Читать книгу A Practical Guidebook for Free Travellers. Translated from Russian by Peter Lagutkin - Антон Кротов - Страница 3

I made a hundred trial copies in the spring of 1995 and peddled them on the famous pedestrian street in the centre of Moscow, the Arbat. The book was well received and sold well. In the following years (1995 to 2010), I made eight editions, gradually updating the book’s contents. It became known by its abbreviated Russian name, PVP (native pronunciation: peh-veh-peh), and it helped tens of thousands of people to discover the world. The book became a classic and sold over 140,000 copies.

Meanwhile, the surrounding world was changing. The internet and cellular phones appeared; a veritable «information revolution» occurred; working in Russia pays very considerably better in the 2010s than in the «hungry» 1990s. Some methods of travelling or communication, in demand at that time, now appear too difficult or completely irrelevant. New editions of this book are updated in accordance with how our time, and our country, changes. However, the general message and the general applicability of this book remain unchanged.

This book will teach you how to reach any city or town in Russia, how to get back home, how to cross the entire country if necessary (even if you don’t have one rouble of your own!), and how to travel in other countries. You will learn to find a place to sleep in any city, town, or village, even if you don’t know anybody there (yet). You will learn to deal with the drivers, the law, the locals, and your own parents. You will understand how to treat other people and the world if you want such travels to bring you joy.

All the methods I describe have been tested out in practice; moreover, they were born from practice. This book generalises collective experience of many and many free travellers, and I hope this experience will be of use to you.

I will gladly accept feedback and suggestions. Write me email at krotov_avp@mail.ru (I can read and answer in English). For my travelling news and upcoming events announcements, visit my blog at http://a-krotov.livejournal.com (Russian only).