Mischa Gurov, an IT professional originally from Russia, began swimming to his job in Zurich after relocating to the Swiss city in 2019. Describing the practice as “wonderfully Swiss \u2013 and slightly mad,” he now completes the final 1.35 kilometers of his commute by diving into the Schanzengraben, a fortified moat that runs through the city center.<\/p>\n
When weather conditions permit, Gurov takes public transport to the city center, changes into swimwear, and enters the water with his belongings secured in a waterproof bag. He describes the routine as a harmonious start to the day, often witnessing sunrises, swans, and fish swimming alongside him. This year alone, he has covered more than 60 kilometers on his underwater commute.<\/p>\n
However, the severe droughts of this past summer have altered his perspective. Low water levels have exposed the fragility of the urban ecosystem beneath the bridges. Equipped with an underwater camera, Gurov documented fish, ancient stone walls, and a hidden world that remains largely invisible to pedestrians above.<\/p>\n
His efforts also focus on combating pollution. Gurov recently discovered that cigarette butts are the most commonly littered item in Switzerland, with over six billion discarded annually at a cleanup cost of approximately CHF 53 million (\u20ac56m). In a recent collection effort along a 30-meter stretch of the Schanzengraben, he gathered more than 500 butts in just 30 minutes. He notes that toxins leaching from these filters can be lethal to aquatic life, including the rare brown trout found in the moat.<\/p>\n
Gurov argues that stronger regulations, including higher fines for littering, are necessary to protect Zurich’s waterways. Currently, on-the-spot fines range from 80 to 250 CHF. He emphasizes that maintaining clean water is a shared responsibility among residents, businesses, and authorities, rather than relying solely on volunteers or municipal workers.<\/p>\n
The stakes are high, as Lake Zurich provides 70 percent of the city’s drinking water. Despite the environmental benefits, Gurov faced pushback when he requested city support for cleaning the Schanzengraben, being told that insufficient swimmers made the cost unjustifiable.<\/p>\n
In response to the National Clean-Up Day organized by the Interest Group for a Clean Environment (IGSU) on September 18-19, 2026, Gurov plans a symbolic protest. He intends to swim the length of the moat wearing a helmet decorated with 1,000 cigarette butts and a Swiss bell, aiming to draw attention to the poisoning of his aquatic “friends.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IT professional Mischa Gurov swims through Zurich’s Schanzengraben daily, using his commute to highlight pollution and advocate for stricter littering laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[415,326,62,1391,284,1096],"class_list":["post-785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","tag-culture","tag-environment","tag-europe","tag-pollution","tag-switzerland","tag-zurich"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}