Fedor Konyukhov: biography, personal life, wife, children, travel

The childhood of Fyodor Konyukhov

Fyodor Filippovich Konyukhov was born on the shores of the Azov Sea in the Ukrainian village of Chkalovo, Zaporozhye region, into an ordinary peasant family.
The father of the future traveler, Philip Mikhailovich, came from a family of Arkhangelsk Pomor fishermen, and his mother, Maria Efremovna, was a native of Bessarabia. The family was large - three sons and two daughters. From early childhood, Fedor got used to hard rural work in the fields and gardens. The father fished in the Sea of ​​Azov and often took his son with him. Fedor happily served as helmsman and helped pull out the nets. Konyukhov’s father fought in the Great Patriotic War, reached Budapest with Soviet troops and often shared stories with his children related to the military part of his biography.

Fedor Konyukhov was born into a large family

Konyukhov was also told many interesting things by his grandfather Mikhail, a lieutenant colonel in the tsarist army. Mikhail Konyukhov served in the same garrison with Senior Lieutenant Georgy Sedov, the famous Russian polar explorer. Shortly before his last expedition to the North Pole, which ended in tragedy, Georgy Sedov left Mikhail Konyukhov with a pectoral cross with a request to give it to the strongest and bravest of the children who could reach the Pole. Fyodor Konyukhov had a chance to fulfill Sedov’s will - he visited the North Pole three times, one of which reached the extreme point of the planet alone, with Sedov’s cross on his neck.

Fyodor had a thirst for travel, especially sea travel, from early childhood. Standing at the helm of a fishing boat, Fedor peered into the Azov distance and dreamed of visiting the opposite bank of Azov. At the age of fifteen, he made his first expedition - he crossed the Sea of ​​Azov on a rowing boat alone. I prepared for this for several years - I devoted almost all my free time to rowing, sailing and swimming. He was also actively involved in football and athletics, and slept in the hayloft almost all year round. Fyodor also loved to read and voraciously “swallowed” books by Jules Verne, Stanyukovich, Goncharov and other marine writers and travelers.

Fedor Konyukhov set a new record

What is it like to be the wife of Fedor Konyukhov. By the way, where is he?

Fyodor recalls our acquaintance twice in his diaries. We met in Moscow, in a very beautiful place. I was then writing the book “Man and Power” and interviewing the intelligentsia. There is such a very interesting person Anatoly Zabolotsky - this is the director of photography for Shukshin’s films. When we met, he was no longer filming films, but temples flooded in Siberia. I really wanted to talk to him about power and its closeness to a person. And so I came, had a very good interview, and was about to leave when suddenly he got a call. After the bell rang, he ran into the room and exclaimed with delight: “Irina, stay, Fyodor Konyukhov will come now!” I answered: “Well, Anatoly Dmitrievich, I won’t embarrass you,” and I thought that now a taciturn, gloomy and withdrawn person would come, since he was a traveler. And Zabolotsky says: “No, Ira, you stay, God himself sends him to you.” And so it turned out.

That evening he accompanied me on the subway. He turned out to be very talkative, talked a lot about his travels, about his trip to the State Duma and to the South Pole. I recorded everything on audio and even wrote an article about him, which, however, the editor did not take. There I was indignant at the fact that the authorities do not support travelers well.

When we met and introduced ourselves to each other, Fyodor said that he was three hundred years old. Then he clarified: “I mean how many years have I been preparing my expeditions. Here, do the math: South Pole - 20 years, Everest - 10...” We did the math together, and it came out to three hundred.

The day after we met, we had our first date, on which he proposed his hand in marriage to me. We then talked for 24 hours - a whole day - and did not notice how the time passed. He told everything about himself: where he came from, what he did, and, most importantly, what he wanted to do. He said that he puts his projects and expeditions first in his life, and warned that he would travel all his life. And on extreme expeditions too. He invited me to accept him as he is, and I accepted. Not right away, but I accepted it.

Loneliness is a conditional concept. Fedor and I, even during separation, are still together. The more we live, the more acutely we feel this. You need to live with a person for some time to understand this law. Yes, there seems to be no physical presence, but you still feel the person nearby. Years pass and you begin to feel your loved one from a distance. You feel everything, you even see the picture of where he is at that moment. This is given if, of course, you are heartily close to this person and connected with him by prayer. Therefore, over the years, the problem of loneliness has disappeared. In order to get to know Fedor, I traveled with him. But this is not my calling.

