The first Soviet atlas of capitalist countries

Summary

This paper reviews the first Soviet comprehensive atlas of a capitalist country—the *Atlas of the United States*. Created through collaboration among the Main Administration of Geodesy and Cartography (GUGK), several research institutes, and Moscow State University’s Faculty of Geography, the atlas involved over fifty specialists. It presents detailed thematic maps of population distribution and density, industry, agriculture, transportation, external economic relations, unemployment, and immigration, drawing primarily on U.S. statistical sources from 1962–1964. The analysis highlights the atlas’s innovative cartographic approaches, such as displaying urbanized areas, differentiating rural farm and non-farm population, depicting freight flows on a uniform scale, and using concentric rings for industrial centers. At the same time, the paper identifies notable shortcomings: the absence of cultural, historical, and larger-scale city maps (only New York and Washington are represented), ambiguous classification of transport machinery and aviation-rocket industries, incomplete structural data for some economic regions, and insufficient representation of low-density population areas. Recommendations for future editions include incorporating typological city maps, distinguishing between aviation and rocket manufacturing, and ensuring greater consistency in data presentation. Overall, the atlas is assessed as a substantial and well-executed contribution to economic cartography, combining academic depth with accessibility. It effectively serves educational and research purposes and provides a valuable model for the preparation of regional atlases in the future.