Where Fedor Konyukhov and his family live. Sea expeditions and trips around the world

Biography
Fedor Filippovich Konyukhov was born on December 12, 1951 in the Ukrainian village of Chkalovo, located on the shores of the Azov Sea, in large family. His fisherman father often took his son with him to the sea, and he gladly helped his father pull nets out of the water and took over the helmsman's watch. In general, the father who went through the Great Patriotic War, just like my grandfather, Lieutenant Colonel tsarist army, provided big influence on little Fyodor Konyukhov, with his stories about the war and travel related to it.
After graduating from school, Fyodor Konyukhov had no doubt about what his future life would be connected with and entered the Odessa Naval School as a ship mechanic. After graduation, he entered the Leningrad Polar School, his second specialty was the profession of navigator. During his military service, he was first sent to the Baltic Fleet, but after a conflict with his colleagues, he was sent to a special detachment in Vietnam to serve as a sailor on a boat supplying ammunition to the Viet Cong. After serving in the army, he received another education at a vocational school in the city of Bobruisk - an inlay carver.
Expeditions of Fyodor Konyukhov
The beginning of Fyodor Konyukhov’s research activities began in 1977. It was then that he organized a trip on a sailing yacht along the Bering route in the Pacific Ocean. This was done with the aim of repeating the journey of the great explorer and discoverer in the same conditions in which he was - on a small ship, overcoming adversity and hardship. For the same purpose, other expeditions were prepared and carried out - to Kamchatka, Sakhalin Island, Commanders.
After this, Fyodor Konyukhov set himself a seemingly impossible goal - to reach the North Pole alone. For this he for a long time lived in Chukotka, studying the science of dog sledding, building houses from ice and generally learning to survive in extreme conditions polar cold. He also participated in several expeditions, including two trips to North Pole- as part of the Soviet-Canadian group and the group led by V. Chukov. But his own expedition, conceived by him, beckoned him, and in 1990 he nevertheless went to the North Pole alone. Settling down for the night right on the ice, experiencing many hardships, overcoming great amount difficulties, and even almost dying during ice hummocking, on the 72nd day of the journey he still reached the North Pole and became the first person to reach it alone.
After this successful expedition, Fyodor Konyukhov’s goal became the other pole – the South Pole, and in 1995 he was able to reach it too, spending 59 days on this journey. Along the way, during these almost two months he spent a number of scientific research, as a result of which I wrote several scientific works and was accepted as a member of the Russian Geographical Society.

A short biography of Fyodor Konyukhov tells about an amazingly versatile personality, whose interests are so different from each other that it is difficult to understand and realize how they are combined in one person. Fyodor Konyukhov is a Russian traveler, navigator, mountaineer, cyclist, writer, journalist, artist and archpriest. He is the first traveler from Russia to visit 7 of the most high peaks continents, and also visited both poles (North and South).

Life path

Konyukhov was born in the Zaporozhye region, Ukraine. The boy was born in the village of Chkalovo on December 12, 1951. His father was a hereditary fisherman - a native of the Arkhangelsk Pomors, his mother was a native of Bessarabia. From childhood, Fyodor Konyukhov wanted to become a traveler and prepared his body and spirit for many challenges in the future. He made his first trip at the age of 15, when he crossed the Sea of ​​Azov alone on a fishing boat.

Konyukhov completed military service, graduated from a technical school in the city of Bobruisk and the Odessa Naval School, as well as the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary. At the age of 32 he became a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. Since 1998 he has been in charge and manages the laboratory distance learning survival in extreme conditions. He is a member of the Union of Writers of the Russian Federation, he has written 9 books in which he talks about his travels and life principles. He has a wife, Irina (Doctor of Law), three children and six grandchildren.

Travel and expeditions

Fedor Konyukhov carried out many land and sea journeys, mountain climbs and polar expeditions, both in groups and alone. He traveled around the world 5 times and crossed the Atlantic Ocean 17 times. In 1981, the traveler crossed Chukotka on dogs, in 1986 he made an expedition through the Ussuri taiga, in 1989 he participated in a joint Soviet-American bike ride from Nakhodka to Leningrad, in 1991 he organized a Russian-Australian motor rally on SUVs, and in 2002 and 2009 made caravan expeditions on camels that passed along the route of the Great Silk Road.

