Hitchhiking from Moscow to Khabarovsk

[Larry1]

24 year old Alexey is hitchhiking almost 10,000 kilometers, from his home in Moscow all the way to Khabarovsk in the Far East.  He has to be at his destination in 10 days.

When asked why he is doing this Alexey replies that he is going to marry his girlfriend in Khabarovsk.

Can you cross all of Russia west to east – all 10 thousand kilometers of it – with just $100 in your pocket? When you’re trying to get to your beloved bride, the answer is a resounding yes!
From across the ocean, hitchhiking in Russia appears to be something exotic. First, there are the huge distances, sparsely populated areas and a harsh climate. Second (and this is always the main focus) it’s dangerous. All this makes a Westerner look at Russian hitchhiking as something like a space odyssey.

There are no pat answers to these questions. On the one hand, it is not “a space journey” and there is nothing terribly extreme about it. On the other hand, anyone who has ever hitched a ride can recall episodes that fit the cliche. That may give rise to some confusion.

Hitchhiking is the subculture of the young, and a paterfamilias standing by the roadside trying to hitch a ride cuts an odd figure.  In the 1970s and 80s, hitchhiking was part of the ideology of those who could be loosely called “Soviet hippies.” Hitchhiking today is mostly popular among those who are 20 to 25. Today we are witnessing the revival of this extreme culture.

You can see the video of Alexey and his lovely girlfriend Marina here:

http://rbth.ru/multimedia/video/2013/07/21/hitch-hiker_odyssey_from_west_of_russia_to_the_east_28183.html

Alexey filmed highlights of his trip.  I learned that I had been putting the stress on the wrong syllable when pronouncing Khabarovsk.  If I keep at my current pace of learning Russian I might reach the speaking level of a four year old Russian kid in about 23 years.

Alexey plans on quitting smoking on the trip because in Khabarovsk "they won't accept me if I smoke".

What are your thoughts?

[mendeleyev]

Very interesting. I'm curious to see if they continue the video series beyond his encounter with the police.