The expedition set off on April 11, 2025, from a historic mansion in Salvador. Photo courtesy of Sergei Shcherbakov
On February 28, after a one-year voyage, the 22-meter sailing yacht «Brotherhood» moored in the port of Salvador, Brazil, finishing the route that connected the two extreme points of the planet: the Arctic Cape Chelyuskin and the Antarctic Cape Horn.
«The Russian Geographical Society has been leading the development of high latitudes for more than a century, exploring the passability of Arctic routes,» said Artyom Manukyan, First Vice-President and Executive Director of the RGS. «Continuing the tradition of the first round-the-world voyages under the auspices of the Society, in a year, an international yacht crew under the flags of the RGS and BRICS circumnavigated the globe, including the Northern Sea Route. The Arctic is a territory of dialogue between countries. Joint expedition projects form the basis for the development of international relations in the interests of sustainable peace for future generations. The RGS Expedition and Tourism Center in Brazil is a base for the implementation of complex projects with a research and educational component.»
In 322 days, the expedition members traveled more than 30,000 nautical miles across four oceans and 24 time zones. The rotating crew consisted of 19 participants from Russia, Brazil, and Argentina. The expedition’s route ran from Salvador to the north across the Atlantic Ocean, calling at the Azores Islands. On June 22, the yacht arrived in Murmansk, from where the Russian part of the circumnavigation route started. For the first time after a long break, a sailing expedition made a through passage along the Northern Sea Route in difficult ice conditions. One of the tasks of the expedition was to clarify the circumstances of sailing through the NSR during the extended navigation period — these data are important for a comprehensive picture of the prospects for the development of the Transatlantic Transport Corridor. The international crew rounded the northernmost continental point of the planet, Cape Chelyuskin. With the support of the regional offices of the RGS in the Arctic regions, the crew visited the villages of Dikson, Tiksi, and the cities of Pevek, Anadyr, where they held meetings with local residents. Then the yacht crossed the Pacific Ocean from north to south. The expedition members visited the island states, rounded the southernmost point of the planet — Cape Horn — and again entered the Atlantic Ocean. A year later, the expedition returned to Salvador, covering the entire globe from north to south and from east to west.
«We are returning to Salvador under the banner of peace,» said Aleixo Belov, traveler, yachtsman, and captain of the expedition. «This expedition proved that culture and scientific fraternity have no borders. Having traveled from the eternal ice of the North to the storms of Tierra del Fuego, we carried faith in the cooperation of the BRICS countries and the memory of our common history. Our yacht has become a territory of the world, uniting the hearts of people from different continents.»
The Brazilian side meets Aleixo Belov. Photo courtesy of Sergei Shcherbakov
The expedition set off on April 11, 2025, from a historic mansion in Salvador, where the opening of the first Expedition and Tourist Center of the RGS took place on that day. The center was created at the Aleixo Belov Foundation. Aleixo Belov is a traveler and yachtsman, captain of the circumnavigation expedition. The practical tasks of the center include the organization of cross-border and international scientific missions, expedition and tourist routes, the implementation of humanitarian projects under the banner of the RGS in the context of the development of Russian-Brazilian relations.
On the day of the yacht’s arrival in the port of Salvador on February 28, 2026, an exhibition of replicas of historical geographical maps from the Society’s collection opened at the Center of the RGS. Visitors will be able to see rare publications, including pages from «Atlas of Captain Kruzenshtern’s Journey Around the World» from 1813, Marx’s «Great World Desk Atlas» from 1905, as well as Soviet maps of South America, and an atlas of the war years. The exhibition allows you to trace how the idea of the geography of the continent had changed over the course of a century and a half — from the voyages of Russian navigators to the middle of the 20th century.
«Almost 90 years ago, on April 15, 1935, the Roerich Pact was signed, the first international treaty in history on the protection of cultural property. Brazil was one of the 21 countries of the American continent that signed this document at the White House,» said Sergei Shcherbakov, captain of the expedition, member of the Board of the Omsk Branch of the RGS. «The idea of the need to protect cultural and historical monuments originated with the Russian artist Nicholas Roerich in 1899, when he was engaged in archaeological excavations in the St. Petersburg province. It is symbolic that the first stage of the international circumnavigation expedition under the flags of the RGS and BRICS from Salvador coincided with the anniversary date of the Pact.»
The «Brotherhood» expedition was implemented with the support of the Russian Geographical Society, the Russian Embassy in Brazil, and the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States (Rossotrudnichestvo). The project is dedicated to the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Brazil, the 180th anniversary of the Russian Geographical Society, the 20th anniversary of BRICS, and the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory.