Ryazan, Russia—A Georgian on a 40,000-kilometer bicycle journey for peace stopped in the Russian city of Ryazan to hold a press conference.
Nodar Beridze has been riding a bicycle on the route Vladivostok - Moscow - Lisbon - Tbilisi. The distance that he will travel in just over 1.5 years is more than 40,000 kilometers (nearly 24,858 miles).
The press conference was held in the Ryazan Museum on October 3, 2017, the birthday of the great Russian poet Sergei A. Yesenin, a native of the Ryazan area.
In the press conference Mr. Beridze spoke about the goals of his project, which he named Peace Road. He sees his mission as promoting peace and tolerance, as well as developing friendly relations between Georgia and Russia.
The UPF Peace Road project, which has been held in Ryazan for several years, pursues the same peacemaking goals. In support of the friendly project, the head of the Ryazan chapter of UPF, Olga Neyzdayminova, gave the traveler a T-shirt with the Peace Road logo.
Ambassador for Peace Anatoly Karpus, the chair of the Assembly of the Nations of the World in Ryazan, gave the guests some symbolic Ryazan souvenirs: a volume of Sergey Yesenin's poems and a striped vest, because Ryazan, not without reason, is called "the capital of the Airborne Troops."
After the press conference, the museum staff organized a short sightseeing tour for the guests, and Mr. Beridze left a memorable entry in the book of honorary guests.