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The Champion of Russia by hitch-hiking in marathon became Tim Yamaleev, who managed to cover nearly 6500 kilometers along the route Moscow - Smolensk - Bryansk - Kazan - Tymen - Tobolsk - Ufa - Tcheboksary - Nizhny Novgorod - Vladimir - Moscow during ten days. The second place won George Jourbin. He reached Kazan, then (via Saratov and Volgograd) he reached Astrakhan and returned to Moscow via Rostov-On-Don and Voronezh. The third place took Sergei Loutkov. His route was: Moscow - Toula - Voronezsh - Saratov - Tchelyabinsk - Ufa - Naberezhnye Tchelny - Kazan - Tcheboksary - Nizhny Novgorod - Moscow.

According to the rules, women could take part in competitions only in pairs.
To everybody's surprise the first place has won a pair of the most senior participants: Natalia Sergeyeva (58) and Inna Tsibina (49). During 10 days
they have covered the route: Moscow - Toula - Orel - Kursk - Voronezsh - Kolomna - Vladimir - Nizhny Novgorod - Tcheboksary - Ulyanovsk - Moscow. They managed not only to register at the control points, but also to visit local museums, orthodox monasteries and churches.

One of the participants of competitions, Leonid Zhaleiko (26), did not return at the deadline. Last message from him was sent from Ghatchina. Ministry of Internal Affairs started the search. After announcements about lost participant by radio and in the newspapers, HHS started to accept telephone calls from all drivers, who had given a lift to Leonid. This allowed us to reduce the area of search with Novgorod Region. Search throughout this region did not bring any results, but after publication in The Novgorod Bulletin newspaper, a certain captain of the Criminal Investigation Department telephoned and informed that Leonid had perished as a result of accident. Not far away from the highway Louga - Novgorod he fell from a tall tree and smashed his head. This tragic incident was used by the opponents of hitch-hiking as another reason in favour of its banning or at least "professionalization".

Actually, hitch-hiking is rather dangerous and unpredictable because the way of travelling. It's possible to compare hitch-hiking to lonesome cliffhangers, climbing up the route without the stand-by rope relying only on their strengths and their own power of spirit. For those who prefer a comfort and safety hitch-hiking is alien sport and they are not recommended to go in for it.

All members of HHS are well aware of the possible risks. It's impossible to exclude it completely, it's possible only to share the experience and knowledge, learn something new about the rules and safety technics, organize search of travellers who don't returned from the route after the agreed deadline.

17 people took part in sprint racing aroung Golden Ring of Russia. They started from Moscow from the building of MSU in September 22 at 12.00. The sprinters competed in speed of covering "classical" route: Moscow - Sergiyev Posad - Pereyaslav Zalessky - Rostov the Great - Yaroslavl - Kostroma - Ivanovo - Souzdahl - Vladimir - Moscow. The first came Phil Leontyev. The distance of 700 kilometers he covered in 14 hours 56 minutes. Among the pairs Anton Krotov and Tatyana Kolesova came first.

The Second Russian Competition in hitch-hiking (1-9 May, 1996) :

In competitions took part 30 persons (15 pairs). All started simultaneously on 1 May at 12.00 near by high-altitude building of MSU on Sparrow Mountains. Route: Moscow - Yaroslavl - Kostroma - Ivanovo - Souzdahl - Vladimir - Ryazan - Toula - Orel - Bryansk - Gomel - Minsk - Vitebsk - Pskos - Saint-Petersburg (nearly 3000 km). Champions, Andrei Kouritsin and Julia Korotkova, finished on May, 4 at 21.20, having spent 56.5 hours on the run to cove the route.

The Third Russian Championship in hitch-hiking (30 April -9 May, 1997) :

16 persons (8 pairs) took part in this competition. Route: Moscow - Ryazan - Penza - Samara - Ufa - Kazan - Nizhny Novgorod - Vladimir - Moscow (nearly 2600 km.). Champions, Tim Wolfhound and Elena Dzyoumenko, came back to Moscow on 4 May at 18.30. This time the main hardship for Russian opulation - salary arreas for many months - confronted the participants.
Because of this, in many regions it led to increasing of the number of "money begging" motorists. However, majority of them met the idea of hitch-hiking competitions enthusiastically.

Moscow Competitions :

First Moscow Championship in hitch-hiking (7 April, 1996.). In this competitions 20 persons - 8 solo and 6 pairs--took part. Route: High-rise building of MSU - Krylatskoye - metro "Sokol" - Mayakovsky Square - Soukharevskaya Square - Ostankino - AZLK - a movie-theatre "Illusion" - Gorky Park - MSU (nearly 100 kilometers). Nearly all broadcasting companies announced about it, that vastly relieved a displacement. For instance, a driver of Zhigouli having noticed the hitch-hikers on the road shoulder, taxied up to them and opened the door: "Get in quickly, I saw you starting!"
Besides, there was a situation when the same car was stopped twice - near Ostankino and Krylatskoye. Hitchers, who showed the best time, 4 hours 05 minutes, were Eugene Panchenko and Alina Papoush. Alexander Semyonov joined them ten minutes later.

Second Moscow Championship in hitch-hiking (15 June, 1997). In this competitions 16 persons (8 pairs) took part. Route was set to connect main Moscow skyscrapers: MSU on Sparrow Hills - Hotel "Ukraine" - a Building on Kudrinskaya Square - highrise building of the Railroad Ministry - Hotel "Leningradskaya" - Movie-theatre "Illusion" - MSU. Winners, Dmitri Nazarov and Valery Shanin, covered the route for 1 hour 36 minutes.