His most famous and amazing sea travels include: sailing around the world on the yacht “Karaana” alone non-stop from the fall of 1990 to the summer of 1991. Intersection Atlantic Ocean on the URALAZ boat in 2002. Participation in the race around Antarctica in 2007-2008. Pacific sailing by rowing boat outside help and without port calls in 2013-2014 for 160 days. Fedor Konyukhov also took part in several polar expeditions.

Ski crossings to the Laptev Sea and to the Pole of Relative Inaccessibility occurred in 1983 and 1986, respectively. The traveler made solo ski trips to the North Pole in 1990 and to South Pole in 1995-1996. In the 2000s, he carried out several dog sled trips. Having made more than a hundred large and small trips, Fyodor Konyukhov realized that life is about travel and new discoveries, and only by moving somewhere and striving for some goal does a person come to the understanding that his life is not in vain. He is trying to convey this idea to all humanity.

The other day the wife of a Russian traveler came to Yekaterinburg Fedora Konyukhova. This is a nonsense man who has completed five circumnavigations of the world and crossed the Atlantic 17 times. Residents of the Ural capital presented her book about her husband - these are diary entries for the last 20 years, made during the days of his expectation, which in total add up to years.

The image of Mother Irina Konyukhova, which I had formed from the Internet - a very religious and humble woman, dissipated in the first minutes when, upon entering, she took off her scarf, saying that it would be the same with me. Her attitude towards her own life is captivatingly reasonable. She directly says that they do not have a family model that is worth emulating; she does not deny that she suspected her husband of carelessness and did not immediately learn to live with him. But at the same time, she always understood that she had met a man with a spark that could not be extinguished.

“This is the fourth book about our family,” says Mother Irina. — I wrote the first book at Fyodor’s request, when we had lived together for three years and he was going on a long voyage. Of course, I saw him off very hard, and he said: “Write letters to me, and I will write to you.” I was thinking about what to call the book, and I remembered that when we met, he said: “I am three hundred years old.” That’s what she called it: “300 years, 3 years of life.”

- Why 300 years?

“He prepared all his expeditions for a long time. Each one feels like decades of life. After mine, we published two books under his authorship - “The Road Without Bottom” - this is his period of the sled dog race in Alaska. The third book is called "Oarsman on the Ocean." Then he set a world record by crossing the ocean in a rowing boat. He said: “Wait for me 100 days,” but he came in 43. This is a phenomenal result. Naturally, his and my diaries were of interest to the publisher. After the third book, I decided to take a break. I thought that I needed to live for some time before having the right to share my experience, I wrote short stories, short stories, and even published novels. Fedor continued to write his diaries. Last year we thought about our anniversaries: he turned 65 years old, I turned 55. And he asked to write another book about him. By that time I had accumulated a lot of diaries - it had been 22 years since I wrote a little. I decided to collect them, it turned out to be a thousand pages. The book ended up with 300 left to make it easy to read. Another reason why I decided on this publication is that in 2010 I became a mother, and they really liked the short stories that I gave to my parishioners. They asked: “Mother, do you have anything else?” Then I thought that best book- this is a story about yourself, because you write it with your heart.

— In one of your interviews, you said that when you first met, Fyodor said that he did not promise you either prosperity or peace, but promised to love you all your life. Can love exist when there is no peace?

— Man is designed in such a way that he lives in a state of development, and development cannot be peace. And family means development together. Each of us has our own path, and you should never think that everything will be as you imagine. But it’s all the more interesting to live not according to some templates. Family is a lot of work, mental and psychological. I don't like the word "sacrifice". Here it is different - knowing yourself through family.

— Your family life is just beyond any patterns. Surely those around you have tormented you with questions about how difficult it is to live when your husband is constantly away from home?

