Bol’shoy sovetskiy atlas mira

Summary

This article examines the compilation, contents, wartime fate, and lasting influence of the Bol’shoy sovetskiy atlas mira. Prepared by a specialized scientific publishing institute with leading Soviet geographers and cartographers, its two published volumes (1937–40) integrated physical, socioeconomic, political, historical, and general geographical mapping of the world and the USSR. The atlas received international acclaim for its comprehensiveness, scientific rigor, precision, design, and color printing. During World War II, however, its detailed information was portrayed as a security risk, prompting censorship, destruction or withdrawal of maps, and the removal of sensitive economic data; the planned third volume was abandoned. Despite these restrictions, the BSAM profoundly shaped Soviet and Russian cartographic science, education, production, thematic atlas design, and institutional practice. Its standards of accuracy, editorial supervision, compilation, and proofreading remained influential into the twenty-first century.