MURMANSK, July 31. /TASS/. Russian adventurer Fyodor Konyukhov told reporters he would take part in the development of the Teriberka village (the Murmansk Region), where he wants to initiate construction of an exhibition facility and a theater.

"I have enjoyed Teriberka and the people living there," he told reporters. "My plans are to take part in projects to develop the village."

According to Konyukhov, he has discussed the new exhibition venue with the Russian Academy of Arts. "It should be created at first in Teriberka, not in Murmansk — so that people travel there to see paintings," he said, adding that the next step would be to organize plein-air sessions, including for foreign artists, on the Barents Sea.

The traveler will also assist in the revival of the project to reconstruct the road to Teriberka, where 40 kilometers remain unpaved. Another idea is to organize a Polar museum to expose personal belongings of well-known Arctic explorers. "Those are projects I can support," he said. "There are many ideas, and people in Teriberka voice many requests, for example, to allow bigger fishing quotas for the locals, but here I can only express my approval."

Fyodor Konyukhov set off for the North Pole together with a group of tourists on board the 50 Let Pobedy nuclear-powered icebreaker on Tuesday evening. The expedition heads for the pole and the Franz Josef Land Archipelago.

Teriberka, an old village of the Russian Pomorye (northern maritime region), is 120km away from Murmansk. It has become a popular tourist destination attracting about 40,000 visitors, including foreigners, annually.

Fyodor Konyukhov’s expeditions

The 67-year-old traveler has sailed around the world five times, has crossed the Atlantic 17 times and has become the first Russian to complete the Explorers Grand Slam: he climbed the highest mountains on all the seven continents and visited the North Pole and the South Pole. In 2007, Konyukhov circumnavigated the Southern Hemisphere aboard the Scarlet Sails yacht across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. In May 2019, he finished his solo rowboat voyage on board Akros, traversing the southern part of the Pacific Ocean.