Odessa

Odessa has always been a city quite unlike any other in Russia. The various peoples that were persecuted under the Empire fled there to live together in peace. It should be mentioned that the port was a gateway to the West!

Odessa-Crimea : 20 euros
Sponsors : Isabelle et Philippe M, Agnès S, Paulette C, Graziella P

The Crimea

Once colonised by the Greeks, the Crimea is a peninsula where the mountains melt into the sea. The coastline of this extremely touristy region is covered with abundant vineyards and orchards...

Sebastopol 

Founded at the end of the 18th century by Potemkin and fortified under Nicolas I, the city stands as a reminder of several wars. From the Crimean War, during which it was taken by the French and British forces after a year-long siege (Tolstoy was one of its defenders), up to the Second World War when the Germans laid siege to it. During the Crimean War, Sebastopol fell when Mac-Mahon's attacked the bastion of Malakoff, situated at the city gates. This bastion was famous for its tower, after which a Parisian suburb was named.

Sebastopol-Yalta : 15 euros
Sponsors : Thierry et Brigitte M., Graziella P

Yalta

This seaside resort has become a symbol of the end of the Second World War, thanks to the famous Yalta Conference held in February 1945 between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.

Yalta-Don Volga Canal  : 25 euros
Sponsors :

The Don-Volga canal 

Starting at the gates of Volgograd, this 101-kilometre canal was completed in 1952. It links the Volga with the Sea of Azov... and thence to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

Don Volga Canal – Volgograd : 35 euros
Sponsors : Marion D et Claire T, Christophe P.

Volgograd

Formerly called Stalingrad, the town was the famous site of the battle that took place here 60 years ago.

Volgograd – Volga : 5 euros
Sponsors : Benjamin M, Thierry et Brigitte M., Véronique G, Catherine B., Famille D, Christine R.,Catherine B., Thècle R d B, Graziella P, Christophe P., Sylvie et Pierre N.

The Volga

The longest river in Europe links the Baltic Sea with the Caspian Sea. We'll be travelling alongside the river banks till it reaches the sea...

Volga – Kalmykia : 40 euros
Sponsors : Isabelle et Philippe M, Christophe P.

The Kalmykia

As we travel down the Volga, we shall be crossing through this independent Buddhist region of Russia, whose inhabitants came originally from Mongolia and who were nomadic up until the 1940s. In fact, the Kalmucks were such a nomadic ethnic group that they can now be found as far apart as China and New Jersey. They are Tibetan Buddhists and were allowed to re-open a temple in their capital city, Elista, in 1989.

Kalmykia – Caspian sea : 10 euros
Sponsors : Véronique G., Christine R., Graziella P, Christophe P.

The Caspian sea

Over the last thirty years, the volume of water in the Caspian Sea has fallen to 960 cubic km, in other words, four times greater than the volume of water flowing into it from the Volga each year. This process is partly due to supplying the towns and industry, together with irrigation systems in arid areas along the river banks. The speciality of the region is caviar!

Caspian sea – Aral Sea : 13 euros
Sponsors : Alice M, Christine R., Christophe P.

The Aral sea

Since 1960, the surface area of the Aral Sea has diminished by 50%! Irrigation for the cotton fields that lie upstream of the rivers that flow into the sea is the reason for this ecological disaster. These rivers are heavily polluted with pesticides and defoliants that have made the land impossible to farm. The winds carry salty dust which scorches anything that grows within a radius of hundreds of kilometres. The human consequences are simply unacceptable: fishermen have no work in ports where there is no water and disease is rife...

Aral Sea – The silk route : 50 euros
Sponsors : Florent M, Famille Pierre M, Thierry et Brigitte M., Christine R., Christophe P.

The silk route

As we go through Uzbekistan, we'll be taking the Silk Route that once linked China to the West from the 11th century onwards.

The silk route – Samarkand : 30 euros
Sponsors : Marc et Chantale M, Laurence L, Isabelle et Philippe M, Thierry et Brigitte M, Christine R., Michel et Marie-Odile C, Martine M, Graziella P, Christophe P.

Samarkand

Samarkand is one of the cradles of civilisation of the people of Central Asia. A legendary staging post on the Silk Route, the town, famed for its many blue domes, was home to the largest mosque in the Muslim world. Tamerlan, one of the greatest 14th century conquerors (who reached as far as Damascus), came from this region. He made Samarkand the main city in his State.

Samarkand – Tachkent : 10 euros
Sponsors : Marc et Chantale M, Catherine B., Christine R., Sabrina B.,Thècle R d B, Graziella P, Christophe P.

Tachkent

The fourth largest city in the former USSR, Tashkent is still mainly Russian-speaking. Nonetheless, it is actually a Muslim city, littered with mosques and medersas. Various religions