Today I came across an English article about Boris Lisanevich on Facebook – the message of the article was that the hospitality infrastructure of Nepal after the coronavirus will have to be restored from a clean leaf. And after all, a man started traveling to Nepal from, may Ukrainian friends, the Russian Empire forgive me.

′′ Everything I have in life, I owe the October Revolution ′′ – so Boris Lisanevich sentenced in November 1963, pouring white wine to the new Soviet astronauts – Valentina Tereshkova and Adriyana Nikolaev. The case happened in a bar called ′′ Like Yeti ′′ of the Royal Hotel, which was in Kathmandu, owned by Lisanevich.

Sounds fantasy, like Boris’s whole life. Judge yourself.

Boris Lisanevich was born in Odessa in 1905, to the family of a noble horse factory. According to the young nobleman, Boris was determined in the Cadet Corps when he was 9 years old. Then the October Revolution with the abolition of cadet corps and the persecution of nobles. The family had to hide Boris (suddenly! ) to ballet school. And, most interesting, Boris’s business in the ballet went surprisingly great. So much so that when Boris managed to go to Europe on tour in 1924, and more importantly – managed not to return to Russia and stay in Paris, he was taken to his troupe by the famous Diagilev. And not on dancers, but a soloist!

Boris went around the world with Diagileva troupe. But especially he was attracted to Southeast Asia. After the death of Dyagilev, Boris traveled several years, staying long in Hong Kong, then in Indonesia. I spent a couple of years in Burma – being a passionate hunter, such countries were an insurmountable temptation for him.

With many high-ranking friends around the world, in 1936 Boris opened Club 300 in Indian Kolkata, the first club in India to enter not only Europeans, but also Indian Maharajam. The club was highly popular, and Boris with his charm and organizational abilities strengthened his position. During the Second World War, the Club 300 served as a meeting and communication point of the military leaders (the Asian Theater of War was sovsexm near Kolkata), politicians, Indian elite. There were deals and agreements of world importance were reached. And in the center was, of course, Boris. There are rumors that Boris was a British spy, but for sure we don’t know.

Let’s throw a short look at Nepal at this time. Approximately 100 years in Nepal, the rules of the dynasty of Ran’s descendant prime ministers, suspended the kings of the Shah dynasty from power. Nepal under Ran, let’s say, didn’t prosper. Surrounded from the north of the Himalayas, and from the south, east and west of the jungle and swamps, the country has even more isolated from the world around.

In 1950, King Tribhuvan fled Nepal to find help and allies in the power struggle in Nepal. He was also in the Club 300 of Boris Lisanevich, where they met and became friends. Boris brought the king together with the right people and in 1951 the stars came together and King Tribhuvan regained power over Nepal.

The king did not forget his friends and invited Boris to visit Nepal with his family. Boris accepted the invitation – and then the stars came together again. Boris fell in love with Nepal once and for all. They say he fell in love after seeing a jaguar between the walls of Kathmandu houses. The country was so unique, hospitable and unlike anything seen by Boris that a) he moved here and b) began to call his friends and acquaintances here.

The king at first did not encourage entry tourism: ′′ Why does someone need to go to Nepal, we have neither skyscrapers, nor fast cars? Stupidity is all “. By the way, until 1956, there was no road to Kathmandu, all imports were delivered by airplanes or feet of porters across the mountains. Even the cars.

But the king is king, and Boris was unstoppable. Boris asked the king for a mansion and made a hotel for 40 rooms, calling it Royal. Next brought a group of travelers to Nepal. It should be noticed that in Nepal at that moment you could only get at the personal invitation of the king himself. The first tourists were absolutely delighted with the unique country. In the hall of the hotel Lisanevich arranged a fair of products of decorative and applied art, which guests bought completely. On the last day of the tour, the king came to greet the travelers and talk to them in person. The reviews of his country were so enthusiastic and inspiring that the king was there in the lobby of the first hotel in Nepal and signed a visa decree. From now on, anyone who wants to get to Nepal could get this very visa.

And then Boris turned around. He was the first to bring to Nepal and started growing strawberries, carrots, beets, salad, spinach, pigs and champagnes. He built a liquor plant. And managed to sit in jail for a couple of months because of this. He organized the coronation of Mahendra, the son of King Tribhuvan. He arranged the reception of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in Nepal. Hotel Royal became a place of amazing meetings – climbers, adventurers, travelers, world-scale stars, writers – the composition of guests was truly impressive. In 1960, the hotel Royal became one of the most unusual hotels in the world, and Boris himself became the second attraction of Nepal after Everest.

