THIRD CONGRESS OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP63-00314R000100330001-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 23
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 6, 2000
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 11, 1960
• Content Type: DISP

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PR1LRf~ t (Security C1as q'iicatton)
FOREIGN SERVICE DESPATCH
DO NOT YPE N THIS SPAC
-' q -t aatemits as enclosures to this despateh a report Oft the
of the Geo ranhical Society of the TJ$SIt (January 30-February' 7,, 1 )
exchange student who attended the meetings,, in aMition To fcreiga
` t attend n M atcknovledge the InVUSUcae
OWLW*d are a ~ list of Soviet geo?raphere 1&o attd a 7e
>a the representative of the associattcm or A.p4ericam
t. us 0 it sn. of the National Comittes of Soviet Geo
a3~sgsti the
,a-ee exchangee of Scientific Geogr c
~R,,~y~ ~/~ } ~ %~(.
listed ,n Table of C=twntee9
State Dept. declassification & release instructions on file
be Mrd Co s of tate Geogr 4 S0*UW., W
2 .. = rreesiona b r a Forieiga Geographer et
Persons Xet' in Kiev, Third Con reee of tlh*f .
'bf the USE, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 1960?
ear a T! ra use"
amw on Train fr< Kiev to
.the the Geograp2 cal S061617 of the ? (Fsb- 8-7, lam)0
oviet anbers met in iiev P ev%M lsr
KUMA,
* I)isou :eicne on Ibcchanse of Scientific Geoaraphic Delegatiwi' A
the 1,01 ~ ~ a&cl
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d .smxoi.on periods of four to five hours eachj,. I which about fifty sons awl*
Imager or shorr comments on the papers,, the topic, or related subjects. Attend-
abee at plenary sessions was about six hundred, at sectional discussion meetings
fifty to two hundred. I
In a somewhat lighter vein were a series of five popular lectures by Soviet
geographers on countries recently visited, five general amounts of geographic
expeditions, and a number of geographic films e
A remarkable feature of the meetings was a series of forty-five exhibits,.-
which p raged in great detail the activities ano publications of the society,, of
its mwv widely distributed baranahess and also of other lending centers of geograpMa
researoha, such as the Institute of Geography of the Aca d of Sciences of the
and the" Geography Faculty of Moscow University.m Particularly impressive was one
display of about six hundred recent books and monographs -on the physical and
ecoa oode eogrsplay of the Soviet Union and its constituent regions. These books
arranged l - topic and b' region revealed dramatically the tremendous wealth of
Russian geographical material now available on the Soviet Union.
The present officers were re'eieeted for new five-year terms. E. N. PAV VSJCII,
President S. V. Xaleenike vice pre, dent; and, I. P. Gearateimbv, vice president. It
is anticipated that the next congress will be held five years hence,
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OFFB IAL ' USE QUIZ
(Classification)
I was favorably impressed by the followings
7
(1) The organisation of the caterence aroundleix major them or problems
of broad scientific and practical importance.
(2) The careful preparation of papers of broad scope and their publication
in advance of the congress. us delegates or guests had. the opportunity to read
before the Congress the paper of particular terest to them, or to reread such
papers during the meeti.npe in,the light of th evolving discussion.
(3) The wide democratic participation; in the congress. For exam le, in the
discussion of the papers on ti economic regionalization of the Soviet Union 36
different geographers particij#ted Chile I waq present (and unfortunately I missed
part. of the discussionThe came from Irkutsk., Perm, Syktyvkar, Alma Ata,, .
Frame, Baku, Erevan, Tbilisi Roston-on4l)on, Odessa, Lgvov,F Kharkorv, Riga, and
Voronesh, as well as from Kiev, Leningrad, and Moscow. Foreign guests from Warssa a,
Praha, Budapest, Sofiia, and Chicago also participated in these same discussions.
() The wealth and interest of the exhibitions. About 15 different exhibits
prepared by the filiali and otde+li of the society and by other research or educaw
do al institutions presented in rich detail the important scientific work and.
publications of geographic centers spread across the broad expanses of the Soviet
Union. I was also deeply impressed by the exhibit of about six hundred books on
the geography of the Soviet'Union and its various regions. Certainly there is a
great literature available to the teacher. and student of geography of the Soviet
Unions
(5) The increasing international role of Soviet geographers, as reported by
Academician I. P. Gerasimov in the opening session of the Congress. Tn the five
years since the 2nd Congress of the Osographical Society"-of the USSR 3n M080(4 in
1955, Soviet geographers have attended international conferences in m countries
and have travelled widely. At the same time marW geographers from other lands have
enjoyed the hospitality of the Soviet Union. The USSR has become a member of the
International Geographical Union, has established a national committee of Soviet
geographers, and now participates in the work of several of the commissions of the
International Geographical Union. I was interested particularly in the growing
international ties of Soviet geography as evidenced by the participation in the
Congress of guests from three EMlishmspeaking countries: gland, Ca n da$ and
the United States.
(6) The widespread activity of the Society as reported by Vice-president
S. V. ICalesnik at the opening session. A society of ten thousand members with
325 fil.iala a otdeli,, and podotdeli is a potierful instrument for the discovery and
divination of geographical know*ledge.
