TWO NEW MAPS OF THE U.S.S.R.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-01617A002600050001-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 5, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: July 1, 1948
• Content Type: REPORT

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FOR TYF C9I~;?,-"In L-: t
TWO NEW MAPS
OF THE U.S.S.R.
M-5
Published July, 1948 -
L.i!p-/2?
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
fA
 This document contains information affecting the na-
tional defense of the United States within the meaning
'of the Espionage Act, 50 U.S.C_ 31 and 32, as amended.
Its transmission or the revelation of its contents in any
manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
 1. Reports issued in the M-aeries generally pertain to territorial
questions, geographic intelligence, evaluation of available map informa-
tion and technical intelligence on mapping in foreign areas.
2. This copy of this publication is for the information and use of
the recipient designated on the front cover and of individuals under the
jurisdiction of the recipient's office who require the information for
the performance of their official duties. Further dissemination else-
where in the department to other offices which requires the information
for the performance of official duties may be authorized by the following:
a. Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Research
and Intelligence, for the Department of State
b. Director of Intelligence, CS, USA, for the Department
of the Army
d. Director of Intelligence, USAF, for the Department of
the Air Force
e. Director of Security and Intelligence, AEC, for the Atomic
Energy Commission
f. Deputy Director for Intelligence, Joint Staff, for the
Joint Staff
g. Assistant Director for Collection and Dissemination, CIA
for any other Department or Agency
3. This copy may be either retained or destroyed by burning in
accordance with applicable security regulations, or returned to the
Central Intelligence Agency by arrangement with the Office of Collection
and Dissemination, CIA.
National Security Council Department of the Navy
National Security Resources Board Department of the Air Force
Department of State Joint Chiefs of Staff
Department of Defense Atomic Energy Commission
Department of the Army Research and Development Board
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A. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheekikh Respublik,
Politiko-administrativnaya Karta. (Union of the
Soviet Socialist Republics, Political Administra-
tive map), 1:4,000,000. Compiled in 1945, cor-
rected in 1947 and authorized for publication
6 October 1947.
B. So z Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Ree ub
Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics),
1:4,000,000. Compiled in 1945. Authorized for
publication 6 January 1947 and 7 March 1947.
Both are published by (Kartograficheskaya
Chast', Voyenno-topograficheskogo Upravleniya
General'nogo Shtaba Vooruzhennykh Sil SSSR).
1. General Significance.
These two new Soviet maps, each covering the entire USSR in
four sheets and providing wall maps 5 feet 4 inches by 7 feet 9 inches
when mounted, have recently been obtained by the US Government. They
are the most recent Soviet maps of the entire country at this scale
available in the United States and the first postwar publications of
the.military cartographic agency received in this country. Map A, the
later of the two, is the latest medium-scale map source for political-
administrative boundaries and centers, for place names, for trans-
portation, and for such physical features as drainage, coast line and
head water limits of river navigation. It is a particularly valuable
source for the latest available map data on drainage, transportation,
political boundaries in Siberia and Soviet Central Asia. Map A is the
first known political administrative map published by the military.
Heretofore the Glavnoye Upravleniya Geodezii I Kartografii Sri Sovete
Ministrov SSR - abbreviated as GUGK -- Principle Administration of
Geodesy and Cartography under the Council of Ministers, USSR), founded
in 1938, has published all the political administrative maps of the
Soviet Union. Map A is superior in every way to the standard
1:5,000,000 political administrative map published by GUGK (title
given above).
The two maps present the best in Soviet cartography in respect
to design, format, and printing. The symbols are clear and the colors
Note: This report was submitted on 1 July to the intelligence organi-
zations of the Departments of State, Army, Navy, and the Air
Force for information, at which time comments were solicited.
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are harmonious and distinctive. A Lambert-Gauss conformal conic
projection is used which is well suited for portraying such broad conti-
nental areas as the USSR. Although it is not an equal area projection,
the distortion is at a minimum making the maps satisfactory for showing
areal distributions. While the basic information on both maps is nearly
identical, Map A is a later map showing later international frontiers,
political-administrative boundaries, and railroad data. Map B shows
certain additional physical features. A sample section of Map B accom-
panies this report.
Either map is recommended as a base for the compilation and
construction of base maps for which the final scale will be 1:4,000,000
or smaller. Map A is preferred when more recent boundaries and rail-
roads are required. Map B, however, offers additional physical
features, particularly in Soviet Central Asia where the deserts are
classified and saline water bodies are differentiated. Both maps con-
tain an adequate number of place names for general purposes. The
drainage pattern includes the principal tributaries. Supplementary
detail.may be taken from the 1:2,500,000 map and the Great Soviet
Atlas of the World, Vol. II.
