"The National Centre RUSSIA inspires new records" — traveller Ilya Zhelnov
Ilya Zhelnov, a father of three and a traveller who managed to visit 68 countries in one year while using a wheelchair, visited the National Centre RUSSIA. Together with his family, he became a guest of the New Year programme, took part in festive activities, and visited the exposition "Book of Fairy Tales", which immerses visitors in an atmosphere of magic, folk traditions, and the cultural legacy of our country.
"My children and I were absolutely delighted with the exposition 'Book of Fairy Tales'. In just an hour and a half, we immersed ourselves in the culture of eight regions of our country: Ryazan, Kaliningrad, Stavropol region, Yamal, Komi, Karelia, Vologda, and Mordovia. Each region is beautiful in its own way. This exposition is about the New Year atmosphere, the feeling of celebration and the Russian spirit — with national attributes and a blend of fairy tale and reality, where everyone becomes part of a Russian fairy tale. Both children and adults will enjoy this exposition," Ilya Zhelnov said.
Ilya visited the National Centre RUSSIA together with his daughter and son. According to him, the space is striking in its depth, Russian culture, and traditions. He noted that it is wonderful to see in person the fairy tales familiar since childhood, which he now tells to his own children.
Five years ago, Ilya Zhelnov suffered a cervical spine injury that led to disability. In 2025, he visited 68 countries while using a wheelchair, thereby breaking the record of US citizen Renee Bruns, who had visited 66 countries. Moreover, his journey was far from easy due to numerous restrictions imposed on Russia; however, this did not prevent him from breaking the American traveller’s record. His route covered almost the entire world. Ilya planned all logistics independently. He visited 30 European countries, 14 Asian states, 18 African countries, travelled to four countries in South America, and even reached Antarctica.
"I dedicated my record to Russia. After any country, I always return home with great pleasure. As for new world records, I want to visit all 193 states that are members of the United Nations. I am confident that so far no wheelchair user has done this. And after visiting the National Centre RUSSIA, I developed a desire to travel across all of Russia. Ours is a vast country with a huge number of attractions — natural, cultural, and historical. Every city, every settlement, every region of the country deserves attention," he said.
Ilya returned to Russia on 21 December to celebrate the New Year holidays with his family. He added that he now faces extensive work related to securing the official recognition of his world record.
You can sign up for free guided tours of the exposition "Book of Fairy Tales", New Year workshops, the multi-genre performance "Morozko", and other events on the website russia.ru in the "Events" section.
