In the Footsteps of Afanasii Nikitin

Afanasii Nikitin was a Russian merchant who came to India in the sixteenth century, and left a volume of reminiscences, his Voyage over Three Seas. In time, he has come to symbolize India's relationship with the territories of the former Russian Empire and the Soviet state, as well as with modern Russia.
This volume provides an account of the Nikitin Expedition, which was organized in 2006-7 by the Adventurers and Explorers Society, Delhi, and which covered much of Nikitin's route. The expedition was sponsored by various agencies, including the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India, and undertook a survey of impressions of India in the Eurasia region, past and present. It also dealt with impressions of Eurasia in India. The Nikitin Expedition was a motor car expedition that began in St. Petersburg and continued through northern Russia after a flag off at Niktin's hometown of Tver'. The expedition travelled to the Volga by way of Moscow, moved along the river to Astrakhan, and diverted to the Black Sea, which the cars crossed from Sochi. The expedition then proceeded by way of north east Turkey, the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea coast, and Iran to Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf. A second 'leg' of the expedition covered parts of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka in India.
The account of the expedition is set out in diary form, with introductory material on Nikitin's journey and the perspectives with which the expedition was undertaken. The diary incorporates impressions of the current state of the countries the expedition covered and significant aspects of their history.