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Man in a wheelchair hitchhikes 21,000 km across Russia

Igor Skikevich visited more than 50 cities travelling without sponsors and on his own in a project called Victory Over Myself

© Artiom Geodakyan/TASS

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, November 19. /TASS/. A man from the southern Russian city of Taganrog has completed a highway hitchhike in a wheelchair tour along the roads of Russia, covering 21,000 kilometers in 168 days across the vast territory.

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"My project, Victory Over Myself, has been completed," Igor Skikevich told reporters in the Far East city of Yuzno-Sakhalinsk. "I visited more than 50 cities from Sevastopol [Crimea] to Yuzhno-Kurilsk [a town on the Kuril islands]. My mission is accomplished."

Skikevich's road tour was dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s World War Two victory over Nazi Germany, travelling without sponsors and journeying alone.

"Everyone was helping me, from guest-workers [from Russia's neighbour-states] to lawmakers," he said. "Most of all, I was impressed by the attitude of children. They supported me a lot, even gave me money. I am proud of our younger generation, they are patriots."

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