Why should I ruin my life and the lives of my children? If I am a mother, then I should be with the children. They must have a family hearth, and someone is forced to become its keeper. If both parents travel, what about the family, the children’s education, their upbringing? There are, of course, traveling families; Fedor and I met them. Once we met a girl who has been on a yacht with her parents since birth. She crawled along the mast like a monkey. But this is an exceptional case. It is difficult for such children to be in society. It happens that parents ruin their destinies with their lifestyle. We took the classical path: there should be a classical family with Orthodox traditions. Therefore, I am “on the shore”, as the keeper of the family hearth. I only travel when my children can come with us.

The problem was different: it was important that he prepared all expeditions consciously and did not take unnecessary risks. So that each expedition was worked out in such a way that he was confident, and we believed in him, so that there were no doubts. For the wife of a traveler, it is important to see him off with faith, wait with faith, and not doubt him - this helps him a lot. The problem is not separation, but whether we believe in this person and whether we understand that this is his calling. We want happiness for our loved ones, and happiness does not only come from the fact that we are nearby. You can be close, in the same room, but not be together and even interfere with each other, creating tension. This is what we tried to avoid.

I had a friend - the wife of a sea captain. The family celebrated every return from a flight, and my friend took a vacation for it. But when he retired, they separated because they did not learn to be together. They started having problems; everyone valued their space.

Although Fedor and I are breaking up now, we know that we have our own space for two. No matter how it is, no matter how everyone lives with their own tasks during the period of expeditions and separations, we understand that there is a place where we will always be together. He travels less now. Now my youngest son and I are lucky in that he sees his father longer.

Fedor has big, big projects, but he prepares them for about a year (for example, like a hot air balloon flight). Of course, this is new for us - life when we are more together than apart. The lack of living together is now being compensated for, we have been waiting for this. But just because of the example of my girlfriend, I think that one day he will stop traveling, because he is not getting younger, but getting older. We must try to make this period become happiness, and not something unexpected, incomprehensible and alien.

We build our lives in such a way that we try not to get out of the habit of each other. When we meet after separation, we look for a common field of activity, a common space in which we are united. And it’s not like one is busy with his own business, the other with his own. This is what is important to build.

At the moment he is in Moscow, waiting for me at home. They tried to persuade me to stay in Yekaterinburg, but I shortened the trip by a day to see him. Now he is busy preparing for a new achievement - he wants to set a record: to stay in the air on a glider for 120 hours. Therefore, he often visits Kislovodsk on experimental flights.

Some wives are offended by their husbands because they don’t understand them - they don’t know their favorite color, favorite food, favorite flower... Tell us! Don't wait for your husband to find out about it himself. Tell him about yourself, who you are, and he will be happy to give you your favorite flowers if you explain to him which ones you like. I try not to wait, but to meet halfway.

We are trying to be together. This means that he is not indifferent to what is happening to me, and I am not indifferent to what happened to him. At the beginning of our family life, we agreed that everyday life would not be the reason for our quarrels. Of course, everyday life arises: material problems, and uneven workload during his expeditions, but this is not the main topic of our communication. We take care of our relationships. When he arrives, I don’t say that a pipe has leaked in the apartment or that I don’t have money to repair the rooms. I try to tell him what he expects from me. I taught him the same thing. I didn’t succeed right away, because he is an independent person, constantly busy with projects. But gradually I told him who I am, what my needs are, what I love.

Fedor says that we have been together for thirty years, and I agree with him, although the actual dates do not correspond to this.
The children and I calculated that two-thirds of this period was occupied by his expeditions. One third is time together. Now the situation is changing, he is with us more. Maybe later this ratio will become fifty to fifty, and by the end of our life it will be completely opposite to what it was at the beginning. Time is not of the essence - in thirty years we have been able to keep our family together and we want to be close. Photo: Sergey Teplykh; personal archive of the Konyukhov family; vk.com/fedor_konyuhov; konyukhov.ru; archive 66.ru

Education and service of Fedor Konyukhov

Already in his senior year, Konyukhov realized that the sea was his calling.
After graduating from school, there were no questions about where to go - Konyukhov went to the Odessa Naval School (specialty ship mechanic). Fedor did not stop there and entered the Leningrad Polar School, receiving a second specialty upon graduation - navigator. Fedor served in the Baltic Fleet in the Kaliningrad region. During his service, as a result of one of the conflict incidents with senior soldiers, Fedor ends up in a guardhouse, from where a captain of the third rank, who selected the most courageous sailors for special forces, takes him to Vietnam. For two and a half years, Fedor served as a sailor on a boat in a special detachment whose task was to supply ammunition to the Viet Cong. After the service, Fedor graduated from vocational school No. 15 in the city of Bobruisk in Belarus, specializing in inlay carving.

