Imperial Spatiality in Early Soviet Maps

Abstract

The Soviet Union did not consider itself a classical empire, and the current discourse argues that we need new approaches to studying such a peculiar case. However, many Soviet policies, processes and institutions are discussed through the imperial lens, and scholars apply colonial and post-colonial theory to address them. Among others, which applies to the “mastering” of Soviet space and landscapes, be that the actual construction strategies or the production of the imagery landscapes through the cultural representations. With this paper, we aim to discuss to which extent the production of Soviet spaces of the early Soviet time (the 1920s-1940s) could be considered imperial. The Soviet cartographic knowledge production was based on Soviet ideology and supported the politics of nations making, forced (re)settlements, and mastering territory. Maps and atlases were produced by a small group of professionals in the biggest cities, predominantly in the Russian language. Therefore, the system of Soviet cartographic production has been imposing specific views on the former Soviet Union from above, with little room for the embedment of alternative worldviews. In addition, the question of visual language arises. Which map elements allow us to analyze and interpret the imperial purposes of the maps? We propose to look at specific characteristics that scholars usually see as “imperial” in British or French cartography, such as the contents of maps, using specific visual language and data (see, e.g. Akerman, 2009). We want to analyze to which extent those can be traced in the early Soviet cartography with its strong influence in producing specific spatial “truths”. Therefore, we particularly aim to focus on some examples of geographical atlases produced in the 1920s to 1940s. With this paper, we want to open up the discussion about the “imperial” nature of the Soviet cartography, to which extent it contributed to the construction of the peripheries and “colonies” by the Soviet state and to define particular approaches in data selection and visual representation, which contribute to the production of this imperial spatial representations.