Penza, 5 May 2014. PenzaNews. The participants of “Lermontov. Caucasus” international motor rally who departed from Penza on April 27, 2014, have completed a half of their travel route.

They traveled through Penza, Saratov and Volgograd regions, as well as through Kalmykia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

During the first stage of the motor rally, Penza citizens visited the memorial places of Mikhail Lermontov. They laid wreaths to the monuments dedicated to the poet and tagged the landmarks with stickers with the expedition’s symbol during a solemn event.

On their way to Makhachkala, the travelers visited a unique landmark – the Sarykum barchan where the immortal poem “The Dream” was written. Later on, they visited Lermontova street in Makhachkala and Naryn-Kala fortress in Derbent, and met the students from local universities.

Last Sunday, May 4, some of the travelers stayed in Tbilisi, while the others visited Armenia.

In Georgia, the motor rally participants experienced the Chavchavadze museum, the house where Mikhail Lermontov lived. The museum workers showed them the poet’s handkerchief and his painting dated 1837, says the press center of Penza administration.