Historical Geography Journal ISSN 2782-6511 (Print) | ISSN 3034-5286 (Online)

Temurmalik K. Kholmatov
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Russian State University for the Humanities; National Research University “Higher School of Economics” (Russia, Moscow)
ORCID: 0000-0002-2975-1647
E-mail: timur.kholmatoff@yandex.ru

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UDC 001.891
DOI: 10.58529/2782-6511-2026-5-2-6-17

ABSTRACT. The paper reconstructs the organizational structure of the Scientific Council of the USSR Academy of Sciences on Historical Geography and Cartography from the time of its creation until its reorganization in 1984. Emphasis is laid on identifying its composition and circumstances of the creation. Special attention is paid to the institutional transformations in the council’s structure in the first half of the 1980s, which were caused by the growing academic interest in historical demography. The study is also focused on the characteristics of the main activities of the council. They were associated with the preparation of the USSR historical atlas and other major publications (including collections of historical sources), scientific events on historical geography and related fields of knowledge, the development of standards for the borders of Russia, as well as with assistance to various departments in publishing maps designed for a wide audience. The research is based on documentation sources (mainly report documents and protocols of scientific meetings from the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Scientific Archive of the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences). It also draws upon the published overviews in the Soviet scientific periodicals on the council’s activities and the events organized by this scientific advisory body, as well as the researches prepared by its members.

KEYWORDS: Academy of Sciences, scientific council, historical geography, historical cartography, historical demography, coordination of scientific research, historical atlas of the USSR

For citation: Kholmatov T. K. [The Scientific Council of the USSR Academy of Sciences on Historical Geography and Cartography: Composition and Main Areas of Activity in 1968–1984]. Istorikogeograficheskiy zhurnal [Historical Geography Journal], 2026, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 6–17. DOI: 10.58529/2782-6511-2026-5-2-6-17 (In Russian).

Received 16 February 2026
Accepted 28 May 2026

© 2026 The Author

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