Yuri Senkevich

Yuri Aleksandrovich Senkevich ( _ru. Юрий Александрович Сенкевич) (March 4, 1937 in Choibalsan, Mongolia – September 23, 2003 in Moscow, Russia) was a Soviet doctor, who became famous in the USSR and worldwide for his participation in the Ra Expedition, in which he sailed together with Thor Heyerdahl.

Senkevich was born of Polish parents in Mongolia. In 1960, he finished "Military Medical Academy" in Leningrad. After the graduation, he received an assignment as a military doctor. In 1962, Senkevich started at "Moscow Institute of Aviation and Cosmic Medicine" of the Ministry of Defence. He continued his career in that field at the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems of the Ministry of Public Health. From 1966 to 1967, he participated in the 12th Soviet Antarctic expedition at Vostok station.

In 1969, Thor Heyerdahl invited Senkevich to sail on the "Ra" papirus boat, and later on "Ra II" in 1970. Yuri Senkevich also sailed on the "Tigris" across the Indian Ocean.

In 1973, Senkevich began his career as a host of the "Travelers' Club" (Клуб путешественников), a show on the Soviet Central Television. During the 30 years, he visited as a journalist more than 200 countries. For his lifetime contribution to the television, he was awarded "TEFI", a prize of Russian Academy of Television, in 1997. Yuri Senkevich is in the Guinness Book of Records as "the world's longest serving TV anchorman".