Expeditions :

Niormally, they hitch-hike solo or in pairs. Routes are not drafted in advance, but are defined in process. In competitions all cover the same route but each participant tries to outstrip his opponents. In expeditions the competitive element is completely omitted. General destination and "meeting points" are planned before the start. Every person moves independantly - solo or in pairs. However, periodic meetings make it possible to talk, exchange information and share impressions.

Expedition (known also as "First European Championship in hitch-hiking") (1 August-7 September 1996). Route: Moscow - Krakov - Prague - Kestel (near the lake Balaton in Hungary) - Venice - Milano - Genova - Florence - Rome - Naples - Palermo - Siracouzy - Molfetta - San-Marino - Lublyana - Budapest - Moscow.

There were 23 people who took part in this enterprise. The main difficulty was to cross Slovenian and Italian borders: having visas was not enough, one also needs "show-money" or had to pass the border illegally. Some people failed to enter Italy: Sergei Zoubtsov and Alexei Lykov turned back at Slovenian border, but Ilya Sitnik - from Italian one. Nicholas Lavdansky, Sergei Plekhanov and Basil Ignatenko entered Italy by-passing via Austria or Germany (crossing illegally two borders at once).

Expedition "Moscow - Red Sea" (21 December, 1996 - 20 January, 1997). Initially the destination was Egypt, but in the process of preparations it was realised that to reach the seaside of Red Sea was easier in Jordan. It is possible to get Jordanian visa without invitation for $22. Syrian transit visa is given at the presence of the Jordanian one only for $3, Turkish visa is obtained on the border for $10. Route was chosen like this: Moscow - Minsk - Warsaw - Krakov - Budapest - ??Buharest - Istanbul - Damascus - Amman - Akoba - Moscow.

Six hitchhikers started. They immediately came across with the hardshiops of winter. At the start in Moscow temperature was -20 degrees, in Slovakia - 25, but in the south of Turkey +25! Because of the poor ammunition at the beginning of the jorney they suffered first from cold and then from heat. As a result, only Pavel Podyatchev managed to reach Red Sea. The rest turned back to Turkey, Romania and Poland.

Expedition "Moscow - Gibraltar" (30 July - 7 September, 1997). Main objective was to reach the most distant point of Europe. There started 18 participants - solo and in pairs. Shengen monthly visa was arranging by a tourist agency. Route: Moscow - Brest - Warsaw - Berlin - Erfurt - Amsterdam - Paris - Bordeaux - San-Sebastian - La Korunia - Porto - Lisbon - Sevilia - Gibraltar - Madrid - Barcelona - Nizza - Dijon - Berlin - Moscow.

As it often happens, nobody covered the route in full. Though Paris was visited virtually by all, only 4 person managed to reach Gibraltar. The most imprinting memory was linked to the larceny. Vadim Yelistratov's money and passport were stolen in the night on the coast in Barcelona. Also Rouslan Kokorin's backpack was stolen in Malaga (Spain) in the night when he took a rest on the coast.

Meetings :

HHS usually takes part in the meetings of hitch-hikers from Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Tver, Estonia, Ukraine, Belorussia, which have been conducted since 1996, and time after time, engaging more and more participants. For instance, at 5th "Elba" meeting on 16-17 May, 1998, near a village of Izhitsy (Novgorod Region), by Route M95 there gathered 90 people, but on 26 September, 1998, at 6th Elba there were 140 yet!

Valery Groushin Festivals :

Annually, in the first week-end of July, near Samara, there have been conducted so-called Grushinka Authors' Songs Festivals, named after Valery Groushin. Last time there were only the bards. It is also possible to meet hitchhikers there- they go to Grushihka to make friends, share impressions, find partners for future travells.

World Tours :

Sooner or later any professional traveller starts to dream about the world tour- to hit the road eastward but return from the West. HHS plans to carry out its own world hitch-hiking travel with possible meeting of new millennium.

Start is to be on 19 November, 1999. Route: Moscow - China - Vietnam - Laos - Tailand - Singapore - Indonesia - Australia - New Zealand - Chile - Peru - Ecuador - Columbia - Panama - Costa-Rica - Nicaragua - Mexico - USA - Canada - France - Moscow.

"I have finished my hitch-hiker's trip around the world on 14 December 2002 in Moscow. It took me 7 month to cross by thumb Asia from Russia through Mongolia, China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, East Timor. From East Timor to Australia I flew aboard the UN cargo plane. In Australia I spent 13 month hitchhiking across the country (I have been everywhere). Then on Russian cargo ship I crossed Tasmanian sea for New Zealand. In New Zealand I spent 1 year - hitch-hiking and working in orchards. That's why I earned enough money for the plane ticket from Auckland to Buenos Aires. In South America I spent 3 month hitch-hiking through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador. From Ecuador I came back to Russia aboard Greek cargo "Tampico bay"
(it took them one month to sail from Guayaquil through Panama Canal, Azores, English Canal, Baltic sea to Saint-Petersburg). This trip was being fulfilled from 19 December 1999 to 14 December 2002. I hope I an going to write the book, dozens of articles and produce the documentary (I shot 120 hours of material). Now I am writing articles for Russian newspapers and magazines, but unfortunately I had only video-camera, that is why I have no pictures. I want to ask everybody to send me their pictures (of themselves, families and their town/city/country:). I promise to send you back the articles with your pictures and English version of documentary. Best wishes, Valeri Shanin."

Igor Serebryany
BBCi at http://www.bbc.co.uk

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