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  • Putin suggested to develop a new Russian Atlas of the World

    RTW May 6, 2018 | MEMRI

    « Today we are facing attempts to gradually remove from the world map Russian names given by our explorers and travellers in past centuries and decades. »

    https://www.memri.org/reports/russia-week-%E2%80%93-may-6-2018

    Putin: ’We Do Not Have The Right To Condone Or Ignore The Distortion Of Historical And Geographical Truth’

    Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired the tenth anniversary meeting of the Russian Geographical Society Board of Trustees. During the meeting, Putin complained of the “distortion” of the geographical truth on the world maps, and suggested to develop a new Russian Atlas of the World.

    Putin: "… In general, toponymics – names of geographical and other places – require special attention. Today we are facing attempts to gradually remove from the world map Russian names given by our explorers and travellers in past centuries and decades. Let me emphasize that this erases the memory of Russia’s contribution to the exploration of the planet and developments in science. This s particularly striking in the Antarctic where the names given by the discoverers of the continent Lazarev and Bellinshausen have almost ceased to exist.

    "Today very few people know that Borodino is the primordial, historical name of the island of Smith, that Snow is Maly Yaroslavets, Livingstone is Smolensk and so on. Meanwhile, we will celebrate the anniversary of the discovery of the Antarctic in 2020. This is the achievement of Russian seafarers. Examples of name substitution are not limited to the remote Antarctic, some are closer, but I will not dwell on them now.

    "All this is the result, among other things, of the lack of modern domestically made maps. Only foreign ones are in the public domain, and they generally provide secondary names of geographical sites. As such, it is proposed to develop a new Russian Atlas of the World involving the Russian Geographical Society, so that all such cases will be addressed properly.

    "We do not intend to impose anything on anyone, it is not necessary, but we do not have the right to condone or ignore the distortion of historical and geographical truth and justice in this case.

    “I would ask Rosreestr (Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography) to develop the atlas together with the Russian Geographical Society and the Defense Ministry, which – provided all necessary procedures are followed – should provide access to its cartographic materials for the atlas developers and for travellers, tourists and motorists, including via modern computer technologies. The classification label on many maps is clearly outdated and looks simply archaic.”

    #russie #poutine #géographie #toponymie #identité_nationale