HOW DID GERARD MERKATOR, FEDOR GODUNOV AND POST RIDERS INTRODUCE THE MEZEN RIVER?
Silver Taiga GIS-specialist Alexander Borovlev told about it to the readers of the Komi National Library on 7 April under the regional natural history lecturers organized by the National Library. Alexander presented the history of mapping development in details.
For the first time the Mezen River was presented on the map in 1551 by Austrian diplomat Siegmund Freiherr von Herberstein who visited Russia twice during the research expeditions. The general lines of the Mezen River coincide with its real stream way.
After Siegmund Freiherr von Herberstein the Mezen River appeared in the works of Gerard Merkator. In 1606 he published the Atlas of the European part of Russia. Besides the Mezen River other northern rivers are figured there as well. Landscape lines presented by Merkator are very close to the modern maps.
Audience of the lecture
In 1614 the czarevitch (an heir apparent of a Russian czar) Fedor Godunov prepared the map of the Russian Empire оn the basis of Merkator’s map.
In 1792 the Atlas of Russia appeared. It shows an administrative arrangement of the Russian Empire. The Mezen River is clearly drawn in this Atlas.
In 1871 Russian two-star general Alexei Iljin published the second Atlas of the Russian Empire. It does not differ from the modern maps. The rivers and the regions are presented in a good quality. The Mezen River is presented with its tributaries already.
In 1872 the postal map appeared in Russia. It clearly shows a postal line along the Mezen River.
A pictorial map of Russia was published in 1896. It reveals the fields of work of the population. According to this map, people along the Mezen River were busy with hunting and logging.
According to Alexander Borovlev another stage of the mapping development is the period of the Cold War. In 1979 the American army launched Corona satellite to get the detailed information about the potential enemies. At that time the Bulgarian loggers worked in Udora district of Komi and the Corona map clearly shows the volume of their loggings.
The representatives of the library prepared the exhibition of the printed publicity material about Mezen and Udora district of Komi.
The printed publicity material
