V. SUKHOV1)
SOVIET CARTOGRAPHY, ITS DEVELOPMENT AND
ORGANISATION 2)
In spite of the vast territory and the great number of cartographic enterprises, Soviet
cartography develops strictly according to a detailed plan. It is divided into field and
cameral small scale, Red.) cartography.
Field cartography is based on land surveying. Geodetic Operations and aerial photo
graphy provide the basis for mapping. Photographs from the air produce photographic
maps from wich aerogeodetical enterprises use to make the Originals of topographic maps.
Aerial photography has developed rapidly in a short time, and has replaced plane-
table surveying. The All-Union Volunteer Aviation Society, 'Dobrolet', was founded in
the USSR in 1923. The following year it organised an aerial photography department.
At first, aerial surveying was on a modest scale. Its first industrial survey was performed
in 1925 on an area of only four Square kilometres, near Mozhaisk, Subsequently, in con-
nection with the development of industry, transport and agriculture, aerial photography
began to develop rapidly and became the principal method of topographical surveying
and the basis of cartography. Aerial photography was widely used in engineering sur-
veys, remodelling of towns, construction of new railways, geological prospecting for
minerals, the study of forests, land management and development of new lands for
agriculture. Aerial photography has also become very important in scientific research,
especially in archaeology and ethnography.
Cameral cartography involves the making of maps from earlier publications instead
of from the material of aerial photography. Almost all big Soviet cities have their
cartographic enterprises which operate on the cameral principle and print a great quan-
tity of various purpose maps.
The Organisation of field and cameral cartographic enterprises is centralised. Maps
are made by many aerogeodetic enterprises and cartographic factories; most of them
are under the Central Administration of Geodesy and Cartography. Its branches pre-
pare the geodetic groundwork, and also compile and publish the principal types of topo
graphic, general geographic survey, and special maps and atlases. partial list in-
cludes topographic, general geographic, geological, tectonic, geophysical, hypsographical,
climatic, meteorological, pedological, Vegetation, ecological, economic, political, ad
ministrative, historical maps and Charts and aids for studying.
Before the October 1917 Socialist Revolution, only about 10 per cent of the coun-
try's territory had been surveyed topographically. An early task, therefore, was to make
modern topographical maps of the entire territory of the USSR. The old scales of
1 Professor V. Sukhov, D. Sc. (Techn.).
2 Noot van de sub-redactie. Enkele maanden geleden vestigde drs. J. DE Vries onze aandacht op
een aanbod van de Ambassade van de U.S.S.R. in Nederland om bijdragen van prominente geo-
grafen en kartografen uit de Sovjet-unie Over actuele onderwerpen uit deze wetenschappen in Ne-
derlandse tijdschriften te laten verschijnen. De sub-redactie is op dit aanbod ingegaan. Door de
vriendelijke medewerking van de heer de Vries, die de wetenschappelijke contacten op het terrein
van de geografie met de Sovjetrussische vakgenoten onderhoudt, kunnen thans als eersten, in cen
wellicht nog uit te breiden serie, een tweetal artikelen van de hand van Prof. Sukhov, geschreven
in de Engelse taal, in dit tijdschrift geplaatst worden. Namens de sub-redactie wordt hierbij gaarne
dank gebracht aan drs. DE Vries voor zijn bemiddeling.
K.N.A.G. LXXIX
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