Slavomir Rawicz (1915-2004) was a Polish soldier who was captured by Soviet troops when they overran Poland and was exiled to Siberia. He and six others escaped and walked over 6500 km (4000 miles south, through the Gobi desert, and over the Himalayas to India. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: (СССР)   listen?; tr. ... Siberia Siberia (Russian: , common English transliterations: Sibir, Sibir; possibly from the Mongolian for the calm land) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ... The Gobi (Mongolian Говь, Chinese 戈壁; pinyin gÄ“ bì) is a large desert region in northern China and southern Mongolia. ... Perspective view of the Himalaya and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ...

His saga is chronicled in a ghost-written book The Long Walk, whose veracity is controversial, according to the reviews posted on Amazon.com.

Slavomir Rawicz was born September 11, 1915 in Pinsk, in contemporary Poland (currently in Belarus). He was son of a landowner and his Russian wife; he learned her language well. He received private primary education and went to study architecture in 1932. In 1937 he joined polish reserve army and went through cadet officer's school. In 1939 he married - two days before the German invasion into Poland. After he was mobilized, he only saw his wife for a few days altogether, according to the book. September 11 is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years). ... 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Pinsk (Belarusian: Пінск), a town in Belarus, in the province of Palesse, travesed by the river Pripet, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. ...

When the Soviet Union took over Poland, Rawicz returned to Pinsk where NKVD arrested him on November 19, 1939. He was taken to Moscow. After a year in Lubyanka prison, he was sentenced, ostensibly for spying, to 25 years of hard labor in a Siberian prison camp. He was transported, alongside thousands of others, to Irkutsk and made to walk to Camp 303, 650 km south of the Arctic Circle, to build the camp from the ground up. Black Ravens by Boris Vladimirski, a depiction of the cars used by NKVD agents. ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Lubyanka was one of the most infamous NKVD prisons in Soviet Union. ... A traditional house in Irkutsk The Yenisei watershed, Lake Baikal, and the cities of Dikson, Dudinka, Turukhansk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk Irkutsk (Ирку́тск), the chief town of the Irkutsk Oblast, is one of the most important places in Siberia, being not only the principal commercial depot north of Tashkent, but also a fortified... The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. ...

According to his later account, Rawicz received unexpected help from the wife of the camp commander, Ushakov, when he was asked to look at their radio set. She'd arrange additional supplies for him and his allies; in return she wished that they'd escape when her husband was absent. Rawicz befriended six men: Polish border guard Sigmund Makowski; toothless Polish cavalryman Anton Paluchowicz; huge Latvian Anatazi Kolemenos; Eugene Zaro; Lithuanian Zacharius Marchikovas; and a US engineer who said his name was Smith.

In April 9, 1941, Rawicz and his six allies escaped in a middle of a blizzard. They rushed to the south, avoiding towns in fear they'd be betrayed, but apparently they were not actively pursued. They also met an additional fugitive, Polish woman Kristina. April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Blizzards are characterized by high winds and blinding precipitation Sudden blizzards can cause terrible damage to infrastructure as well as danger to human life. ...

Nine days later they crossed the Lena River. They walked around Lake Baikal and crossed to Mongolia. Fortunately, people they encountered were friendly and hospitable. During the crossing of the Gobi desert, Kristina and Makowski died. Others had to eat snakes to survive. This article is about the Lena river. ... Lake Baikal The Yenisei River basin, Lake Baikal, and the cities of Dikson, Dudinka, Turukhansk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk Lake Baikal (Russian: О́зеро Байка́л (Ozero Baykal)), a lake in southern Siberia, Russia, between Irkutsk Oblast on the northwest and Buryatia on the southeast, near Irkutsk. ... The Gobi (Mongolian Говь, Chinese 戈壁; pinyin gē bì) is a large desert region in northern China and southern Mongolia. ...

In October 1942 they reached Tibet. Locals were friendly, especially when men said they were trying to reach Lhasa. They crossed the Himalayas. Marchinkovas died in his sleep in the cold. They also met hairy creatures Rawicz regarded as Yetis. Paluchowicz fell into a crevasse and disappeared. Tibet (Tibetan: བོད་, Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect; Chinese: 西藏, pinyin: Xīzàng) is a region and former independent country in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... Lhasa is located in the Lhasa Valley of Tibet. ... Perspective view of the Himalaya and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... The yeti is a large primate-like creature reported to live in the Himalayas. ... Crevasse on the Gorner Glacier, Zermatt, Switzerland. ...

Survivors reached India in March 1942. They met a patrol of gurkhas that took them to hospital in Calcutta. For the next four weeks Rawicz primarily slept. After the spell in the hospital, the four survivors went their own ways. They never met again. Gurkha Soldiers (1896) The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective term for British Army units that are composed of Nepalese soldiers. ... This article is on Calcutta/Kolkata, the city. ...

Rawicz joined the British forces. In 1942 he served in Iraq and then in Palestine, teaching at the Polish cadet school. Due to recommendation of general Wladyslaw Anders, he came to Britain to train as a pilot as part of a Free Polish air force. Palestine (Latin: Syria Palæstina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina, ארץ־ישראל Eretz Yisrael; Arabic: فلسطين Filasá¹­Ä«n) is the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the banks of the Jordan River, plus various adjoining lands to the east. ... Władysław Anders Lt. ...

After the war he settled in Nottingham, England and worked as a school handicrafts instructor and as a cabinetmaker. He also married Marjorie Needham in 1946; they had five children. In the 1960s, the Nottingham building and design centre employed him before it was closed. In the early 1970s he became a technician on the architectural ceramics course at modern-day Nottingham Trent University school of art and design. A serious heart attack forced him into early retirement couple of years later. Nottingham is a city located in Nottinghamshire, in the East Midlands of England. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity... Arkwright Building Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a university in Nottingham, England. ...

Slavomir Rawicz died April 5, 2004. April 5 is the 95th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (96th in leap years). ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Books

• Slavomir Rawicz (with Ronald Downing) - The Long Walk (1955)

Links

Obituary from the Guardian newspaper