“A tremendous experience,” says Ratheesh C. Nair, who retraced Afanasy Nikitin’s journey 555 years later

Ratheesh C. Nair re-enacts Russian traveller Afanasy Nikitin's journey to India, fostering Indo-Russian relations and regional cooperation.

Ratheesh C. Nair, honorary consul of the Russian Federation and director of the Russian House in Thiruvananthapuram, has described his recent ‘re-enactment’ of Russian traveller Afanasy Nikitin’s 15th century journey from Russia to India as a complete success and a tremendous and fulfilling experience.

Retracing Nikitin’s footsteps, Mr. Nair kicked off his ‘Voyage@555’ project from Tver in Russia on September 2. He travelled across five modern-day nations, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Oman, and India, touring all the cities that Nikitin visited during his historic journey which is today known as ‘A Journey beyond the Three Seas.’

While it had taken Nikitin almost three years to travel from Tver to Gujarat (1466 to 1469), 21st century transportation enabled Mr. Nair to cover the distance in a month, helping him reach India on October 1. He wound up Voyage@555 on October 12 in Kozhikode, which finds mention in Nikitin’s accounts.

“2024 marks the 555th year of Nikitin’s arrival in India. In a way, it also represents the 555th year of Russia-India relations,” he said. In his project, he was supported by Rosatom, the bank Sber, Russia’s Foreign Ministry, and the Russian Embassy in India.

The journey produced some encouraging outcomes for India and Russia, he said. These include revitalising Indo-Russian friendship forums, and potential regional cooperation in the educational, cultural, and commercial spheres. “Around 11 universities have decided to sign agreements for future cooperation, which will include student and faculty exchanges. Russian universities will organise free online Russian language courses for 150 candidates each in the seven Indian States,” he said.

Starting off from Russia’s Tver, Mr.Nair sailed down the river Volga. He travelled by land through Azerbaijan, Iran, and Oman. After reaching Khambhat in Gujarat, Nikitin’s own arrival point, he spent the next few days travelling to Indian cities that the Russian visited. Voyage@555 also featured an exhibition of art work on Nikitin’s travels by artist S. Radhakrishnan (RK).

“Personally, it was a tremendous experience, meeting people, experiencing a wide range of cuisines and places. In many ways it was a return to the 15th century. The ‘three seas’ that find a mention in Niktin’s accounts are the Caspian Sea, Arabian Sea, as well as the Black Sea. There are also the three mountain ranges, the Caucasus in Russia, the Alborz in Iran featuring Mount Damavand, and our own Western Ghats,” he said.