This book is the first of the Collected Works of E.P. Kovalevsky, diplomat, traveler, scientist, and public figure. It publishes sketches of his life and work, as well as essays published in 1843–1849, united under the title “Wanderer on Land and Seas.” The publication is supplemented with archival materials. The author’s voice addressed to us, the readers, captivates; not feeling the almost two-hundred-year gap in time, we are happy to go on a journey with this courageous, honest and strong man. The publication will be appreciated by everyone who studies the history of Russian diplomacy and geological and geographical research of the mid-19th century, as well as a wide range of readers.