Biography

Fyodor Konyukhov is the first “professional traveler” in the USSR and Russia, sea captain, free balloon pilot, dog sled rider, mountaineer, writer, priest of the UOC MP. Among Konyukhov’s achievements are five expeditions around the world, 17 crossings of the Atlantic Ocean on sailing yachts and once on a rowing boat.

Fedor Konyukhov was born on December 12, 1951 in the village of Chkalovo, Zaporozhye region. The future traveler spent his childhood on the shores of the Azov Sea. Father Philip Mikhailovich often went to sea to fish and took his son with him. Grandfather Mikhail often shared with his grandson the knowledge he gained from communicating with Georgy Sedov, the famous Russian polar explorer. Mikhail happened to serve with him in the same garrison of the tsarist army. The polar explorer left Konyukhov his own pectoral cross so that it would go to the strongest of his friend’s descendants. My grandfather gave this cross to Fedor.

Traveler Fedor Konyukhov

Even then, the boy began to have a thirst for travel, when Fyodor stood at the helm of his father’s ship and peered into the sea. At the age of 15, the young man took the risk of making his first journey and swam across the Sea of ​​Azov in a boat with oars. True, before this Fedor had to actively engage in rowing and master sailing.

Like any teenager, Fedor enjoyed playing football. Like any village boy, Konyukhov often slept in the hayloft, and also voraciously read adventure novels by Jules Verne and other authors. By the end of school, the young man realized that he wanted to connect his life with the sea.

Fedor Konyukhov in his youth

Fedor entered the Odessa Marine Corps and received the specialty of a ship mechanic. Then he studied at the polar school in Leningrad to become a navigator and served in the Baltic Fleet. For 2 years, Fyodor Konyukhov served in Vietnam as a sailor on a special vessel supplying ammunition to the Viet Cong. During his service he also visited Nicaragua and El Salvador. After returning home, Konyukhov did not leave his studies and received a specialty as an inlay carver at a specialized school in the Belarusian city of Bobruisk.

Arctic expeditions of Fedor Konyukhov

Expeditionary research activities began in 1977. This year Fedor is organizing a passage on a sailing yacht along the route of Vitus Bering in the North Pacific Ocean. Being a patriot, the explorer sought to reproduce all the conditions in which our compatriots, more than three hundred years ago, sailed on fragile boats, discovered islands and bays, explored America and founded settlements there.

The courage of Fyodor Konyukhov is surprising

Then there were expeditions pursuing similar goals - Kamchatka, Sakhalin Island, Commanders. Fedor spent a long time in Chukotka, mastering the science of dog sledding, building ice huts and surviving in extreme polar conditions. By this time, the goal was set - to reach the North Pole alone. Preparation for the expedition took several years. The unprecedented journey was preceded by a ski trip to the Pole of relative inaccessibility during the polar night, participation in the Canadian expedition to Baffin Island, the trans-Antarctic Soviet-Canadian ski expedition USSR - Pole - Canada, the first autonomous expedition to the North Pole "Arctic" as part of V. Chukov's group. Thus, by the time he began his own solo forced march, Konyukhov had already visited the North Pole twice.

In 1990, having gained sufficient experience in polar research, Fedor set off to his cherished goal on skis. In addition to the heavy backpack, the traveler was towing a sledge with provisions and equipment. Fedor slept right on the ice in a tent and sleeping bag. The path was difficult - constantly had to overcome hummocks and ice holes, but Konyukhov was steadily approaching the Pole. 200 km before the cherished goal, Fedor almost repeated the fate of Georgy Sedov - during ice hummocking, the traveler almost died. However, on the 72nd day of the journey, Fedor still reached the North Pole, becoming the first person in the world to make such a journey alone. It was then that Konyukhov fulfilled Sedov’s will.

Konyukhov travels by land, sea and air

Trips

The first serious expedition took place in 1977, when a young man sailed in the Pacific Ocean and repeated the route of Vitus Bering. The first was followed by expeditions to Kamchatka and Sakhalin.

