The first Soviet atlas of capitalist countries

Summary

This is an academic review of the Soviet Atlas of the USA, published in 1966. As the first comprehensive Soviet atlas of a capitalist country, it was produced by the Main Administration of Geodesy and Cartography in collaboration with several research institutes and the Geography Faculty of Moscow State University, involving over 50 scholars. The review notes that the atlas focuses primarily on socio-economic content, covering physical geography, population, industry, agriculture, economic regions, and foreign economic relations. Its overall quality is high, with particularly innovative maps on population density, transportation, and agriculture. However, the review also identifies several shortcomings, including insufficient general geographic maps, the absence of detailed city plans, unclear industrial classifications, and the failure to distinguish between aviation and rocket industries. The article concludes that the atlas represents a significant contribution to economic cartography and serves as a model for future national atlases, while recommending improvements for subsequent editions.