Background
Fyodor Konyukhov was born on December 12, 1951 in the village of Chkalovo in Ukraine’s Zaporozhye Region.
marine explorer survivalist voyager balloon pilot
Fyodor Konyukhov was born on December 12, 1951 in the village of Chkalovo in Ukraine’s Zaporozhye Region.
Fyodor Konyukhov graduated from the Odessa Naval College and the Leningrad Polar College, becoming a professional navigator and marine engineer.
In 1977, Fyodor Konyukhov organized yacht voyages following the routes of Vitus Bering and other sailors of the Northern part of the Pacific Ocean.
Having received a good experience of ski polar campaigns, in 1990 Fyodor set out on a solo trip to the Pole. 72 days later he reached the North Pole.
Fyodor Konyukhov decided to honor Moscow’s 850th anniversary by climbing to the mountaintops of all of the world’s continents. It took him five years of hard work to do it. As an exercise, he did a quick run up the Klyuchevskaya Sopka, 4,750 meters high and it made him believe in himself. After that came the Caucasian Elbrus (5,642 meters), the Asian Everest (8,848 meters), the Australian Mount Koscuiszko (2,230 meters) and the South American Cerro Aconcagua (6,960 meters). The long-extinct African volcano Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters), anthemed by Ernest Hemingway, especially attracted the Russian traveler’s attention. But the most difficult and dangerous for the climber were the icy rock mountains: the North American Mount McKinley (6,193 meters) and the Antarctic Vinson Massif (5,140 meters).
Fyodor Konyukhov organized and headed two transcontinental runs: a Soviet-American bicycle run from to Leningrad (1989) and a Soviet-Australian automobile run from Nakhodka to Brest (1991).
He is the only Russian to make three solo cruises around the world. The first one was in 1990-1991 on the "Karaana" yacht. Konyukhov set out from the Australian port of Sidney and returned there 224 days later. A year later Konyukhov started on his second round-the-world cruise, following an equatorial route: Taiwan – Singapore – the Indian Ocean – the Red and the Mediterranean Seas – Gibraltar – the Atlantic – the Hawaiian Islands – Taiwan, visiting all the continents.
Participating in the international sea race "Around the World Alone" ("Vokrug sveta – v odinochku"), he made his third world cruise on the yacht named after Moscow’s Modern Humanitarian University. The yachtsmen spent a total of eight months at sea, from September 1998 to May 1999. Unable to withstand the conditions of the extreme race, seven participants withdrew from the race. Fyodor Konyukhov came to the finish third.
On the application of Fyodor Konyukhov, he was registered to participate in the international sailing race "Windy Globe-2000", which was to start on November 5, 2000. Before that, he managed to participate in the International Trail Sled Dog Race "Iditarod -2000" in snow-covered Alaska, along the way of gold miners of the XIX century.
In 2011 Fyodor Konyukhov fulfilled an expedition cross Ethiopia, covering more than 1000 km of route.
On May 19, 2012 - Fyodor Konyukhov together with the Russian team “7 Summits” reached the top of Mt. Everest. His climbing route was via the Northern Ridge (Tibet). This expedition was devoted to the 20th anniversary of the first Russian ascent of Mt. Everest (via the Southern Col) – May 1992.
On 23 July 2016, Fyodor Konyukhov became the second person to circumnavigate the world in a hybrid hot-air helium balloon.
Konyukhov is an ordained priest in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). He was made a deacon in 2010.
In 1983, Fyodor Konyukhov was admitted to the Union of Artists of the USSR (he was the youngest member at that moment). Since 1996 he has been a member of the Moscow Union of Artists, Graphic Arts section, since 2001, a member of the Sculpture section as well. Fyodor is a member of the Russian Union of Artists and the Russian Union of Journalists.
Fyodor Konyukhov writes poetry, creates music for the organ and works of art. He always draws and writes a lot, even during his travels.