Mapping Russia

Map collecting is a great hobby. It allows collectors wide latitude in the amount of time and money they can devote to their collections. But, unlike paintings, coins or other historic artifacts, maps are still a relative bargain. They also have the added benefit of being easy to frame and display, so as to share with friends and families. 

The mapping of Russia, like the mapping of most of the world, is a relatively young science. While there are maps over 1000 years old, the real birth of the age of mapping came only 500 years ago, with the invention of the printing press. Maps from this era were primarily utilitarian tools created to further the efforts of nations in discovering, exploring, trading with and, at times, conquering new lands. In the case of Russia, many of these maps were created by Westerners seeking to find faster, more efficient routes through Russia to Persia and the Far East. In later years, the incentive of commerce with the East was eclipsed by the lure of Siberia and the New World, as Russia and other nations sought new routes to North America and the riches it held. 

Throughout much of the early era of Russian mapping, it is notable that non-Russian cartographers produced virtually all of the maps of Russia. While scholars acknowledge a Tsarist “mother map” that likely served as the basis for many of the earliest maps of Russia, there simply was not a map-making tradition in Russia before the mid-1700’s. 

This all changed with Peter the Great. Starting with his reign, and carried on by the tsars who followed, especially Catherine the Great, significant efforts were made to bring Russia more into the mold of a European country – culturally, militarily and scientifically. In the realm of map making, this was reflected in large-scale projects to comprehensively survey the entire Russian realm, to chart Russia’s expansion across Siberia and to delineate Russia’s growing role in the Caucasus and beyond the Caspian Sea to China. 

Initially, foreign cartographers directed most of the mapping work of Russians in the Imperial Academy of Sciences. The most important of these was Joseph Nicolas De L’Isle, whose work with Russian cartographers, including Ivan Kirilov, culminated in the first systematic Russian effort at mapping their country, “The Atlas Russicus,” published in 1745. Following this great work, Russian cartographers joined the ranks of world-class mapmakers.

The earliest collectable maps of Russia are derived from ancient maps credited to the Greek astronomer and mapmaker, Ptolemy. In Tabula Asiae II (1540), by Sebastian Munster, we see a typical Ptolemaic map with several interesting elements of cartographic myth regarding Russia. In the North are the Hyperborean mountains, which the ancients believed extended across the top of Europe. Beyond these mountains, the Hyperboreans were believed to live in a Utopian world, “beyond the North Wind,” blessed with a perfect climate and protected by the god Apollo. Similarly, the regions of Scythia and Sarmatia – visible on this map – have their roots in mythology. One legend is that, while Hercules was traveling through the region of Scythia, his cattle were stolen by a creature that was half-woman and half-monster. In order to get the cattle back, Hercules had to sleep with the creature. From that union Scythes, the first king of the Scythians, was born. Similarly, the Sarmatians were said to be the offspring of escaped Amazons who migrated to present-day Georgia and there mated with Scythians. Their children were called Sarmatians. Finally, Colchis (present day Western Georgia) should be familiar as the site of the famous Greek legend of Jason and the Argonauts, and the quest for the Golden Fleece. 

The most sought after early modern map of Russia is the 1570 Russia, Muscovy, And Tartary, included in Abraham Ortelius’ Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, widely considered one of the first atlases of the world. Based on a map produced by the English explorer Anthony Jenkinson (who traveled to Russia to open a trade route to Persia and the Far East in 1557), the Ortelius map is a marvelous collection of new knowledge and speculation, all beautifully presented. Russian explorers had gone no further than the Ob River when this map was made; so eastern information stops there. This map can be seen in the Historical Museum on Red Square, as you first walk into the permanent exhibit.

John Speed’s Map of Russia is copied from a map first published about 1613, by Hessell Gerritz. Gerritz’s map is based on information gathered by Isaac Massa, a Dutch traveler to Russia in the early 1600’s. Notably, on this map, the future site of St. Petersburg is part of “Sweadland”; the Near and Far East are “Part of Tartary”; in the South, an allegorical wall is drawn from the Volga to the Dnieper, representing Russia’s attempt to keep the Crimean Tatars at bay. (The term “Tartary” translates to “Kingdom of the Great Khan,” referring to the Mongol empire established by Genghis Khan).

From 1800 onward, maps are usually considered to be “contemporary.” They present geographical knowledge accurate to this day and, because they were mass-produced, are more available to collectors than maps from earlier eras. Mapmaker John Tallis’ atlases appeared throughout the middle of the 19th century and are very popular – in large part because they include beautiful vignettes of the people, cities, flora and fauna of the regions represented. 

The firm of Braun and Hogenberg produced this 1570 map of Moscow as part of the Civitates Orbis Terrarum (Atlas of Cities of the World), considered a companion volume to Ortelius’ Theatrum. It shows the major buildings of early Moscow as well as several decorative representations of Muscovites; soldiers on horseback, horse-drawn sledges on the Moscow River and pedestrians on the streets of the city. 

This 1730 Map of St. Petersburg, by Ion Baptiste Homann, is from an atlas by the famous Homann family and has the distinction of being one of the earliest maps of St. Petersburg available to collectors. During the 300th Anniversary celebrations in St. Petersburg, this map was reproduced all over the city on posters and even on special commemorative envelopes.

REFERENCES FOR COLLECTORS

While this article is by no means an exhaustive survey of historic maps of Russia, it should give aspiring collectors an idea of the kinds of maps available. Other popular maps are those documenting the history of Siberian exploration, Russian America and expansion through the “Five Stans” (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan). Prices for maps shown in this article range from $50 to $5,000, including some maps from the mid-1500’s still on offer for under $100.

BOOKS

• Collecting Old Maps, by F,J. Manasek, Terra Nova Press
• A History of Russian Cartography, by Leo Bagrow – edited by Henry Castner (Walker Press). This is the bible for collectors of Russian maps. Out of print but available on the internet.
• Russia in Maps: A History of Geographical Exploration and Mapping of the Country, by Alexei Postnikov. A Cultural Heritage/Russian Museum Publication. ISBN – 5-89136-001-2 A well-written history of the mapping or Russia with beautiful illustrations. This book is difficult to find.

WEB SITES

• Barry Ruderman – map dealer
• Jonathan Potter – map dealer
• Heritage Map Museum – Auction and sales site
• Map dealer
• Cartographica Netherlands
• Postaprint, a very good site for inexpensive maps.