А. Аминов; З. Акрамов; Т. Мирзалиев · 1970
This article reviews the Comprehensive Atlas of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, published in 1968, and assesses its content, scholarly value, and limitations. Designed as a scientific reference work, the atlas comprises 200 pages and 179 maps covering geographical setting, natural conditions and resources, population, the economy, culture, science, health care, and history. The review emphasizes the exceptional breadth of the natural-resources section, particularly its original maps of neotectonics, paleogeography, glaciation, seismic zoning, mineral resources, climate, phenology, and hydrology. Economic maps document industrialization, agricultural specialization, irrigation infrastructure, transport, and interregional trade, while demographic and cultural materials illustrate changes in population, education, and public health during the Soviet period. The atlas is praised for integrating maps with explanatory texts, diagrams, profiles, tables, and other visual materials, thereby making previously dispersed knowledge about Tajikistan accessible to researchers, universities, planners, and general readers. Nevertheless, the reviewer identifies several omissions: agro-soil, agrochemical, geobotanical, and zoogeographical regionalization maps are lacking; agricultural land use, fertilizer application, production costs, and crop yields receive insufficient coverage; and economic change over time is only weakly represented. Some illustrations, color choices, and zoological maps are also considered technically inadequate. Despite these shortcomings, the atlas is judged to be the first comprehensive regional atlas of an Asian Soviet republic and a major achievement of Tajik geographical and economic scholarship, with substantial value for education, research, resource development, and future territorial planning.
