The first volume of the Great Soviet World Atlas.

Summary

This article reviews the significance of the first volume of the Great Soviet Atlas of the World, emphasizing that it reflects not only two decades of progress in Soviet geography and cartography but also advances in other scientific fields. It focuses on Lenin's directives in 1921 regarding the compilation of a Soviet geographic atlas, highlighting his insistence that the atlas fully represent the political-administrative divisions of the Soviet state, incorporate historical perspective, and broadly cover the era of imperialism, while also criticizing cartographic shortcomings. Special attention is given to Lenin's letter to M. Pavlovich, which proposed a series of imperialist maps—covering colonial possessions in 1876, 1914, and 1921, financial dependency, railway ownership by capital, and sources of raw materials—all organically linked to Lenin's theory of imperialism. The article concludes that Lenin's instructions provided the methodological foundation for the Soviet atlas.