My name is Anton Burmistrov. I’m a London based graphic designer. Alongside my design work, I gather stories about people from the places I’ve travelled to. My main focus is to explore cultural differences and social disparities.

Before Discovery Channel and the NatGeo magazine my worldview was formed by Soviet atlases. Before travel, I drew in my head wild places, people and their cultures. Unexpected places. For me these ideas were unknown, mysterious, just like a Kitezh, — a mythological city beneath the waters of Lake Svetloyar (A form of Russian Atlantis). Traveling for me was not moving in from point A to B, but a was like path to myself, like searching for the legendary city of Kitezh. And when I set off, all my dreams burst in a second like a soap bubble. The world was not the same as it was shown by the publishers and bloggers. More precisely, their interpretation was framed — cut out of context, narrowed. Train to Kitezh is some kind of incarnation of my disappointment, a train that runs to a mysterious city that does not exist, and the reality is far more ambiguous.

Train to Kitezh is a subjective platform, I’m not a scientist nor an anthropologist and there might be some facts I’ve oversimplified or ideas I’ve paraphrased too greatly. I write down my thoughts and about things I’ve heard or read. I’m only human and there might be things that are wrong or that you disagree with. If you see something you think could be improved — email me with your suggestions.

Train to Kitezh doesn’t offer ultimate travel guides, itinerary advice, sustainable travel preachings, ideas for creating “unforgettable experiences” and aspirational lifestyle. Train to Kitezh is completely independent and unaffiliated.