Fedor Konyukhov, 1989

Fedor Konyukhov set a new goal - to conquer the North Pole alone.

Konyukhov prepared for the expedition in Chukotka, mastered dog sledding, learned to build ice huts, and developed other skills for extreme travel - this took several years. Initially, Konyukhov undertook a training trip to the Pole of Relative Inaccessibility. The traveler complicated his task by going skiing during the polar night.

Fedor Konyukhov, climbing Everest

Then Fedor visited Canada, Baffin Island and the North Pole itself as part of a Soviet-Canadian group led by Vladimir Chukov. In 1990, Konyukhov set off on skis, with a heavy backpack and equipment, and after 72 days he reached the North Pole. Overcoming ice holes and hummocks along the road, Fedor almost died during a collision of ice floes. Konyukhov became a pioneer in a solo journey there. In 1995, Fyodor Konyukhov conquered the South Pole, and 59 days later the Russian flag was already flying over the extreme southern point.

There were other routes in the traveler’s biography. Fedor became the first Russian to complete the Grand Slam program, that is, to conquer the North, South Pole and Everest. Previously, in 1992, he climbed Mount Everest alone, in January 1996, Mount Aconcagua, and in 1997, Mount Kilimanjaro.

Fedor Konyukhov, Cape Horn

Among the expeditions in which Fedor Konyukhov participated are the Soviet-American bicycle ride across the USSR Nakhodka - Moscow - Leningrad in 1989, the Russian-Australian off-road rally Nakhodka - Moscow in 1991, and a caravan expedition along the route of the Great Silk Road in 2002 and 2009. Fyodor Konyukhov also makes land expeditions, repeating the path of famous taiga explorers.

During his life, Konyukhov made a total of 40 sea expeditions. Not everything went smoothly during such travels. In addition to the troubles created by natural disasters, Fyodor Konyukhov received unpleasant surprises from people. During one voyage, Konyukhov contracted a tropical infection and was forced to stop in the Philippines. Local pirates took advantage of the forced parking of Konyukhov’s yacht and stole it. After recovery, in order to find his own ship in the sea latitudes, Fedor took possession of the robber’s yacht and caught up with his own.

In July 2020, Fyodor Konyukhov set a new record by circling the planet in a hot air balloon in 11 days. The Russian traveler was 2 days ahead of the previous record holder Steve Fossett.

During his travels, Fyodor Konyukhov is engaged in research and creativity: he writes paintings and books. In total, the traveler created almost 3 thousand paintings and published twenty books. In his own works “My Travels”, “Under Scarlet Sails”, “Alone with the Ocean”, “How I Became a Traveler” Fyodor Konyukhov shares his life experiences and events from his travels. The author also has historical works: “Crimean War. Defense of Sevastopol", "Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov", "How Admiral Ushakov made the Black Sea Russian." In the books “My Path to the Truth”, “The Power of Faith. 160 days and nights alone with the Pacific Ocean”, “The Ocean is my abode” Konyukhov covers issues of faith. The traveler introduces readers to his works from the pages of the official website, where he also posts photos of his own paintings.

Fyodor Konyukhov at the presentation of the book “Crimean War. Defense of Sevastopol"

Fedor Konyukhov is a current member of the Union of Journalists, the Union of Artists and Sculptors, and the Union of Writers of Russia. With his drawings, Konyukhov decorated the publication of the book “Tao Te Ching”, which he considers second to himself after the “Bible”.

In addition to the main work of his life, service in the Orthodox Church became an important page in Fyodor’s biography. Konyukhov received the rank of subdeacon in 2010 on the feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the patron saint of travelers and seafarers. After graduating from a theological seminary in the Northern capital, Konyukhov went to serve in Zaporozhye, without leaving sea, land and air travel.

Antarctic expedition

Konyukhov's next goal was the South Pole.
In 1995, the brave explorer went on a solo expedition to Antarctica, eventually reaching the extreme southern point of the planet on the 59th day of the trip and planting the Russian flag there. While moving towards the Pole, Konyukhov conducted a number of studies: measuring the natural radiation field of Antarctica, the physical state of the body in extreme conditions of high altitude (above 5 thousand m), lack of oxygen, strong winds and low temperatures. As a result of the expedition, Konyukhov wrote several scientific papers that made an invaluable contribution to the development of polar science. For his research activities and scientific works after this expedition, Konyukhov was accepted as an honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society.

