Russian drives from St. Petersburg to Cape Town (PHOTOS)

Igor Vitsina has reached the final point of his trip despite visa issues in several countries and engine failure in Dubai

A Russian national has completed a 37,000-km overland journey from St. Petersburg to Cape Town in a vintage car, arriving at the southern tip of Africa after months on the road, the Russian Consulate in Cape Town announced on Tuesday. 

Igor Vitsina came up with the idea for the journey last summer, setting himself the goal of reaching the Cape of Good Hope in a 2003-model IZh vehicle he had purchased in 2019 “for fun.” The IZh 2126 is a compact Russian car with a 1.6-liter gasoline engine producing 74 hp and a manual transmission. The hatchback was produced by the Soviet automotive maker IZh in the city of Izhevsk between 1990 and 2005.

In practice, the route had to be repeatedly adjusted due to regional instability and border closures. Plans to travel through Egypt and Sudan were abandoned after the crossing was shut amid the civil war in Sudan. 

Instead, Vitsina drove through Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. The car was then shipped to Kenya to continue the journey.

From East Africa, he continued south through Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana before entering South Africa and reaching the Cape of Good Hope.

According to Vitsina, bureaucracy posed the greatest challenge. He was unable to secure visas for Libya, Yemen, and Sudan. In Israel, sappers searched the vehicle and temporarily removed documents, forcing him to recover his passport separately.

The most serious technical difficulty occurred in Dubai, where he carried out an engine overhaul himself and arranged delivery of spare parts from Russia.

Upon arrival, Vitsina was a guest of the celebrations for Maslenitsa – a traditional Slavic festival marking the end of winter – held at the Castle of Good Hope on February 21.

READ MORE: British athlete runs length of Africa

Long-distance transcontinental expeditions have drawn increasing public attention in recent years. In April 2024, British athlete Russ Cook became the first known person to run the entire length of Africa – from South Africa to Tunisia – covering more than 16,000 km across 16 countries over 352 days despite robberies, illness, and visa complications along the way.