Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Collection of 18th-century
maps of the Russian empire
Inscribed 1997
What are they
Maps and town plans that record the growth of the
Russian empire in the 18th century.
Why were they inscribed
These maps provide physical representations of the
dramatic changes in the size of the Russian empire.
Where are they
Russian State Library, Moscow, Russia
From the late 16th century, Russian fur traders travelled
east into Siberia, finally reaching the Pacific coast in 1639.
A network of forts soon established control over the
whole of Siberia. In the 18th century, Russia expanded
to the west along the Baltic coast and into Belarus and
south to Crimea and then reaching Georgia at the start
260 Collection of 18th-century maps of the Russian empire
of the 19th century. Landmarks in this expansion included
the establishment of St Petersburg, on the Baltic coast,
by Peter the Great in 1703, the conquest of much of the
northern coast of the Black Sea and the establishment
of Odessa in 1794 by Catherine the Great. These changes
gave Russia direct access to the Baltic and the Black Sea
and stimulated Russian trade with northern Europe and
with Mediterranean countries.
These great territorial expansions prompted many
geographical explorations and related cartographic work
that greatly broadened knowledge not only of the interior
of the country but also of the northern coast of Asia,
the Far East, the Pacific coast and across the Bering
Strait to Alaska. The maps in this collection recorded
and formalized this new empire. To accompany these
major maps there is a collection of hand-drawn and
printed town maps dating from the second half of the
18th century to the beginning of the 19th century. These
maps are of great value in recording the growth of urban
settlements throughout Russia and provide invaluable
information on the economic growth of the Russian