For the plasscal and ecnnamec seonsapan of Khe CSSK “s+ THE SOV. Soviet atlases, world! athe as avd as Chose devoted to the USSK elf) hase attamat a alegre ot eartesraphig aavHence which ranks them amang the best in the wad There ans ao Amencan atlases comparable to them. nor are (here bhely soon to be, given the con- evpt of American publishers that an atlas as Ta oollection of maps ina volume! The ooutretuy Saviet concept hay been summarized Dy the noted Seviet qutegnap her ROA Sab shohow: Tan atlas is not __. just a grouping of varus goygraplic maps nar their mechanical assemblage. It is an antegral sytem of mips which are organically related and comph nent ove aither, a system that is governed by the purpose of the athiy aad the posuluanties of its use.” ? Ceneral Atlases of the USSR The best nations) athpoot the Soviet Union is currently the Aflas SSSR published in IGT lt as a cumprchendie cartographic study "Moore. WV. GC. A Dictumery of Gregvephy. (Baltumore: Penguin Books, 192 } *pansnenev, A. AL Urey aewerenmge (Ahmun. dadetei to HUA LD: vree—ehgskov Lateratum, 1999) Approved for Release _ | - . 37
The Soviet Atlas of the country and contains an excellent series of general regional maps covering the Soviet Union st scales up to 2:3,000,000. It has a physical geography section comprising various geologic, climatic, vegetational, and faunal maps and an cconomic Fedgraphy section wovenng such topics as industry.¢ agnculture, and transportation. There are also maps of the former twenty economic regions showing the distribution of different types of economic activitics within cach. The Sovicts have also published a number of regional atlases ewering particular political units. Both these and the Atlas SSSR contain a wealth of physical geographic information, both general and specific. The general maps du what is expected of them—show physical and cultural features and give place names, indicate relicf by shades of green ascending from sea level to shades of brown for higher elevation, give the highest elevations in each region in meters, and indicate water depth by descending shades of blue. But these ary backed up by a number of specific topical maps devoted to geology (the underlying strata, tectonics, and rock types), geomar- phology (terrain), climate, vegetation, soils, forests, zoogeography (types and distribution of fauna), and mineral extraction (distribution - of various mining activitics). Of the topical maps, those dicvoted to climate give the most com- prehensive coverage. The Affas SSSR lias cleven of them showing Cimate remons, solar radiation. orevailing wind direchons, seasanal air temperatures, average daily air temperature, frost-free penods, snow cover, precipitation, rediation balance, and seasonal air presrure and giving considerable detailed information in each of these categories. ; The economic section of Sovict atlases, either nationa) or regional, is broken down essentially into four topics—industry, agriculture, population, and transportation. The industrial maps have such thenies as fuel and clectro-energy production, ferrous and non-ferrous metal- lung, machine building and metal fabrication, chemical and petro- beim products, building materials, lumber and paper production, tight products manufacturing. and fod production. The agricultural mars show the location and specialization of state farms, the extent “As of this writing, the following regional atlases have been published: Ubraiman SSH." Belorussian SSM, Moldavian SSR, Georgian SSR. Armenian SSK, Ascrbaydzhan SSR: Uzbek SSR, Teelinnyy Krav, Karelian ASSR, Kustanas Oblast, Cehutsk Oblast. Kalinin Oblast, Lenmnerad Oblast, Moscow Oblast, Murmansk Obst, Smolensk Oblast, Vologds Oblast, and Yaroslav! Oblast. . :
- » Respectively Atlas Selskogo KAozyaystve SSSR, Zhcle renyye Dorogi § The Soviet Atlos of ploughed or tilled land, and the type and distribution of grain, livestock, and various other agricultural products. The population maps usualiy cover ethnography along with distribution and density. The transportation topic normally comprises not only roads and rail- roads but navigable rivets, canals, and major aw I>nes. Specialized Atlases Of the Soviet atlases entirely devoted to special topics, the best and most useful are perhaps the agricultural atlas, the railroad atlas, and the automobile road atlas.* The atlas of agriculture published in 1960, giving fuller coverage and more detailed information on Soviet agriculture than the national or regional atlases, is the most comprehensive and detailed one of its kind ever published. Its more than three hundred pages are broken down into nine sections under the following subject heads: introduction to Soviet agriculture, natural physical conditions, general agricultural characteristics, agricultural pattern including amount of arable land, livestock, agriculture in the Soviet republics, gross production of agricultural commodities, harvest yields for individu areas, and conclusions concerning Soviet agri- cultura! production compared with the rest of the world’s. Although its main value is to show the tvpe and distribution of Soviet agri- cultural ectivitics, it fe exrcllent for determining the agricultural petential of any region of the Union. The railroad atlas portrays the regional railway networks in the various parts of the country, including such information as the dis- tribution of facilities, traffic flow, cities and towns served, and the railway’s relationship with the physical environment. The automobile atlas gives corresponding information on roads. It distinguishes be tween primary and secondary roads but gives neither the kind of : surfacing nor the number of lanes on a road. : . : ard Alles Acromobiln kh hake: SSSR oad GUCK, 1960, 196S, and 1961. )
“—\ The Soviet Atlos BIBLIOGRAPHY KA Satubche., Osnccy Kartovedsnigc. Morkva: trtpteletwm Conrlericheskoy Literatury, 1959. Atlas SSSR. Moskva: GUCK, 1962. Atlas Mira. Moskva: CUCK, 1954. * Bofshoy Sovetskiy Atlas Miro. Moskva: Sovet Narodnykh Kourissarovt, 1939. Atlas BSSR (Belorussia). Moskva-Minsk: GUGK, 1958. Atlas Irkutskoy Oblast. Moskva-Irkusk: CUCK, 1962. . . Atlas Ukrainshoy SSR « Moldavekoy SSR. Moska: CUCK, 1962. Atlas Scl'skogo Khozyoystva SSSR. Moskva: CUCK, 1960. Fizsko-Geograficheskuy Atlas Mirs. Moskva: CUCK, 1964. .? Aslas Narodou Mire. Moskva: CUCK, 1964. lsturike-Etnogreficheskiy Atlas Sinn. Moskva-Leningrad: Izdatel'stvo Akademii - Nauk, 1961. 7 Atlas L'dov. Leningrad: GUCK, 1960. Atlas Actomobifnykh Dorog SSSR. Moskva: CUCK, 1961. “’ Zheleznyye Dorogi SSSR. Moskva: CUCK, 1965. z - ‘ z .
(Page 37) For the physical and economic geography of the USSR THE SOVIET ATLAS[ Excised] Soviet atlases, world atlases as well as those devoted to the USSR itself, have attained a degree of cartographic excellence which ranks them among the best in the world. There are no American atlases comparable to them, nor are there likely soon to be, given the con- cept of American publishers that an atlas is "a collection of maps in a volume." The contrasting Soviet concept has been summarized by the noted Soviet cartographer K.A. Salishchev: "An atlas is not just a grouping of various geographic maps nor their mechanical assemblage. It is an integral system of maps which are organically related and complement one another, a system that is governed by the purpose of the atlas and the peculiarities of its use." General atlases of the USSR The best national atlas of the Soviet Union is currently the Atlas SSSR published in 1962 It is a comprehensive cartographic study 37