not a trip around the globe, namely around.

Vladislav Ketov began his story for a reason by saying that he served as a border guard in his youth. It was on the border with China in 1968-71 ("it was not boring there"). What are the boundaries - he knew. For him, the border is a fence. “Why should a person walk along the fence?” he asked himself. A similar question was asked by a Pskov cyclist-traveler in the late 1920s Gleb Travin when he went on his journey. The club of the Pskov project "Vetka" is named after him, in the meeting of which Vladislav Ketov took part in December 2016.

Vladislav Ketov. Africa's westernmost point, Dakar. Photo: ketov.ru

In the late 1920s, Gleb Travin, who dreamed of traveling the whole world on a bicycle, could not leave his country. He would not have been released. For this reason, he just had to go "along the fence" - along the borders of the USSR. For Ketov in the early 1990s, the situation was different. Perestroika. I had a passport. And he decided to go.

For Vladislav Ketov, it was very important to clarify at the very beginning of the Pskov meeting: "for the first time in history, he made a trip around the earth, or rather, a solo trip along the coastline of the continents." Not a journey around the globe, namely around the earth.

Traveling around the globe did not interest him. He wasn't going to cross anything. There are thousands of round-the-world trips every year. He came up with something completely different. “People do not see what is in front of their eyes,” Vladislav Ketov said and pointed to the coastline on the map with a long pointer. "That's the only line you don't have to draw." Moreover, it turned out to be the only line along which Ketov wanted to go in the mid-80s, even before perestroika - in 1983. Drive. But then there was no such possibility.

“I realized that the idea needs to be staked,” he continued his story. - For five years he was silent as a partisan - until 1988. He didn't even tell his family. And then, when the competition of ideas was announced, I sent an application for the competition. But not in order to win, but for the reason that "all ideas sent to the competition were registered in terms of copyright." That's what it says in the terms of the competition. Thus, having no sponsors and assistants, he turned out to be the owner of the patent. All that was left was to travel around the world.

“The discovery of the amazing fact that such a journey has not even been proposed in the whole history helped to understand that we live not so much in the real world, but in the space of a reality invented and even imposed. Therefore, the whole journey has become the most important stage in the long journey of knowing the real picture of the world and rejecting illusory ideas and stereotypes.” So thinks Vladislav Ketov.

“I did not find much understanding in my homeland,” said Vladislav Ketov. “And to be completely honest, I didn’t find a little understanding.”

And yet, the native state contributed to the fact that he took off. Ketov spoke in detail about how his journey began. The same is described in his diary entitled "I go out alone on the road ...". The diary begins with a Buddhist epigraph: "Roads are made for travel, not for purpose." Ket's journey began like this : “On May 13, in the evening, it was reported on the radio that service passports are subject to immediate re-registration, and from the 15th, that is, in a day, they are no longer valid. Usual state rudeness…”. Ketov often encountered state rudeness. Not only Soviet or Russian. The desire not to let in or not to let out officials from different countries is very strong.

The news that the passport must be urgently re-registered forced Ketov to make an urgent decision. There was a high probability that if he delayed, they might simply not let him out of the country. It was 1991. Time was transitional, incomprehensible. The night passed in thought, and in the morning ...

“The day before, he resigned from the Pushkin Palace of Culture, - wrote Vladislav Ketov in his diary. - They closed our studio, which existed for 8 years - the creative association of amateur artists "Proobraz". We don't have any income! There were a couple more signals that the time had come. It was on that day that I bought the Rush Hour newspaper, which I almost never bought, and then suddenly I went to the kiosk and bought it. After that, without opening, he dragged it all day in a briefcase. And I remembered about it only in the evening, when I found out the news about the re-registration».

Vladislav Ketov, in Europe. Photo: ketov.ru

The next morning, May 14, 1991, Ketov went by bicycle to Pulkovo - with a passport, but without a ticket. The chances of flying to Kaliningrad were minimal. But he was lucky. He bought a ticket. It was another signal. Another “signal” was that the bike was taken into the luggage right away, without a cover, and when Ketov got off the ladder in Kaliningrad, the loaders offered him to sit on the bike right from under the plane. So on his long journey, he went straight from the runway. At that moment, there was one thought in my head: “The main thing is to jump out of the country.” But it didn't work out right away. At the border, he was sternly told: “We will not let you out” - “Why?” “We have a closed border checkpoint.” I have a visa, I have a foreign passport, but they still didn’t let me out. The nearest point is in Grodno. I had to go there. And time was running out...

"Change in General Direction"

If you open the site of Vladislav Ketov, then under the photo, which shows a small man and his bicycle on the shore of a large exotic mysterious lake, there is such a statement: “Each person is a vector, part of a huge system called Life. The sum of all vectors gives the shift of the system in one direction or another. Since most of the vectors are mutually balanced, no one can say with certainty that it was his action (or inaction) that did not become decisive for changing the general direction.