A few quotes from Michel Pessel’s book ′′ Tiger for Breakfast “:

About the establishment of the hotel Royal:′′ As for the service helping Indian staff brought by Boris, she had to be taught everything from scratch, because these people had no idea what a spoon was needed, how to put a plate or clean shoes.Boris patiently solved all these tasks. He also had to teach the service such unusual things as wearing shoes and hand washing. He also had to explain to them that you can’t use water from ′′ little white wells ′′ as they called the toilet “.

About preparation for the coronation of Mehendra:′′ Within three days, Boris ordered charter DS-3 days and night flew from Indian Patna to Kathmandu and back. It was a rather unusual air bridge, as the object of transport was six thousand living chickens, a thousand cesars, two thousand ducks, five hundred turkeys and a hundred geese. Along with them, one and a half tons of sleepy fish arrived, – to be truthfully sleepy – two tons of vegetables and, most strange, a couple of tons of ice! The trouble is, except for the eternal snow of the Himalayas, there was no ice factory in Nepal “.

About ′′ special projects “, in which Boris was directly involved:′′ Boris still has the gun ′′ Alka Zeltzer ′′ or ′′ Yeti “, given to him by Tom Slick’s Texas expedition. This unusual weapon was designed to sleep a ′′ monster “. Together with the gun, he was given two unmarked bottles, instructions for using the contents of which he unfortunately lost. One bottle contains a sleeping patch for the yeti, and in another, a stimulant for its awakening “.

On the organization of the visit of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to Nepal:′′ All foreign cans were placed on elephants. Only at the disposal of the press there were a dozen of these animals, and six at Boris’s direction served as Yak and Yeti’s away bars. These elephant bars, where Inger and other girls sat as a bartender, served guests during the hunt, having had a place to be held as a bartender. full set of drinks from beer to ice champagne “.…′′

As Their Majesties were preparing to leave the camp, Boris proposed to build all the elephants in one line on the way of guests. It took a while, causing some delay in departure, but the scene unfolding in front of the eyes of high guests was worth it. There hasn’t been a hunt throughout history, and probably never again, such an unseen sight when 376 powerful, chicly cleaned and painted elephants with gold and silver platforms on their backs formed a live line on their way from camp to plane and in turn they raised hobots, salute the queen passing by them “.Good book, highly recommend.

Despite the staggering activity and a huge number of projects, Boris had no accumulations. He himself said that he spends a little bit more in his life than he earns “. Now Kathmandu about Boris Lisanevich reminds me of several things – this is a five-star hotel Yak & Yeti, which inherited the name from the bar restaurant in the hotel Royal, and the monument to Boris, located at the entrance to the Nepal Tourism Board – Nepal Tourism Office.

For a long time I thought what fate in this world I would like to live. And only after reading the wonderful book ′′ Tiger for Breakfast ′′ by Michel Pissel, I realized that now they will be called my idol – Boris Lisanevich.

Boris’s son, Alex, was doing antiques and was in an interesting time. In the 60-70 s of the 20th century in the neighbor’s Nepal Tibete, China put in order. Whole Buddhist temples-settlements were looted and sold at drop prices. For rare lucky people, it was an opportunity to touch Boris and his family’s history in Kathmandu – to visit his home. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch Boris himself (died in 1985), nor Alex. My guide was Alex’s widow – Kabita Lisanevich. In the house of Lisanevich everyone will find a treasure for themselves – for someone it’s the book ′′ Seven Years in Tibet ′′ by Henry Harrer with the gift signature of the author Boris Lisanevich, and for someone Tibetan tanks (Tibetan religious painting) of 14-15 centuries.Until very recently, you could have a delicious lunch or dinner at a nice expat restaurant ′′ Gnutaya Fork “, which was already owned by Boris’s grandchildren – but unfortunately, a year ago, the restaurant closed for reconstruction when it opens – it’s not clear.This is the story I had for you. Have a great day !

Written By: Mr. Leonid Myasnikov- Regional Representative for Russia at Nepal Tourism Board