“You shouldn’t look at our family as a role model.” Definitely classic family must be different. If all families are like ours, the world will be in chaos. But it happens that a person has a calling - he is a polar explorer, a geologist, or like my husband, a traveler. Such people are forced to spend a lot of time away from their families. And then another model of relationships arises. In her, the role of the wife increases. And her task, in the absence of her husband, is to compensate for this absence by telling a story about him. Teach the family to live his life. We learned this. Fedor's expeditions are family projects. This is not how it is positioned in the press, and it is not necessary. We both understand that the core family life is another model. Therefore, where possible, we are together. We see him off and meet him. In August we will have a family expedition, we are going to the Altai Mountains, and in addition to our family, three more families with children are going with us. I've been dreaming about this for a long time.

Honeymoon trip. Photo: from personal archive

— When you met Fedor, did you understand his position in life, did you know that travel came first for him?

- Yes, he honestly warned that this is the main thing.

— Nevertheless, did you understand that you could build such a model of life?

- Not right away. There was a moment when I realized that I needed to think about this. What was unexpected for me was his declaration of love and his honest conversation that he would spend his whole life working on his projects. It so happened that after meeting and a stormy month of dating, he left for six months. During the expedition I did not receive any communication. I needed to make a choice: to unite with him and, of course, get married, or try to live a different destiny. Six months gave the answer to the question. Of course, a man and woman entering into an alliance must agree on the shore and sincerely talk about what their desires and needs are. If they hide something from each other or think that they will remake the second half, this is a deep misconception. This is where all the conflicts come from.

— Is it important to get married?

- Important. For those couples who are really determined to always be together, this helps to maintain the union. Heaven is already holding you. On the one hand, you are given more trials, on the other hand, in difficult times God always holds you and warns you against rash actions.

— How to distinguish a test of strength from a situation when people need to disperse?

— I give the following advice to women who come to me: “Learn to live with with an open heart" Then it will prompt you. And at the moment when you doubt whether to be with this person or not, imagine that he is not on this earth. If you are hurting and cannot imagine life without him, this is a clue that you need to do everything possible to maintain this love. Everyone has their own tactics: someone breaks up for a while, takes a break in the relationship. It's OK. You are still together in thoughts.

— You are a doctor of sciences, a teacher international law, and your career was going well. I read that for the sake of your family you were forced to give up good offers for work.

- I had such a test. I met my husband when I was in the prime of my career. After working in Switzerland under a contract, I had prospects for working in the OSCE and UNESCO. But at the moment when I had to sign a contact for work, which meant I was deprived of a certain freedom, trouble happened to Fedor. He almost died off the coast of Australia and sent me a letter in which he said that he would be leaving the fourth unfinished trip around the world, he was really looking forward to me in Australia and asked me to stay with him for a month because he wanted to think about his future. That expedition was prepared very quickly and impulsively by him. He made a mistake and admitted it, but I had to refuse this project and, of course, I chose it. I have prepared another project for him and me. We flew to Paris, I worked there with graduate students at the Sorbonne, and he began painting canvases at the Cite Desart art center. He revived himself as an artist, he had time to recover and reflect. I don't regret doing this. This was a test of our family's strength. Such is life, that we will always be given a choice, there is no such thing that everything is perfect at once and the heavens will distribute it, that today you fly to a conference, and tomorrow you meet your husband.

— How long did his longest expedition last?

— The longest is a year. The most difficult thing for both of us was his fifth circumnavigation of the world, when I was expecting a child. He found out about this a week before departure, and returned two weeks before the birth. I felt that it would be a boy, and we gave him a name in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker - Kolya . We have five common children and ten grandchildren. The youngest son is 11 years old. He studies at the Moscow Suvorov Military School.

— How does he feel about the fact that dad is often not around?

- Like other children. At the moment when he reached conscious age, a small rebellion was brewing. Then there was my story about dad. Then I invited Fedor to take him on his expeditions. So before school they had a men's expedition to the Shantar Islands. This is a very dangerous region - bears, killer whales. They were crossing on a rubber boat and were almost capsized. There they built a chapel and erected a cross. Nikolai felt the spirit of his father, and from then on he stopped rebelling, began, like me, to pray, wait and rejoice at Fedor’s successes. Not without tears and suffering, but already consciously.

— Did you have a moment of your own rebellion?