It is difficult to evaluate the reliability of Maps A and B. It
has been known for some time that Soviet policy has been to omit certain
information from Soviet .maps. Undoubtedly some roads and railroads
have been left off these maps. A recent German PW report goes further
and claims that Soviet maps have been falsified in the past. It has
not been possible to determine as yet whether these maps show deliber-
ately.misleading information. Until further study uncovers any such
falsification, what is shown is presumed to be correct.
Other maps available at similar scales and of similar content are:
Karta SSSR (Map of the USSR), 1:2,500,000, 1937-1939; Politiko-Adminis-
trativnava Karta SSSR (Political-Administrative Map of-the USSR),
1:5,000,000 ca. 1946; and Ginsometricheskaya Karta SSSR (Hypsometric
Map of the USSR), 1:5,000,000, 1940. All were issued by CLICK or its
predecessor.
4. Political-Administrative Information.
Political-administrative divisions shown include union republics,
autonomous republics, krays, oblasts in krays, autonomous oblasts, and
administrative and national okrugs. Boundary symbols (and color tints
on Map A) designate the different units. The center of each unit is
shown by symbol. Boundaries of the leaseholds of Port Arthur and
Porkalla-Udd are also shown. Map A was corrected in 1947 and.most of
the political-administrative changes up to October 1947 have been
incorporated. Changes in the political-administrative structure occur
frequently. Since the map was published the Oyrot-Tura Avtonomnaya
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Oblast' was renamed the Gorno-Altayskaya Avtonomnaya Oblast' and its
administrative center Oyrot-Tura was renamed Gornyy Altaysk. The.map
does not agree with the 1947 Soviet handbook of political-administrative
divisional in the correct administrative designation of the new center
of the Sakhalinsk Oblast'. According to an order of the Praesidium of
the Supreme Soviet date 2 January 1947 the newly formed Sakhalin Oblast'
was detached from the Khabarovsk Kray and attached directly to the
RSFSR. The map incorrectly shows the administrative center of the
new oblast' Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Japanese: Toyohara) as the oblast;
center of an oblaet' attached to a kray.
Map B is an earlier map and does not incorporate later inter-
national and political administrative boundaries which-appear on Map A.
Boundary differences between Maps A and B are given in Appendix I.
Some settlements are classified according to population. Other
settlements include: Other settlements of an urban type; workers
settlements; other settled points; huts; winter and summer quarters; and
nomadic quarters. A new category of cities is added which has not
appeared before; large cities of strategic or economic importance are
identified by a distinctive symbol. In sparsely populated areas the
place names are printed in larger type than elsewhere. On the whole,
there are more place names than on the 1:5,000,000 maps.
5. Information on Physical Features.
The maps provide valuable physical information, incorporating
what appear to be later survey data on coastline and drainage. While
the density of the drainage pattern is generally not as great as on the
1:2,500,000 map or the 1:5,000,000 physical map, some regions have
additional detail such as the lakes in the Kolyma Lowland of Eastern
Siberia. Further, what is shown appears to be more recent and more
correct. Most stream courses are delineated in greater detail than on
other Soviet maps of similar scale. A distinction is made between
surveyed and approximate drainage and coastlines. The maps thus
supplement and supersede the 1:2,500,000 map which shows a similar
distinction, and are more trustworthy than the 1:5,000,000 physical map
which does not.make this distinction. Spot heights are similarly as-
sumed to be based on later information. On the whole, more spot heights
are shown than on the 1:5,000,000 physical map. A comparison with the
1:2,500,000 map reveals considerable regional variation in the number
of spot heights given. The new maps are recommended as primary sources
with the other maps as secondary, supplementary sources for the
compilation of spot heights. Although isobathe are not shown, the
elevation above sea level of low-water levels of the larger or important
lakes and rivers are given in meters.
1. SSSR, Administrativno-Territorial'noye Deleniye Soyuznykh Respublik
(USSR) Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Union Republics)
na 1 Yavarya 1947 (for 1 January 1947) Moscow, 1947, p. 483.
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In desert areas the maps show more wells than the 1:5,000,000
and fewer than the 1:2,500,000 map. The dry river courses that appear
on the 1:2,500,000 map are not shown, although intermittent streams and
lakes are. A generalized distribution of mountain glaciers and perma-
nent snows is shown which does not appear on earlier maps. A greater
number of rapids and waterfalls are located than on other medium-scale
maps although no distinction is.made between rapids and waterfalls as
is done on the 1:5,000,000 physical map. The limit of navigation is
shown on most streams. On Map A the portrayal of water bodies is con-
fusing since they are given in three ways; some in a semi-transparent
blue tint, others in a light linear pattern, and still others in a cross-
hatched pattern. The legend does not identify any of the patterns. A
comparison with other maps proves that these differences have no
meaning. Although the legend on Map B does not identify the saline water
bodies, they are differentiated on the map. Blue-colored water bodies
contain fresh-water while lavender-colored bodies are saline. Other
physical features shown are the generalized distribution of swamps and
shoals. Unlike the older maps, Maps A and B do not show escarpments.