Initially the following features of the Congress struck me less favorably:
(1) The paucity of concrete materials Speakers tended to talk about their
ork rather than present the work itself. .his characteristic was perhaps partly
nherent in the organization of the Congress around broad general theses with die-
uaeione of rrenersi1 dir t rn4 in tahi!!h xte!ieani~ f'~ioq w 4r ipp +v=w~r~iit'rs rn~. she?a7ri
Sge - t
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Estcn kt.i filial. Ishega ik Setonskogo Geografich. o-va, 1957 (1957), 1958 (.1959)-
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1 SSJ DISCU83 MD M e SL - ' RMISWOAU OF E
AS -UCIA?I:xN O Air GEOGRAROM AND THE VRA OF THE
NATIOKAL CC I EE OF SOVIET GECKII PHERS, ACADEMICIAN 1. P. " L SDIO ,
C THE M= MM OF SCI iTIFIiC GEOGRAP C DZIMTIOS BETWM
T SOVIET UNION AND THE UNITED STLTES
At the beginning of discussions both sides aged an the following!
1. The discussion is based on point S of section 11 of the Soviet-Aaft'lem
a agreement on exchanges in scientific,, technical, . cultural fields for 1964-1?61
concluded an November 21, 1959e "Both parties agree to provide for an exchange of
delegations of geographers of four to six persons for three to four weeks, with a
program to 'e agreed upon by appropriate organ # ations.
2. An exchange of 3 geographic delegation s wi l be sponsored by the Acad ew
of Sciences of the USSR and 1 the Association of American Geographers.
3. Academician I.P. Geraaimair will be respons ib2s for making arrangements
an the Soviet aide and Professor Chauncey D. Harris can the American side.
. Delegations shall consist of six members from each country, The
following specialties: may be represented: ~phyysice3 geoVaV4 (for gds'
01 clmatalo oir and bi o eo
cartograpbya
5o The period of visit of each: d gatibn AW-be four went.
II. The ' American side proposes to arrange visits in the United States to the
following types of establis1m ntsa
a. Centers of geographic reserct and training in universities or research
institutes (for eranp .eg American . Geographical Society in New, Zo rkp. depart is of
geography in selected'universities such as the University o 'C'hicago," University of
Wisconsin,, University of Utah, or Syracuse University, the Department of Geology of
Colauab&a University).
b. Government departments utilizing geographic research (for exealplos,
Weather Bureau, Department of the Interior for the Geological SwrvWs Department
of Agriculture for questions of the study and conservation of soils, Qttice of
Land Management, Forest Service, Division of Geography of the Bureau of the C?naue
in the Department of Co `ce, Area Development Crf'ice of the Department of Commerce,
National Park Serti i.ce, Coast and Geodetic Survey, Map Division In the LI rary of
Congress
c. Regional projects for the ut-f.lz ati on of naturaal resources (for a 1e,
irrigation projects in Utah or Colorado, water management in - the Tennessee Valley
Authority, new residential developments in New York City or Shicago),
da National parksp two or three as convenient in the itinerary,
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jj&jW into at otl' the above -mentioned prapoeaia.
The qnvi et side
Ili
,
.
of the American side, sug geets for cc iderati(n the a3lag plan for analogous
arrangementaa
a. Centers of geographic research 3n universities or research institutes
(for ,examples the Geographical Softy of the t in grad and its Moscow
branch; Institute of Geography of the AcadeaV of Sciences of the '-USS 't; Faculties
off' geography in the universities in Moscow,. tingrrad, Tbi)isi, and Tashkent,
Museum of Earth Sciences in Moscow Universit Seientifie-Research Institute of
the Arctic- and Antarctic 'in Leningrad; Main Geoophys14a1 Observatory).
bo State establishments utiliA ng geographic research (for example, SOP6,
the Council for the S of Productive P4arce Acades y of Sciences of the ~;
l4ain : state hI'll ydrometeorological service; VEIL, - Lenin A11 Union Acadee y . of
Agricultural Sciences; fib, Main office of geodesy and cartography).
c. Regional projects for the utilization of natural resources (for -eraample,
state farms or collective farms of suburban rpe, grain-productic* cottoo duction,
and of subtropical crops; one of" the , Volga power stations and .large hydraulic con-
struction project; new urban cons tructio and planning in Moscow and other cities. )
d. National parks, two or threes as convenient in the itinerary.
V. For the anplislnt of this program, the Soviet side considers as
suitable the organization of the itinerary for the American delegation in the ' U
amounting to about 30,000 kilaaetere (bf air, automobile, boat, and taraia) along
the following liners
1. Moscow. Visits to scientific and state establishments and institutions
of higher. learning; urban construction) ti: '! y;' bmrben farsing
2. Leningrad. Visits to research institutions and. instit3utions of higher
learn5ng. Ir stry.
3. Moscow=Yalta by car. Visits of state and collective fang visits of
national parks; observation of the geographical landscape.
b. Yalta-Sochi by boat.
5. Sochi.Sukhumi by car. Visit of state farms and.collective farms,
resorts, and parrks, observation of the geographical lands*",,
6. Sukinzii-Tbilisi by train.
7o Tbilisi o Visit of scientific establishments and institutions of
higher learning.
8. Tbilisi-Tashkent by air.
t~T_ashkent. Visits of scientific and educational institutions, and also
~S ate and collective farms*
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