Anton Krotov: A Practical Guidebook for Free Travellers. Translated from Russian by Peter Lagutkin

Translator Peter Lagutkin

Illustrator Anton Krotov

© Anton Krotov, 2021

© Peter Lagutkin, translation, 2021

© Anton Krotov, illustrations, 2021

ISBN 978-5-0053-7561-2

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Hitch-hiking started in the West with the advent of the car and became a popular method of travelling, but later was disregarded as supposedly dangerous and inefficient. But recently, beginning in the 1990s, hitch-hiking gained quick popularity in Russia and other post-Soviet countries, and it was the book you are holding in your hands that started this revolution. At this moment, hundreds of Russian hitch-hikers are exploring some of the remotest corners of this planet in the name of «the science of travelling,» an elaborate yet humorous system built around two cornerstone beliefs: first, that the world is kind to you and full of help, and, second, that all relevant information should be organised systematically and shared for others to use. Tens of thousands of people, after reading this book, were inspired to go on the road and set out for the big world – lying out there waiting to be discovered.

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).

A free travelleris an original concept introduced by Anton Krotov, defined by him as traveller who spends half or more of his or her travelling time in the company of people who are NOT employed to be his or her company. According to Anton, the world is kind to you and full of help, and every sequence of events is correct; if a sequence of events you’re observing seems to be wrong, you haven’t watched it to the end. Because of all that, Anton’s teaching goes, one needs no paid help from tour agencies or touts; the world is there for everyone who has thought about it once, and so all help one might need will come from the world brotherhoodin exchange for the little the world needs from you, or nothing. Free exchange of help is essential; hitch-hiking isn’t freeloading, Anton insists, and he urges you to share as much of the comfort you enjoy while at home as you can with the needy (travellers included) whom you might meet in the streets of your own cosy city, or the doors of your own cosy home.

Anton freely uses the concept «free travelling,» but I (the translator) chose to steer clear of it as, quite obviously, he means it as in «free of restrictions,» not as in «free of charge.» Once again: hitch-hiking isn’t freeloading; and being a free traveller (or simply a free person) certainly doesn’t mean always travelling (or simply getting stuff) for free!

Every one of us knows this feeling when you want to peek beyond the horizon and see other cities and faraway countries – not on the TV screen.

I first tried travelling when I was 15, using the once-great network of suburban train services covering large portions of ex-Soviet territory. How exciting it was to get off at the end of the route and hop on another train, then another… I could set out from Moscow and reach St. Pete, Kiev, or Minsk if I wanted!

The second discovery I made was hitch-hiking. It turned out that some of the cars I saw driving down the road could actually pick me up and want nothing in exchange. In the course of several years I visited most of the former USSR territory – from Yerevan to Magadan, and then went on to visit some more countries, with warmer weather, and longer distances, involved. I tried hitch-hiking in India, China, the Arab world, many African countries, and I was ever assured of the helpfulness and kindness of the surrounding world; I was assured that the methods of getting lifts, food, and shelter available in my country could be applied nearly everywhere. Yes, you can go to any city in Russia, or anywhere else on the Eurasian continent, or to Africa, and even if your purse is thin, but you know how to love and understand the surrounding world – it will be open for you, drivers will stop their cars for you, local residents will invite you to their homes, everyone will be your brother, and all planet Earth will be your home.

Anton Krotov

Russian hitch-hikers are a unique breed of travellers that have much to teach. They have proven time and again that the only necessity to travel literally across the world is the ability to connect and relate with locals. In 2005 I met with hundreds of Russian travellers who taught me much about the world and it was with this inspiration, coupled with my intrinsic desire to understand humanity, that I embarked on a 21-month travel through 27 countries of Asia, former Soviet Union and Europe. After returning home, I must say that Anton is truthful when he teaches that humanity is a hospitable and kind brotherhood and that the world is plentiful.

Hitch-hiking (Russian: автостоп, pronounced off-toss-top) means getting free lifts from passing vehicles. There are two common misconceptions about hitch-hiking. One goes: «there are no free rides nowadays» (or: «who’s gonna pick you up for nothing?»). The other one is to the effect of, «it is pure luck when you get just the lift you needed,» or «you never know when you get there.» The good news is, both have been proven wrong by numerous hitch-hikers (myself included). Believe it or not, we get lifts (from cars and lorries), don’t pay (and aren’t expected to), and, to boot, when we hitch-hike, we can control the process.