“Let’s Go to Magadan!” — A Winter Journey Through Siberia and the Russian Far East
“Let’s Go to Magadan!” was a journey by Andrey Gundarev supported by the Kazakh Geographic Society. Travelling through Siberia and the Russian Far East, he reached the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk. Approximately 10,000 kilometres of air and rail travel provided the material for photographs, video reports and journal entries about cities, winter landscapes and personal discoveries.
A destination that opened up a wider journey
Magadan was the principal destination, but the journey there became an important part of the project. The travel diary begins in Novosibirsk and introduces Barnaul, Krasnoyarsk, Divnogorsk, Lake Baikal, Irkutsk and Khabarovsk. Vladivostok and Biysk also feature in the account.
Travelling in winter offered a distinctive perspective on these places. Everyday city life, snow-covered shores and the experience of moving between regions shaped the narrative. Readers could discover distant locations through the observations of someone encountering them in person.
Discovering a personal connection
The Altai stage brought a connection with family history. In his account of Barnaul, Gundarev described learning more about his ancestry and visiting the village of Elunino beside the Ob River.
This episode reveals another dimension of travel: visiting a place can bring a person closer to their own past. An unfamiliar destination becomes connected to family memories, prompting questions and discoveries that might otherwise remain unexplored. In this diary, geography and personal history meet along the way.
Reaching the Sea of Okhotsk
Gundarev arrived in Magadan on a flight from Irkutsk via Khabarovsk. Views of the coastline during the approach provided his first photographs of the area. His account describes temperatures around −25°C, with humidity making the cold feel more pronounced.
An excursion beyond the city took him to the rocky Cape Nyuklya beside Gertner Bay. Nagaev Bay also features in the published reports. The coastline and winter scenery complemented the urban account, introducing readers to Magadan’s natural surroundings.
Preserving the experience
The project produced a collection of observations, photographs and videos gathered during the journey. These materials convey both the appearance of each destination and the traveller’s response to it: what caught his attention, what surprised him and what remained memorable.
Through its support, the Kazakh Geographic Society helped turn curiosity about the world into an accessible travel narrative. “Let’s Go to Magadan!” demonstrates the value of looking closely and sharing what one discovers. A distant point on a map becomes a place with its own landscapes, atmosphere and human stories.