Round-the-world walker from Nizhny Tagil sets out

Aleksandr Voloshin, a resident of Nizhny Talig, has set off on a round-the-world hike. At exactly noon August 22 he left his hometown for Ekaterinburg, capital of the Central Urals Region, carrying with him only a cell phone and a Russian flag.

As reported by Ekaterinburg's television Channel 4, the 33-year-old adventurer hoped to find sponsors here for his world-circling walk, which he plans to make with his wife, Tatiana, and their two children, Sergei, 30 months old, and 8-month-old Katya. The others remain at home at present.

Voloshin said the idea for the hike came to him three years ago during a family vacation in the Krasnodar area. 'Every person wants to make a high point in life, and a trip round the world is the simplest way to do it,' the Tagil native told journalists. His willingness to face the long trip, he said, is bolstered by his faith in God, to which he came while in reformatory.

Voloshin plans to walk to Moscow and from there proceed with his wife and children to France through Poland and Germany, after which he plans to visit America, returning to Russia via Vladivostok. During his hike, the pilgrim plans to make visits to every Protestant church.