Professor Konstantin Alekseevich Salishchev as a historian of science

Summary

This article examines Professor Konstantin A. Salishchev (1905–1988) as a historian of science and assesses his contribution to cartographic theory, the history of cartography, and atlas mapping. Drawing on his biography, major publications, archival research, teaching, and international activities, the authors trace the formation of his scholarly approach from early topographic work in the Soviet Far North to his professorships at the Moscow Institute of Geodesy and Cartography and Moscow State University. Influenced by Yuly Shokalsky and Feodosy Krasovsky, Salishchev developed an original theory of the cartographic method of cognition, grounded in the historical study of maps and their role in society. His foundational textbooks linked advances in mapmaking with developments in natural science and technology, characterized maps as an ancient form of writing, proposed a clear periodization of cartographic history, and demonstrated the close interaction between geography and cartography. He also emphasized Russian and Soviet contributions to global cartographic science. His work on atlas cartography included participation in the Great Soviet Atlas, a national program for interconnected atlases and thematic maps, and the discovery of important historical atlases in archives. Salishchev’s scholarship influenced foreign historians and was reinforced by his leadership in the International Cartographic Association. The article concludes that his historical investigations enabled broad theoretical generalizations and established him as a founder of the cartographic method of cognition, demonstrating the importance of the history of maps for understanding cartography as both a scientific discipline and a major instrument of social knowledge.