- Was. Especially when there were impulsive projects that did not take place, but took a lot of energy. I feel in my heart and speak frankly when he is in a hurry with the expedition. There was such a moment... when I accompanied him on his fourth unfinished voyage, my legs gave out. He was shocked by what was happening to me. But it was a premonition of what might happen. After that expedition, he became more cautious, and over the years we have less and less contradictions.

Silk Road, 2002. Photo: from personal archive

— How detailed are you in the preparation of his projects?

“He really likes it when I personally put food in boxes on the yacht before an expedition. We put gifts, surprises, letters between them. Especially when he sails on a yacht for a long time and captures Christmas, and his birthday, and New Year. It is very important that a piece of our warmth be present with him. Together with him, we hang icons and photographs on the yacht, and create a mini-house for him. Assembling it on an expedition is part of the project, the key to its success.

- How long did it take you to understand this person?

— I understood him immediately. On our first date I was fascinated by the fact that he was very open man. He told everything about himself: about his family, about his childhood, about his plans. And to learn to live with him in a way that is harmonious for him and for me - this came over the years.

- How did you meet?

- We met in beautiful place, in the house Anatoly Zabolotsky - film director Shukshina . I was then writing the book “Man and Power,” and I was interested in the opinion of the intelligentsia, especially those who join the faith. At that time, Anatoly Dmitrievich no longer made films, but he did such an ascetic thing - he filmed flooded churches in Siberia. I myself am from Siberia, and it was very interesting for me to communicate with this person. When I heard that guests were coming, I hurried to leave, and Anatoly Dmitrievich said: “Stay, Irochka, God himself is sending you Fyodor Konyukhov.” I remembered these words. I thought a gloomy man would come. But when Konyukhov appeared at the door, I understood what Anatoly Dmitrievich meant. It was love at first sight.

The Konyukhovs with their children and grandchildren. Photo: from personal archive

— How does your life change when Fedor is around?

“We have a rule: for the first three days, when he returns from the expedition, we are only together. I don't plan anything for these days. It happens that with his return we go to Sergiev Posad, sometimes we stay at home and meet with our children and grandchildren. Then we go somewhere together. Now Fedor has become a priest. We have a house in the Svyato-Aleksievskaya Hermitage. After each project, we build a chapel, put up a cross, and thank God for keeping him alive. Very often on expeditions he makes a vow to build something. When he was flying hot-air balloon, he made a vow to build a chapel Fedor Ushakov .

— Is Fedor at home now?

“He arrived yesterday, but I couldn’t refuse the Ekaterinburg diocese to come here, and he understands that. He flew in from Kislovodsk, where he did training flights on a glider. He wants to set a record - to climb to a height of 11 kilometers. We will meet for one day, and then he flies to Germany, also according to the glider project.

— Was it not the case that during long separations you became unaccustomed to each other?

- This is very correct question, because in separations there is also a point of no return. When you are just learning to wait, your family has more experience of physical communication than spiritual communication, you need to be very sensitive to this moment, you cannot underestimate it. Therefore, we agreed with him that we will not cross this point of no return, reach the point where everyone is already living their own lives.

Fedor Konyukhov with his son and wife in Mongolia, 2009. Photo: from personal archive

— This is the experience of every family. He and I agreed that we would not be apart for longer than his trip around the world. Plus we communicate every day if there is a connection. I am flying to see him off and meet him. And all this creates a feeling of greater intimacy. In my first experience, when he left for a year, I flew to him for stopovers. These meetings were very important because doubts went away and the strength to continue living and waiting arose. Therefore, I advise everyone to be more careful about separations - this is a very delicate issue.

— Was the material side of life once a stumbling point?

— Of course, there were such periods. It’s more difficult for young couples starting from scratch; after all, we were already mature people when we met. And I was a widow, so I had already learned to live on my own. We agreed from the beginning who bears the financial burden and how. And we constantly communicate about this and solve some problems. But the main thing on which we have always been united is that everyday life should not become the reason for our disagreements. To be honest, at one time I had a big financial burden. Now Fedor is beginning to participate in financial matters; he does not have the financial problems that he had before. Somewhere I feel better. The main thing is not to suspect each other of carelessness and irresponsibility, and if you suddenly suspect this, you must say so. Don't hold grudges.

