Mongolia

В. Казакевич

This is a review of the 1934 Geographical Atlas of the Mongolian People's Republic, compiled by A.D. Simukov and published bilingually in Russian and Mongolian. The atlas contains 18 maps covering political, physical, administrative, ethnographic, and economic topics. The reviewer, V. Kazakevich, acknowledges the atlas's comprehensive and up-to-date content but focuses on criticizing its system of transcribing geographical names. He argues that the Russian transcription, based on the written Mongolian language, is flawed due to its complexity, artificiality, and disregard for actual pronunciation and dialectal variations. Specific errors are cited, and the author advocates for a transcription system more closely aligned with phonetic reality to enhance the atlas's practical utility.

Зоя Владимировна Карамышева

The article presents an overview of the compilation of the National Atlas of the Mongolian People's Republic, a collaborative project between the Academies of Sciences of the USSR and the MPR. The Atlas is designed as a comprehensive scientific reference synthesizing data on the country's nature, resources, population, and socio-economic achievements. The paper focuses on the principles and content of the vegetation maps within the Atlas, particularly the legend structure of the new 1:3,000,000 vegetation map. Based on the 1979 medium-scale map and significantly refined using recent data from joint biological expeditions, the new legend provides a more detailed representation of the altitudinal zonation, regional differentiation, and ecological features of Mongolia's vegetation.

Р. И. Злотин; С. В. Зонн; Д. А. Лилиенберг; Я. Г. Машбиц; А. И. Фадеев; В. П. Чичагов

The article summarizes the experience of cooperation between the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences and geographers and cartographers of Cuba, Mongolia, and Vietnam in creating national atlases of these countries. The scientific concept of the atlases, the integrity and coverage of their themes, the combination of fundamental character and practical orientation, structural features, and integration potential are analyzed. The authors propose a working definition of a national atlas as a fundamental comprehensive cartographic work reflecting a special object of mapping—the nation-state as an integral entity in all its systemic complexity and the interaction of internal and external factors and historical prerequisites of its existence and development. The thematic structure of national atlases is examined in detail, noting that they should include main sections such as introductory, general geographical, historical-revolutionary, nature and natural resources, population, settlement, economy, socio-economic development, and social infrastructure. Based on the experience of creating four national atlases (totaling over 1,400 thematic maps), the authors formulate a series of principles for developing such atlases for countries with insufficient geographical and cartographic study, including: breadth of thematic coverage, reflection of the country's resource-ecological, socio-economic, and ethno-cultural specifics, provision of a realistic picture of the degree of comprehensive study, development of a flexible structure, and implementation as a special targeted program. The scale series of the atlases are analyzed. The systemic nature and integration potential of national atlases are emphasized, as they embody the most important features of comprehensive mapping, elevating it to the level of systemic cartography. In conclusion, the authors stress that national atlases can serve as an effective tool for sectoral and regional planning, as a summary of materials on the study of a country's territory, and can accelerate research when the territory is insufficiently studied, promoting the development of national scientific schools and the consolidation of research teams.

R. I. Zlotin; S. V. Zonn; D. A. Liliyenberg; Ya. G. Mashbits; A. I. Fadeyev; V. P. Chichagov

This article summarizes the experience gained from collaboration between the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences and geographers and cartographers of Cuba, Mongolia, and Vietnam in the creation of national atlases for these countries. The scientific concepts embodied in the atlases are analyzed, as well as the interrelationships and scope of topics, the combination of scientific and practical directions, and characteristics of their organization. Translated from: Izvestlya Akademli Nauk SSSR, serlya geograficheskaya, 1988, No. 3, pp. 31-38 by Jay K. Mitchell, PlanEcon, Inc., Washington, DC 20005. At the current stage of world development and intensification of the global problems of mankind, the role of the system of geographical sciences increases in their recognition and solution. The study of natural resources, population, the economy, settlement, and social and ethnocultural factors requires improvement in traditional geographic and cartographic methods of research and geographic information and the development of new ones. Among the latter, the importance of complex mapping is increasing. Indeed, thematic maps and atlases represent an effective tool in the accumulation, analysis, and multipurpose use of diverse information of different scales. They are necessary in the organization and performance of complex regional research, sectoral and territorial planning, and the management of socioeconomic development. National atlases occupy a special place among complex cartographic works. They comprise an important class of basic scientific works devoted to the systematic characterization of a state (country) and of interaction of internal and external factors of its development. At the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the development of national atlases in conjunction with scientists of the socialist countries has a nearly fortyyear history. In 1965-1970, the first National Atlas of Cuba was prepared by Soviet and Cuban scientists, and received the critical acclaim of the international scientific community (more than 50 reviews) and in 1973 was awarded the State Prize of the USSR. In 1976, jointly with Mongolian scientists and scientists of the Institute of Geography of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the scientific concept and schedule of work were determined for The National Atlas of Mongolia, which will appear in print in 1989. In the late 1980s a new National Atlas of Cuba and National Atlas of Vietnam will be published. Scientists of the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences are also participating in their creation. Analysis of experience accumulated during creation of the four national atlases, including international collaboration in the design, compilation, and scientific editing of these works is of undoubted scientific and practical interest.

Я. Г. Машбиц

This review examines the monograph 'National Atlas of the Mongolian People's Republic' (1989), prepared by the Institute of Geography of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences in collaboration with Mongolian and Soviet scholars. The book systematically presents the theoretical foundations and scientific content of national atlases, covering thematic mapping methods from geology and climate to population, economy, and social infrastructure. Approximately half of the volume addresses natural resources and environmental mapping, while the remainder focuses on the spatial representation of demographic, economic, and social phenomena. The reviewer concludes that the monograph demonstrates the Soviet priority in developing scientific concepts for comprehensive atlases, offering both academic depth and practical utility for regional geographic and thematic cartographic research.

Ю. П. Михайлов

This article reviews the National Atlas of the Mongolian People's Republic, published in 1992, as a significant scientific achievement. Created through collaboration between Mongolian and Soviet scholars, the atlas aims to comprehensively represent Mongolia's natural conditions, resource potential, and socio-economic status. The article details the atlas structure: the first part contains 148 physical maps covering relief, climate, hydrology, soils, vegetation, and fauna; the second part includes 128 socio-economic maps on population, agriculture, industry, transport, and infrastructure. While acknowledging the atlas's overall value, the author identifies shortcomings in certain maps regarding cartographic methods, content expression, and information presentation, offering suggestions for improvement. Overall, the atlas represents a major contribution to geographical science and thematic cartography.

Ц. Наранцацрал; Б. Сайнбуян; М. Уртнасан; Р. Болдбаяр

This article reviews the compilation and renewal of the 'National Atlas of Mongolia', one of the most significant achievements of the Institute of Geography and Geoecology on its 60th anniversary. Three editions of the atlas were published in 1990, 2009, and 2022, in Mongolian, Russian, and English. The paper provides a detailed comparison of these editions regarding their size, contributors, production time, content structure, cartographic techniques, projection systems, and data sources. The analysis reveals an evolution from the first edition, which took over a decade and involved hundreds of scholars using traditional methods, to the second edition completed within a year using GIS technology, and finally to the third edition, which incorporates digital elevation models, the UTM projection, and the latest statistical data. This progression reflects the advancement of Mongolia's cartographic science from traditional to modern, digital approaches, continuously optimizing the atlas to serve national development needs more comprehensively and accurately.