National atlases: concepts, content, and experience in development

Summary

This article systematically summarizes the concepts, content, and development experience of national atlases, based on the long-term collaboration between the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences and geographers and cartographers of Cuba, Mongolia, and Vietnam. The authors first review nearly four decades of international cooperation: the first National Atlas of Cuba was produced in 1965–1970, receiving international acclaim and the USSR State Prize in 1973; work on the National Atlas of Mongolia began in 1976 jointly with Mongolian and Siberian scientists; and in the late 1980s new editions for Cuba and Vietnam were undertaken. The Soviet side contributed mainly to scientific concept design, coordination, methodological consulting, scientific editing, and specialist training. A working definition of the national atlas is proposed: it is a fundamental integrated cartographic work that treats the nation-state as a holistic entity, reflecting the complexity of its natural, historical, socioeconomic, and ethnocultural systems and the interaction of internal and external factors. For countries with limited geographic and cartographic study, several principles are suggested: the atlas should have broad thematic coverage oriented toward national economic and social planning; it should realistically portray the degree of integrated research on nature, resources, economy, population, and social factors; its structure should be flexible; and its creation should be organized as a special-purpose program uniting interdisciplinary, interdepartmental, and often international teams. The article further discusses the relationship between scale series and content, emphasizing that national atlases embody systems mapping and strengthen the integrating links among geography, cartography, and other sciences. Comparative analysis shows that the Mongolian and Vietnamese atlases have more modern structures, broader socioeconomic coverage, and a larger number of mapped subjects than the Cuban one, while their formats have become more compact. The authors conclude that national atlases can be created even under incomplete study of a territory and can serve as powerful stimuli for further research, the development of national scientific schools, and the formation of research teams. The inclusion of controversial or alternative maps is considered a viable option. Further improvement of national atlases is necessary to enhance their theoretical, practical, and ideological potential, as well as to promote international cooperation in geography and cartography.