“Didn’t you suspect him of being careless?”

— There was a dialogue about this. But they didn’t get to the point where a person keeps it inside and it destroys the marriage.

— What do you think is common between you and the wife of some serious leader?

- The wife of such a man should live in his world, such a woman should be a believer, then she will feel that there is a spark in her husband that cannot be extinguished. At the same time, such a woman must have her own personal interests. Then she will understand what realization means. And, of course, she should do charity work - thank her for the fact that, despite such moral stress, she is given this benefit.

— There are things in the family that are of fundamental importance to you. Fyodor may not be around for a long time, but at the same time he gives you something most important.

- This is his concern for his family. His devotion and gratitude. If indifference to the family continues to arise, I will never accept it.

— Based on the experience of your parishioners, can you say what, in your opinion, are the main mistakes of modern women?

— Of course, there is a problem of feminization. But here also for men misunderstanding modern woman. A woman of the 20th century and a woman of today are two different people. She should not be viewed as an enemy of the man in the family; on the contrary, she is a helper. She can understand her husband better because she has a profession. She knows well what it means to make money. Men must give freedom to a woman, then she becomes a comrade-in-arms, and not just a beloved wife. As for a woman, she must return to her nature and remember that her scales are unequal and family and home always outweigh. You need to be frank with your husband and talk about your dreams. And the husband must get used to listening, and not just talking about himself. This is the foundation of a family boat that will survive a hurricane.

Konyukhov Fedor Filippovich- a person whose profession is travel. Konyukhov F.F. probably the most famous representative of this profession in modern Russia.

Fedor was born in December 1951 in the Zaporozhye region. His father was a Pomor from the Arkhangelsk region and, of course, was associated with navigation.

Fedor was drafted into the army to serve in the Baltic Fleet. Hazing flourished and one day a young soldier was forced to defend himself from the “grandfathers.” Of course, it was not possible to continue serving in this place and Fedor decided to go to Vietnam, where he served as a sailor delivering ammunition to one of the warring parties.

Subsequently, Fedor used his skills while studying to become a professional navigator. He also learned the profession of an inlay carver and received holy orders.

Fedor shares his experience of travel and life, drawing pictures - he was a member of the Union of Artists. He describes his adventures in books - to date he is the author of 9 works.

Fedor has already circled five times Earth. For this he used different types floating craft. One trip took place on a rowing boat. This was probably a more adult experience, since at the age of 15 the teenager had already crossed the Sea of ​​Azov, also by boat.

Konyukhov did not make his first trial trips alone. I tried to do all the subsequent ones “solo”. And many fellow travelers, who at first agreed to travel together, later refused, considering Fedor’s plans to be extremely dangerous. One of the few group ascents is the conquest of Chomolungma.

Subsequent expeditions took place with the aim of answering a number of scientific questions. This is the study of the work of a series medical supplies, methods of nutrition in extreme conditions. It also tests life support and emergency rescue systems.

Fedora financially supports a number of state institutions and private companies.
Fedor’s travels are closely followed by his wife Irina. Has three children and five grandchildren.

Achievements of Fedor Konyukhov:

More than forty trips. A number of them are unique and have not yet been repeated by anyone.
Visited all five extreme poles of the Earth.
He set several world records related to the speed of crossing oceans.
Tested and showed what capabilities it has human body, placed in extreme conditions.
Author of more than 3000 works of art. Some of them are collectibles.
She shares her experience of surviving in extreme conditions while working in a distance learning laboratory.
He has eight prestigious, including international, awards.

Dates from the biography of Fedor Konyukhov:

1951, December 12 was born in the Zaporozhye region
1990 First solo trip to the North Pole
1988 awarded the order Friendship between nations
1995 trip to the South Pole
2010 received holy orders

Interesting facts about Fedor Konyukhov:

Has a collection of gifts received during his travels. Thus, S. Mironov presented the traveler with a mineral he had found with his own hands.
He is an honorary resident of several cities.
Very rarely, but appears in commercials.
There are several competitions for teenagers named after the traveler.
Lives in extreme conditions between travels in the Primorsky Territory. Can withstand extreme conditions ordinary person cold and heat.
In 2001, during a voyage, a problem occurred. acute illness kidney With the help of remote consultations with doctors, it was possible to stop the acute process, and the journey was over.