Sea adventures

Conquering the North and South Poles, climbing the highest mountain peaks in the world and hiking are only a small part of Konyukhov’s travels. Since childhood, Fyodor Filippovich's main passion has been the sea, and he has remained faithful to it throughout his life. The Zaporozhye region has the right to be proud of its illustrious fellow countryman, because he has more than four dozen sea expeditions and 5 trips around the world. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean alone 17 times. During one of these voyages, he set an absolute world record, covering the required distance on a rowing boat in just 46 days. Another record of Konyukhov was recorded during his crossing of the Pacific Ocean. To sail the route from Chile to Australia, the Russian traveler spent 159 days and 14 hours on the road.

Fyodor Konyukhov's sea expeditions did not always go smoothly. During one of them, the traveler became seriously ill and ended up in a Philippine hospital. While he was being treated, pirates stole his ship and hid it on a nearby island. After recovery, Konyukhov went to rescue the stolen vehicle. To get him back, he was forced to steal a boat from his offenders and use it to get to his own ship. This unpleasant adventure ended happily for the traveler and allowed him to successfully complete his expedition around the Earth.

Climbing

It is not only the circumpolar regions that attract the attention of the intrepid explorer. Having visited the South Pole, Fedor completed the “Grand Slam” program - visiting the North and South Pole and Mount Everest. Konyukhov became the first Russian to complete the Grand Slam.

Traveler Fyodor Konyukhov conquered many peaks

The history of Konyukhov’s ascents under the “Seven Summits of the World” program begins in 1992, when the traveler single-handedly conquered the highest point in Europe - Mount Elbrus. In the same year, together with Evgeny Vinogradsky, Fedor climbed Everest, the highest point in Asia and the planet. As part of his Antarctic expedition, on January 19, 1996, the researcher conquered the highest point of the southern continent - the Wilson Massif. In March of the same year, the climber climbed Aconcagua alone in South America, and in 1997 he completed the program with a solo ascent of the Kilimanjaro volcano in Africa, the Australian Kosciuszko Peak and, together with Vladimir Yanochkin, conquered the most difficult peak - the North American Mount McKinley.

In 2012, Konyukhov once again climbed Everest as part of the Russian team that climbed Chomolungma to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the first conquest of Everest by a Soviet mountaineering team.

Fedor Konyukhov now

Fedor Konyukhov continues to break records. The latest hobby for the traveler was ballooning. In 2020, Fedor set a new world achievement, having spent 55 hours and 10 minutes of continuous time in the air. The previous record of 50 hours 38 minutes belonged to Japanese pilots Michio Kanda and Hirazuki Takezawa, who set it in 1997.

The tireless traveler will not stop there. For summer rafting on rivers, Konyukhov has already chosen a place at the Sheregesh resort in the Kemerovo region, where he managed to visit in January 2018 with his family.

Land expeditions

In 1981, Fyodor Konyukhov crossed Chukotka on a dog sled in preparation for conquering the North Pole.
Preparing for the polar march, Fedor chose between two transportation options - skis and dog sled. As a result, he recognized skiing as more promising. In 1985, Fedor organized a walking expedition along the route of the famous taiga explorers V. Arsenyev and Dersu Uzala. In the summer and autumn of 1989, Konyukhov supervised the joint Soviet-American bicycle ride across the USSR Nakhodka - Moscow - Leningrad. The second run from Nakhodka to the capital of Russia, this time on SUVs, Russian-Australian, took place in the summer of 1991. In 2002, Fyodor Konyukhov organized the first camel caravan expedition in Russian history following the Great Silk Road in Kalmykia, Dagestan, Astrakhan, Volgograd regions and Stavropol Territory. In 2009, the expedition continued - the second stage of the research took place along the route Kalmykia - Mongolia.

Fyodor Konyukhov is not only a traveler, but also a priest

Sea expeditions and trips around the world

Sea travel occupies the largest part of Konyukhov’s research activities. Fedor made more than forty unique sea expeditions, crossed the Atlantic Ocean 17 times alone, and once on a rowing boat in autonomous mode in 46 days, setting an absolute world record. Fedor traveled around the world six times. One of these trips on a yacht took place non-stop, non-stop. There were also “serious”, according to the traveler, adventures - during one of the trips around the world, Fedor became seriously ill and was hospitalized in the Philippines. At this time, pirates stole his yacht to a neighboring island. To return the ship, Konyukhov had to temporarily become a sea robber himself - he stole a boat from drunken pirates in order to return his yacht. Fedor is a regular participant and winner of extreme marine races on sailing and rowing vessels.

