The exhibition of off-road equipment for outdoor activities IMIS 2022 off-road was held at the Sevkabel Port Cultural Center in St. Petersburg from November 4 to 6. The representatives of the Russian Geographical Society, which is a permanent partner of the project, took part in it. They introduced the guests of the event to the most interesting expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society to remote and beautiful places of our vast country.
IMIS 2022 off-road is an integral part of the project of the St. Petersburg International Motorcycle Salon IMIS, which, in turn, is considered one of the largest specialized motorcycle forums in Europe. It demonstrates the latest models of motorcycles and discusses topical issues of the development of the industry and motorcycle tourism.
The Russian Geographical Society has been a traditional partner and participant of the forum for 11 years, providing it with information and organizational support. In particular, the work of the "motorcycle travel zone” was organized under the auspices of the RGS. There famous travelers, members of the RGS spoke about their trips; and you could also see the exhibition of the works by the winners and finalists of the photo contest "The Most Beautiful Country".
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This time as well, the RGS has made its contribution to the content-related part of IMIS 2022 off-road. Sergey Katikov, adviser to the president of the Russian Geographical Society, addressed the organizers, participants, and visitors of the exhibition in a welcoming speech. He noted that the development of domestic tourism and travel, including the use of off-road vehicles, is one of the priorities of the Society’s activities at the present stage. This helps to open previously unknown and unique places of Russia to a wide audience.
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The participants and guests of the exhibition were greatly interested in the speech by the head of the Expeditionary Department of the Russian Geographical Society Sergey Chechulin. In his presentation, he spoke fascinatingly about the modern activities of the Society and about specific projects in the expedition and tourism spheres. The technical side of the preparation and conduct of the RGS’s expeditions to hard-to-reach places of the Russian Arctic, Siberia, and the Far East using a variety of off-road vehicles was presented in detail.
The story was supplemented by professional videos about the use by the RGS of off-road vehicles. The audience saw heavy tracked swamp buggies in the expedition “Tunnug” in Tuva, in the expedition “Transpolar Railway” in Yamal and in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory; “STELS” snowmobiles in the “Umka” expeditions in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, the “Search for World War II Aircraft” expedition in Kamchatka, in the tourist projects “Maral-Trophy" in the Sayan Mountains and "All of Chukhloma: Winter Road" in the Kostroma Region; "STELS" and "BigBo" ATVs in the search expedition "ALSIB" in Chukotka, Yakutia, and Irkutsk Region; ATV "Gorets" in the expedition "Umka" in Chukotka.
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No less interesting and fascinating was the speech by Anatoly Chernyavsky – a record-breaking traveler, a member of the Russian Geographical Society, a participant in the expedition to Kamchatka in 2022 – on the second day of the exhibition. He told about the longest winter motorcycle trips in the world in Yakutia, Magadan, and Kamchatka.
Mikhail Nekrasov, chairman of the organizing committee of the St. Petersburg International Motorcycle Salon IMIS and one of the organizers of IMIS 2022 off-road, expressed confidence that next year, together with the Russian Geographical Society, it will be possible to significantly expand the exhibition and invite even more enthusiasts of off-road travel who are ready to share their experience of exploring the unexplored corners of our vast homeland to participate in it.