Greetings my dear readers! In the article “Fyodor Konyukhov: biography of a fearless traveler” - about interesting person, priest, honored artist of Russia and writer.

Biography of Fedor Konyukhov

In a fishing village in the Zaporozhye region, on December 12, 1951, a boy, Fedya, was born. The whole world will later know about him. He spent his entire childhood on the Azov coast.

Their family had many children. The mother took care of the house, and the father was a hereditary fisherman. Fedya loved the sea, often went fishing with his father and wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.

The guy dreamed of sea voyages. He learned to swim and dive, hardened himself, managed a sailboat and a rowing boat. The father talked a lot about the war to his children, instilled in them a love for their homeland and taught them to value their

After school, he graduated from college and became a carver and inlay maker. Realizing that his life could not exist without the sea, he entered the Odessa Marine Corps and received a navigator’s diploma.

But mastering the maritime profession did not end there; Konyukhov trained as a ship mechanic, graduating from the Arctic School in Leningrad. His spiritual world also required knowledge, and he completed a course of study at the Theological Seminary there, in the city on the Neva.

Trips

Fedor's first trip was to Sea of ​​Azov on an ordinary rowing boat. In 1966, he successfully crossed it. And at the age of twenty-six he became the organizer of a yacht trip in the Pacific Ocean, along its northern part. The travelers repeated the route of the famous Bering. Fedor had the makings of a researcher; he was interested in absolutely everything.

Having visited Kamchatka, Sakhalin and the Commander Islands, the traveler studied the life of the local population, traditions, and adopted their experience of surviving in extreme terrain.

Before setting out on a campaign to explore and conquer the North Pole, Konyukhov walked on skis, under the cover of the polar night, to an inaccessible point in the far north.

The year 1990 was marked for the traveler with a polar transition of 72 days to the North Pole, reaching it. He fulfilled his old dream!

The year 1995 will be remembered for Konyukhov’s successful solo expedition to the South Pole. It was he who planted the Russian flag there. With this journey, he also helps doctors in studying the physical, as well as mental state in extreme climates. During his life, Konyukhov made three trips around the world.

Father Fedor is a very versatile traveler. In addition to hiking across the seas and oceans, and participating in expeditions along land routes, he conquers mountain peaks. I've been to Everest twice. In 160 days he rowed across the Pacific Ocean. This was an unprecedented event in solo sailing.

Konyukhov is considered the best traveler. He went through about fifty expeditions of various directions. Conquered all the mountain peaks of the whole world within five years. He also has a trip around the world in a hot air balloon. For this, Fedor was awarded the title “Pilot of the Year”.

Creation

The traveler and priest is a creative person. He writes works about his impressions from expeditions. He also composes music and poetry for organ performance. As an artist, Konyukhov takes part in various exhibitions, both at home and abroad.

Fedor starred in documentary film"Without Baikal" The film tells about people who care about nature and want to save it.

In 2010 he was ordained a priest in a church in his homeland. He was also awarded the order for his work for the benefit of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Fedor Konyukhov: family

The first wife, Lyuba, married a rich man and lives in America. She is an artist and has her own gallery.

Fedor and Irina Konyukhov

Fyodor Filippovich lives in his second marriage with Irina Konyukhova. His wife is a Doctor of Law and has a professorship. They have a son, Nikolai.

The family includes Fyodor’s two eldest children from his first marriage: son Oscar and daughter Tatyana. Oscar followed in his father's footsteps and is also involved in sailing and travel. There are also five grandchildren growing up in the Konyukhov family. Konyukhov’s height is 1.80 m, zodiac sign is

“I used to think that at fifty it would be boring, that I would become old. At fifty I wanted to be ordained a priest - a village, a little church. But now I understand that every age is interesting. The way you look at a woman - even this shows age.”