Children of Fyodor Konyukhov. Personal life of a traveler

It would seem that with a lifestyle like that of a traveler, it would be extremely difficult to start a family, but here too Fedor breaks all stereotypes. He has three children and already six grandchildren. Konyukhov’s first wife was Lyubov, who currently lives in America with her daughter, Tatyana. Their eldest son, Oscar, is the head of the All-Russian Sailing Federation. The children are undoubtedly proud of their father.

Fedor’s second wife was Irina Anatolyevna, a lawyer, an expert in international law and a Doctor of Law. She already has two children from a previous marriage, but in 2005 her son Nikolai is born from Konyukhov. The future spouses met back in 1995. Irina was not afraid of Konyukhova’s hobbies; she fully supports her husband in his travels. For his sake, she even refused her UN position in the European Parliament. Irina herself, in 2004, traveled across the Atlantic with Fedor, but their ship was caught in a storm. No harm done.

Irina Konyukhova even wrote her own diary book, notes from which she made for 20 years while she was waiting for her husband from long travels.

Fyodor's grandchildren, Philip, Arkady, Ethan, Blake, Polina and Kate, are also not against the fact that their grandfather conquers the oceans and air spaces.

In the photographs you can see how all the children and grandchildren look like their father. The family loves to play sports and are very goal-oriented.

Since 1998, Fedor has been teaching young followers, working at the department of distance learning. Teaches people how to survive in difficult conditions. Konyukhov’s new goal is a flight to Mars.

Creation

In his travels, Fedor is engaged not only in research activities. He draws and writes books. In total, more than 3 thousand paintings came out of his brush. Since 1983, Konyukhov has been a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. At the time of his admission to the Union of Artists he was the youngest member of the USSR Union of Artists. Fedor is also a member of the Moscow Union of Artists and Sculptors and is an honorary academician of the Russian Academy of Arts. Based on the results of his expeditions, Fedor wrote nine books. Konyukhov is a member of the Writers' Union and the Union of Journalists of the Russian Federation. Fedor Konyukhov. Arctic 2013. Prelude

Education. First expeditions

Fedor graduated from vocational school No. 15 in the city of Bobruisk: specialty - carver-designer. He did not stop there and decided to enter the Odessa Naval School to become a navigator, and later to the Leningrad Arctic School, already to become a ship mechanic. And later to the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary.

The traveler chose the Sea of ​​Azov as the beginning of his long journey: at the age of 15, he crossed it on a rowing boat. After which, in 1998, he became the head of the laboratory of distance learning in extreme conditions at the Modern Humanitarian Academy in Moscow.

In 1983 he joined the Union of Artists of the USSR. In 2012 he became an academician of the Russian Academy of Arts. In 2010, Konyukhov went to Ethiopia to create a route for tourism organizations. On May 19, 2012, a team from Russia called “Seven Summits” gathers and conquers Everest along the Northern Ridge for the second time. The expedition ends successfully. In 2013, Fedor is planning a dog sled expedition: the route would run through Karelia to Greenland and the North Pole. The team walked 900 km. From December 2013 to May 2014, Konyukhov traveled across the Pacific Ocean on the Turgoyak boat: from Chile to Australia. This took him 160 days, and he sailed alone. Fedor set a record because he became the first person to cross the ocean from continent to continent in a rowing boat. By 2016, he had already completed more than fifty expeditions and ascents. Based on them, he paints paintings and books (18 pieces). On July 12, 2020, the traveler decides to go on a trip around the world: a flight in a Morton hot air balloon. From Austria to Australia in 11 days he reaches his goal. In 2018-2019, he again goes around the world on a rowing boat.

Religious rank

On May 22, 2010, Fyodor Konyukhov received the rank of subdeacon of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Konyukhov was ordained subdeacon by Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine. After being ordained, Fedor began to devote less time to travel and expeditions, but did not stop this activity completely. In December 2010, in Zaporozhye, Konyukhov, who by that time had graduated from the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary, was ordained a priest and sent to serve in the Zaporozhye diocese.