Ketov's direction was to move forward. Overcome boundaries. A man on a bicycle with a Russian flag on the handlebars and 30-50 kilograms of cargo on the trunk did not think to stop. According to him, the wind was mostly headwind. Even when the traveler turned around some bend in the coast, the wind turned with him.

From May 1991 to April 1993, Vladislav Ketov visited 24 countries, passing along the coastline of Poland, Germany, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Yugoslavia , Albania, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel.

Thus began the journey, during which for the first time one person autonomously - mostly on a bicycle - traveled along the contour of Europe, Africa, south and southeast Asia, North and South America. 169 thousand kilometers, 40 thousand photographs, 120 cassettes of diary entries ... On the way, if we count the net time, he spent seven years. The rest of the time is waiting for a visa, searching for money to continue the trip, and the like. A Soviet man without any special knowledge of languages ​​at the age of 42 went to an unknown world - without money, without connections, but with a desire to overcome what no one else had overcome.

There were, in fact, two problems along the way (as Ketov himself says): bureaucracy and finances. The journey began in a completely different era. Not only in terms of borders (in 1991, in order to obtain a visa to Germany, he waited in Poland for three months). At that time there were no navigators, no digital cameras, no mobile phones ... In 1991, telling the world that you are ready to go around the earth is about the same as declaring that a traveler is ready to ride a bicycle to the moon.

He earned money by painting portraits of people he met along the way. I sold half of the portraits, gave half as a token of gratitude for the help. He sent part of the money to his family in St. Petersburg. I spent the night mostly in a tent. And here it was important to choose the right lodging for the night. The main danger in such travels is not natural disasters (although he had to flee from the flood in Iran), not wild animals (although in the Far East he was forced to follow in the footsteps of a tiger), but people. Some militants - armed fighters for the independence of something, or just robbers, for whom it was a matter of honor to "teach a lesson" to a stranger.

So Ketov tried to choose a lodging for the night so that no one would see him. Stopped on the road in anticipation of no one in sight. If necessary, he pretended to be repairing a bicycle. Waited out. When he was convinced that there was no one around, he turned sharply away from the road and pitched a tent in an inconspicuous place. Early in the morning I set off on a journey, trying to cover at least 111 kilometers a day - no matter what road or off-road I had to move. Through the deserts, in which the temperature in the shade - up to 50 degrees - rode under an awning.

He gave some practical advice in Pskov. If you are captured by any armed people - do not enter into conflict with them, do not argue, in a polite way, but ask to meet with their commanders. The higher the commander's rank, the better. You can negotiate with higher commanders until you are "not allowed to go to waste." Commanders in third world countries, as a rule, graduated from Soviet or Russian military schools and know Russian. Many feel sympathy for Russia.

"It's impossible to go there..."

The very first bicycle, on which Ketov left the USSR in 1991, reached Paris. By the time of departure, he already had 20 thousand kilometers on the roads of the USSR. It was a bicycle that the traveler assembled himself - "Champion - Highway". The parts were partly imported, partly homemade. He received the second bicycle as a gift in Paris, where he went in March 92 to change the rear wheel. The traveler strengthened the new bike with a 26-inch rear wheel from a mountain bike and then covered about 40 thousand kilometers. There was a change in Cape Town. A Taiwanese company sent a new bike at his request. It was also enough for 40 thousand kilometers - to Vladivostok. The fourth bike turned out to be the most successful. Ketov assembled it in Vancouver (“there was plenty to choose from. It took me the longest time to look for a frame, the rest was easier”). On it, he traveled around North and South America - more than 50 thousand kilometers.
The main danger on many roads was mines. In such cases, it is better to move on asphalt, because the mines laid on such a road are designed for heavy equipment, and "a bicycle is not heavy equipment." Although a significant part of the journey took place on gravel, dirt roads and off-road. Ketov crossed at least 8 combat zones (Yugoslavia, the Middle East, Western Sahara, Angola, Mozambique, Northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, Cambodia, Colombia). Deserts overcame about the same Sinai, Western Sahara, Namib, Eastern Sahara, Arabian Desert, Nazca, Atacama ... Logically, it was necessary to wait for a convenient time of year, but visa and other problems forced me to go when such an opportunity fell out. And it was always the hottest time of the year.

The African (and partly Asian) stage (one of the most difficult and dangerous) took place from April 1993 to November 1995. Ketov traveled Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola, Namibia , South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, UAE ... There were quite strange “states” - such as African Cabinda (a self-proclaimed state whose government consisted of members of the Cabinda Civil Society and participants in the FLEC and FAC movements) . One of the most difficult segments was in South Angola. The traveler overcame 130 kilometers for 10 days, at some point realizing: "But I'm not afraid of anything ...". There was little chance of getting out alive. When he was later asked to show what places he passed through there, he showed on the map. “It is impossible to pass there,” they answered him. There is also an Angolan concentration camp in the open. "Sorry, I didn't know."

It was difficult with water. You can't take a lot of water with you into the desert. Usually it was 17 liters of water for 3-4 days. Sometimes the water ran out, but there were still no sources of water. But "if you press hard, you become a tracker." Once Ketov discovered a completely invisible well. He stood three steps away and did not see him. And yet, he got to the water, located at a depth of 8 meters, "it saved." Sometimes, in order to survive, you had to drink liquid mud or find water in the footsteps of wild animals walking to the watering hole.

Despite the fact that Vladislav Ketov said several times that “in the West they were surprised that no one needed it in Russia,” Ketov named several names of the people who helped him on this journey at different stages. Including Russian diplomats. The list of people who helped him is quite large on his website. But the first among them is Victor Bout. The same one. In 2012, Viktor Bout was sentenced in the United States to 25 years in prison "for intending to illegally carry out arms trafficking and support for terrorism." After the lecture, I asked Vladislav Ketov about Bout, how they met and what he thought about his arrest.

Ending to be

Developed and implements the project of the world's first travel truly around the earth (land) along the coastline of the continents - Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America on environmentally friendly transport.

Biography

Journey

Vladislav Ketov's journey is unique in several respects: in terms of the method of transportation (by various types of environmentally friendly transport, most of them on a bicycle), in terms of the idea of ​​the route (along the only natural line that is on any map of the world - the contour of the continents), and in terms of length (more four equators).

For the first time, one person, completely autonomously, without any accompaniment, rode a bicycle around Europe, Africa, south and southeast Asia, both Americas (except for the Arctic coast), overcoming 144,000 kilometers.

Passed 93 countries, 8 war zones (Yugoslavia, Middle East, Western Sahara, Angola, Mozambique, Northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, Cambodia, Colombia).

Deserts were overcome on the way: Sinai, Western Sahara, Namib Desert, Eastern Sahara, Arabian Desert, Nazca, Atacama and other arid zones; mountainous regions: the Pyrenees, the mountainous coast of Southern Europe and Asia Minor, the Atlas Mountains, the coastal highlands of Namibia and South Africa, the Pacific Coast Ranges of North America, the mountains of Guatemala and Nicaragua, the Andes, including the last 5 times mountain passes above 3,000 m .

Project "EDEM"

The name of the project "EDEM" is an abbreviation of the words Ethical Ecological Movement in Russian and English. The project affirms ethical and ecological values ​​as defining for the preservation and development of life on earth. United Nations Environment Organization - (eng.) In 1995, Vladislav Ketov was assigned the status of its representative UNEP globetrotter.

Travel stages

main stage

Completely autonomously, on a bicycle, I traveled around the contour: Europe, Africa, south and southeast Asia, both Americas ...

• Europe and Asia Minor:(May 14 - April)

Russia - Poland - Germany - Denmark - Germany - Holland - Belgium - France - Spain - Portugal - Spain - France - Monaco - Italy - Slovenia - Croatia - Hungary - Yugoslavia - Albania - Greece - Turkey - Syria - Lebanon - Cyprus - Israel

• Africa and Arabian Peninsula:(April - November)

Egypt - Tunisia - Algeria - Morocco - Western Sahara - Mauritania - Senegal - Gambia - Guinea Bissau - Guinea - Ivory Coast - Ghana - Togo - Benin - Nigeria - Cameroon - Equatorial Guinea - Gabon - Congo - Cabinda - Angola - Namibia - South Africa - Mozambique - Tanzania - Kenya - Ethiopia - Djibouti - Yemen - Oman - UAE

• Asia:(December - October)

Iran - Pakistan - India - Bangladesh - Myanmar (Burma) - Thailand - Malaysia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Kampuchea - Vietnam - Hong Kong - China - Russia

• America(September 26 - November 14)

Canada - USA - Mexico - Guatemala - El Salvador - Honduras - Nicaragua - Costa Rica - Panama - Colombia - Ecuador - Peru - Chile - Argentina - Uruguay - Brazil - Guiana - Suriname - Guyana - Venezuela - Colombia - Belize - Mexico - USA - Canada

Stage "Scandinavia"

• June 14 - September 13.

Russia - Norway - Sweden - Finland. Distance - 9200 km.

Stage "Alaska-Vancouver"

• July 3 - August 13

Cities: Homer - Soldier - Anchorage - Glennallen - Tok - Cranberry - Haynes - Juneau - Petersburg - Prince Rupert - Terrace - Prince George - Lilluet - Vancouver. Distance - 3350 km.

