Kazakhstan哈萨克斯坦

Curatorial Note

The cartographic tradition of Kazakhstan is deeply rooted in the Soviet era, when the republic’s vast territory and diverse natural resources demanded systematic mapping. The earliest holdings here, the two-volume Atlas of the Kazakh SSR (1982 and 1985), were produced under the Main Administration of Geodesy and Cartography of the USSR Council of Ministers. These works set a precedent for comprehensive, thematic national atlases, covering natural conditions and resources in the first volume, and socio-economic conditions and history in the second. Following independence, the Republic of Kazakhstan undertook a major national project to update and expand this legacy. In 2010, the National Atlas of the Republic of Kazakhstan was published in three volumes—Natural Conditions and Resources, Socio-Economic Development, and Environment and Ecology—with parallel editions issued by the Institute of Geography. This new atlas series reflects a shift from Soviet central planning to a sovereign state’s need for integrated environmental and socio-economic data. The 2010 atlas stands as a landmark achievement, bridging Soviet cartographic rigor with modern national identity, and remains a vital reference for policy-making, education, and scientific research in Central Asia.