Minsk is a city built for giants. And it is where we met a great soul, Maria Fyodorovna Rylik, who dedicated her life to teaching and her family.

On borders, learning Polish, the influence of culture, and the importance of a sense of humor.

A second post from Krasnoyarsk, where we meet a poetry-writing, rug-weaving centenarian.

Krasnoyarsk: knocking down stereotypes about Siberia and meeting a centenarian who will not be stopped.

On the importance of coffee, academicians, a museum, a rooster, the harvesting of turf, and collectivization. Oh, and Novosibirsk.

On the importance of coffee, academicians, a museum, a rooster, the harvesting of turf, and collectivization.

A train ride, a war hero, sunflower fields, and the Loch Ness monster - just another day on the road for the Children of 1917 team.

In which we move east to Samara, on the Volga River, and meet two centenarians living alone in very different ways.

Photographic proof that all we have done on this trip is work, work, work... and nap.

In which we are reminded of a 1924 decision about train schedules.

Given the historical and personal realities she faced, Maria Konyayeva was very unlikely to live to 100 when she was born in 1917. And yet here she is.

For all the romanticism commonly associated with world travel, the brutal reality is that it is often a very un-romantic undertaking to move the meat that is our bodies around in the world.