Generalized mountain features shown by shading appear only on Map A.
Both.maps give names of the more important upland features, desert
features and a few lowland features. Map B carries additional features:
Salt marshes; saline waters; and four types of and desert features --
flat sands, knobby sands, longitudinal dunes, barchanes (crescent dunes),
and dunes. These new maps are recommended as the principal medium-scale
sources of the indicated physical data. The older 1:5,000,000 maps
provide supplementary data.
6. Information on Transportation.
The maps show valuable transportation data. Not only is the
information recent but the transportation classifications are detailed,
particularly in respect to roads. Roads are classified as: Super-
highways in use and in construction; highways in operation and in con-
struction and principal auto roads in China, Mongolia, and Korea;
improved dirt roads; dirt paths and caravan trails; and winter trails.
These are the only maps covering the entire country that distinguish
between improved and unimproved dirt roads - an important distinction
in the Soviet Union. In 1937 about 93 percent of the Soviet roads were
.dirt roads; improved dirt roads amounted to about 24 percent. An
additional feature is the presentation of roads that paralled railroads.
These were not shown on the 1:5,000,000 series and were less completely
shown on the 1:2,500,000 map.
Railroads are shown as multitrack, single track, narrow-gauge,
and in construction. These are the first Soviet maps showing the route
of the strategic Komsomol'sk-Sovetskaya Gavan' line, the take-off point
of the Baykal-Amur (BAM), and the extension of the Pechora-Vorkuta line
to Khal'mer-yu. The line from Alapayevek to Sos'va shown as in con-
struction on Map B is shown as completed on Map A.
Canals are shown but no distinction is made between irrigation
canals and navigation canals; the Fergana irrigation canal is shown with
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CONFIDENTIAL
the same symbol as the Stalin White Sea - Baltic ship canal.
Naval bases, fortified points, fuel stations, and ferries are
given only outside the USSR. Within the USSR principal maritime ports
are indicated and polar stations are classified as a part of the trans-
portation pattern -- a new departure in Soviet map making. An important
station Nordvik, is located correctly for the first time.
Eight copies of each of these maps have been received by the US
Government. As soon as facilities will permit, additional copies of Map
B will be reproduced incorporating desirable revisions based on. more
recent information obtained from Map A, and will be distributed to the
recipients of this report.
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C0NFIDENTIAL
APPENDIX I
Boundary Differences Between Maps A and B
1. International Boundaries.
a. Map A shows the latest Russo-Finnish boundary change just
southwest of its junction with the Norwegian frontier. The boundary
shown on Map A, however, does not agree with a recent Finnish sketch
drawn on a Finnish map 1:1,000,000. The Finnish sketch shows the
boundary as drawn northwest of the Paatsjoki River whereas Map A
shows it running along the river.
b. On Map A the Czech-Soviet boundary near Uzhgorod (Uzhorod)
is a little closer to the city on Map A than on Map B, possibly indi-
cating a minute modification in favor of Czechoslovakia.
a. Map A shows the new boundary between the Oblasts of Ryazan'
and Moscow. Ryazan' gains a little territory at the expense of Moscow.
b. The Aldan Okrug of the Yakutsk ASSR has been abolished on
Map A. The former 0krug was created 8 April 1939. It measured
104,683 sq. miles.
c. A number of boundary changes in Soviet Central Asia are
incorporated on Map A:
(1). A minor shift in a Union Republic boundary between the
Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic and Kazakh SSR occurred at
approximately 50?30'N., and 61?30'E.
(2). A greater change occurred between the Kazakh SSR, and the
Uzbek SSR northeast of Bukhara.
(3). The boundary changed in the Union Republik between the
Uzbek SSR and Takzhik SSR northwest of Leninabad; there is another
change west of Stalinabad.
(4). A similar change is found between the Kirgiz SSR and
Takzhik SSR southeast of Leninabad.
(5). Another boundary change has been made between the Kazakh
SSR and the Kirgiz SSR northeast of Przheval'sk.
(6). In the Turkmen SSR the Krasnovodek and Kerki Oblast's aie
shown as abolished.
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(7). In the Tadzhik SSR the Kurgan-Tyube Oblast' is shown as
divided between Stalinabad and Kulyab Oblast's. The boundary is changed
between the Germ and Stalinabad Oblast's.
(8). In the Kazakh SSR the boundary is changed between the
Aktyubinsk and Kzyl-Orda Oblast's.
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