A total of 364 miles in 20 days, such are temporal and spatial dimensions of the socio-ecological research trip called “Robinson Dnipro Expedition.” Robinson is the name of the canoe Khriienko is using in his endeavor.
“The idea to row down the Dnipro occurred to me in 2009. I want to investigate the situation with land grabs in the water protection zone along its banks, but this can only be done from a boat, because there is no land access left: they have privatized plots here and there and blocked off everyone else,” Khriienko tells describing his plans. “I am interested also in the situation of people who live on the banks of the Dnipro. It is a huge river, and the people who depend on it are special.”
However, there is another reason for his desire to investigate the living conditions of people and squatting, land theft and land grabs in the water protection zone on the Dnipro’s right bank: Khriienko originates from the village of Novolypove, Svitlovodsk district, now underwater in the Kremenchuk Sea.
“I was born and raised on the banks of the Dnipro, twice went to the source of the river in the Smolensk region. It mattered a lot for me in the past, and this partly explains my current interest in it. On the other hand, the Dnipro is a strategically important river. Nobody will tell better about the ongoing changes in its condition than the people who live on its banks,” the journalist says.
Khriienko has very extensive experience doing research expeditions, particularly in Ukraine. He rowed his canoe down the Dnipro twice, in 1978 and 1979, participating in student environmental expeditions and covering them for Radianska Ukraina newspaper. Afterwards, he made three solo trips from Kyiv to Svitlovodsk: twice on foot and once on skis. All in all, Khriienko has made 24 trips on foot, both solo and in groups.
