As part of the visit to Cyprus of the Russian circumnavigation expedition “Club of 5 Oceans”, rich and significant events were held, bringing together spiritual, cultural and social events.

On June 29, the expedition team arrived at the port of Limassol. In the first hours of their stay, the participants visited one of the main spiritual shrines of the island — the Kykk Monastery, where they were able to get acquainted with the history of the monastery and the spiritual heritage of Cyprus.

On June 30, the team met with Murat Magometovich Zyazikov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Cyprus. During the conversation, the objectives of the expedition, international cooperation, as well as humanitarian and educational initiatives of the project were discussed. According to the ambassador, the meeting with the club’s team “left the kindest impression,” and the mission itself is a vivid example of how the initiative of caring people grows into a large—scale humanitarian project of international level.

The visit was particularly highlighted by the historic date — the 81st anniversary of the Victory over Fascism: the head of the club, Oleg Dudkin, stressed the importance of the mission of public diplomacy in this context and thanked his Cypriot compatriots for the large-scale celebrations dedicated to this event.

On July 1, the delegation visited the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Limassol, where they met with Father Pavel.
The main and most emotional event of the visit was a big meeting with compatriots and local residents at the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC) in Nicosia. Russian Russian Sailing Club is the only partner Russian Sailing house of its kind, which, like Russian houses around the world, carries out an educational mission, combining science, sports, culture and public diplomacy.

The meeting turned out to be lively and very motivating. The brave sailors and especially the 9-year-old cabin boy conquered absolutely everyone. The guests asked a lot of questions, and the atmosphere was very touching and warm. Their performance flew by like a couple of minutes — in one go!Representatives of the Cyprus-Russia Friendship Society, representatives and members of the Loyal Friends of Russia in Cyprus Movement also took an active part in the meeting at the RCSC.

The organizers of the meeting and the guests wrote their most sincere wishes and emotions in the crew’s notebook. We believe that this notebook will keep the children warm in stormy moments, reminding them that they are loved and expected in different parts of the world.
Oleg Dudkin also left a memorable entry in the Book of Honorary Guests of the RCSC. This is a historical relic, which has been maintained since the opening of the Center in 1978.

The team of the 5 Oceans Club noted that the meetings with the ambassador and compatriots were very emotional, and all the events were well organized. The travelers expressed their sincere gratitude to our Russian Center of Science and Culture for such a warm, welcoming and homely welcome.

Cyprus will certainly remain in the history of the expedition and in the hearts of the team as an island of sincere friendship, smiles and warmth! We hope that such meetings will take place more often.