The Bruce-Mengden and Cornelis Cruys Maps of the Lower Don (1696-1705): An Inflection Point in the Practice of Russian Cartography?
Journal: ВИВЛIОθИКА E-Journal of Eighteenth-Century Russian Studies
Year: 2024

Maps of the lower Don and Azov region produced by James Bruce and Cornelis Cruys in connection with Peter I’s 1696 Azov campaign appear to mark the point at which cartographic work undertaken on Russian territory by specialists in Russian service began moving beyond the traditional chertezh mapping model and embraced the principles of the new Western European geodesic cartography. This was becoming possible through greater familiarization with Copernican cosmography and higher mathematics, the i