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An excerpt characterizing Ketov, Vladislav Stepanovich

“Ce qu" elle dit? - he said. - Elle m "apporte ma fille que je viens de sauver des flammes," he said. – Adieu! [What does she want? She is carrying my daughter, whom I rescued from the fire. Farewell!] - and he, not knowing himself how this aimless lie escaped from him, with a decisive, solemn step, went between the French.
The French patrol was one of those that were sent by order of Duronel through various streets of Moscow to suppress looting and especially to catch arsonists, who, according to the general opinion that appeared that day among the French of higher ranks, were the cause of fires. Having traveled around several streets, the patrol took another five suspicious Russians, one shopkeeper, two seminarians, a peasant and a courtyard man, and several marauders. But of all the suspicious people, Pierre seemed the most suspicious of all. When they were all brought to spend the night in a large house on Zubovsky Val, in which a guardhouse was established, Pierre was placed separately under strict guard.

At that time in St. Petersburg, in the highest circles, with more fervor than ever before, there was a complex struggle between the parties of Rumyantsev, the French, Maria Feodorovna, the Tsarevich and others, drowned out, as always, by the trumpeting of court drones. But calm, luxurious, preoccupied only with ghosts, reflections of life, Petersburg life went on as before; and because of the course of this life, great efforts had to be made to realize the danger and the difficult situation in which the Russian people found themselves. There were the same exits, balls, the same French theater, the same interests of the courts, the same interests of service and intrigue. It was only in the highest circles that efforts were made to recall the difficulty of the present situation. It was told in a whisper about how opposite one another acted, in such difficult circumstances, both empresses. Empress Maria Feodorovna, concerned about the well-being of the charitable and educational institutions subordinate to her, made an order to send all the institutions to Kazan, and the things of these institutions had already been packed. The Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, when asked what orders she wanted to make, with her usual Russian patriotism deigned to answer that she could not make orders about state institutions, since this concerned the sovereign; about the same thing that personally depends on her, she deigned to say that she would be the last to leave Petersburg.
On August 26, on the very day of the Battle of Borodino, Anna Pavlovna had an evening, the flower of which was to be the reading of a letter from the bishop, written when sending the image of the Monk Saint Sergius to the sovereign. This letter was revered as a model of patriotic spiritual eloquence. Prince Vasily himself, who was famous for his art of reading, was supposed to read it. (He also read at the Empress's.) The art of reading was considered to be loud, melodious, between a desperate howl and a gentle murmur, to pour words, completely regardless of their meaning, so that quite by chance a howl fell on one word, on others - a murmur. This reading, like all Anna Pavlovna's evenings, had political significance. At this evening there were to be several important persons who had to be ashamed of their trips to the French theater and inspired to a patriotic mood. Quite a few people had already gathered, but Anna Pavlovna had not yet seen all those whom she needed in the drawing-room, and therefore, without yet beginning to read, she started general conversations.
The news of the day that day in St. Petersburg was the illness of Countess Bezukhova. A few days ago the Countess suddenly fell ill, missed several meetings, of which she was an ornament, and it was heard that she did not see anyone and that instead of the famous Petersburg doctors who usually treated her, she entrusted herself to some Italian doctor who treated her with some new and in an extraordinary way.
Everyone knew very well that the illness of the lovely countess arose from the inconvenience of marrying two husbands at once, and that the Italian's treatment consisted in eliminating this inconvenience; but in the presence of Anna Pavlovna, not only did no one dare to think about it, but it was as if no one even knew it.
- On dit que la pauvre comtesse est tres mal. Le medecin dit que c "est l" angine pectorale. [They say that the poor countess is very bad. The doctor said it was chest disease.]
- L "angine? Oh, c" est une maladie terrible! [Chest disease? Oh, it's a terrible disease!]
- On dit que les rivaux se sont reconcilies grace a l "angine ... [They say that the rivals reconciled thanks to this illness.]
The word angine was repeated with great pleasure.
- Le vieux comte est touchant a ce qu "on dit. Il a pleure comme un enfant quand le medecin lui a dit que le cas etait dangereux. [The old count is very touching, they say. He cried like a child when the doctor said that dangerous case.]
Oh, ce serait une perte terrible. C "est une femme ravissante. [Oh, that would be a great loss. Such a lovely woman.]
“Vous parlez de la pauvre comtesse,” said Anna Pavlovna, coming up. - J "ai envoye savoir de ses nouvelles. On m" a dit qu "elle allait un peu mieux. Oh, sans doute, c" est la plus charmante femme du monde, - said Anna Pavlovna with a smile over her enthusiasm. - Nous appartenons a des camps differents, mais cela ne m "empeche pas de l" estimer, comme elle le merite. Elle est bien malheureuse, [You are talking about the poor countess... I sent to find out about her health. I was told that she was a little better. Oh, without a doubt, this is the most beautiful woman in the world. We belong to different camps, but this does not prevent me from respecting her according to her merits. She is so unhappy.] Anna Pavlovna added.