The Present State of Toponymy in the USSR

A review of recent place-name research, methods, and publications in the Soviet Union by a deputy chairman of the Toponymy Commission of the Moscow Branch of the Geographical Society USSR. For a previous article on Soviet toponymy, see E. M. Murzayev, “Origin of geographic names,” Soviet Geography, Accomplishments and Tasks, American Geographical Society, 1962, pp. 254–58.     

The Development of Motor Roads in the USSR

Surfaced roads, including gravel roads, total 510,000 km, or 37.5 percent of the Soviet Union's motor-road net of 1.4 million kilometers, the rest consisting of dirt roads. Only about 260,000 km, or less than one-fifth, consists of blacktop or cement or asphalt concrete highways. The lack of roads tends to cause considerable losses to the Soviet economy, particularly in agriculture. An accelerated road-building program is therefore under way, with the current five-year plan (1971–75) calling for the construction or reconstruction of 110,000 km of improved surfaced roads (blacktop and cement or asphalt-concrete) compared with 75,000 km added in the preceding five-year period (1966–70). The densest road nets in the USSR are found in the Baltic republics, in Transcaucasia, Moldavia, the Ukraine and Belorussia. The lowest road-density indices apply to the Russian republic and to Kazakhstan.     

美国对苏政策中意识形态因素及其在苏联解体过程中的作用

美国特殊利益集团对全球霸权主义的追求、根深蒂固的反共主义,以及为维护世界资本主义的一统天下,决定了美国对苏联意识形态进攻的必然性。在苏联存在的几十年间,美国从未放弃消灭或西化苏联的图谋。在苏联基本坚持马克思主义的指导和社会主义道路的情况下,这种图谋难以实现。但是,当苏联把马克思主义教条化和僵化,并在西方和美国意识形态进攻面前逐步西化,就潜伏了巨大危险。一旦苏联领导彻底抛弃马克思主义意识形态,而以美国等西方国家宣扬的所谓"全人类价值观"作为指导时,苏联的解体和西化也就变得不可避免。     

The Water Problem in the Deserts of the USSR

A regional review of existing and planned irrigation projects in the desert zone of the Soviet Union envisages the use of water from the Siberian streams in the northern section of the desert zone. For increased water supplies in the south, the author looks to other potential sources such as artificial increases of precipitation in the mountains of Central Asia, elimination of wild growths of water-loving plants, and technological advances that will make possible the economical desalting of water from salt lakes and of mineralized subsurface waters.     

The Major Economic-Geographic Regions of the USSR

A survey of the recent history of development, shifts in locational patterns and changes in organizational structure of the craft industries of Gor'kiy Oblast, one of the principal craft-industry areas of the Soviet Union. The authors map changes in the distribution of crafts and analyze economic-geographic factors in locational changes. Recommendations are made to preserve some of the crafts within the pattern of the Soviet economic system.     

Russia's Several Seats at the Table

In his reply to Jonathan Haslam's article published in the January 1998 issue of International Affairs , William Odom outlines his vision of NATO and its origins and purpose, and discusses the American strategic view of the post-Cold War world against which the decision to expand NATO should be seen. Russia will, he maintains, remain a problem for the West, but its importance and power should not be overemphasized. The danger facing the Western security order is not one of Russia's exclusion but of US power ebbing out of Europe—a distinct probability unless NATO expands.     

The Geography of Radioactive Contamination in the Former USSR

A detailed survey of the location and scope of radionuclide contamination in the former USSR examines the character and spatial patterns of such contamination by source—e.g., commercial and military reactor operation (including reactors on submarines and icebreakers); uranium mining and enrichment; plutonium production; nuclear waste storage and disposal; and “peaceful” nuclear explosions and nuclear weapons tests. Attention also is focused on updating the situation at sites known to have sustained some of the most severe radionuclide contamination—e.g., Chornobyl' (Chernobyl') and adjacent areas; Mayak, Tomsk-7, and Krasnoyarsk-26; Novaya Zemlya; the Barents and Kara Seas; Lake Ladoga; and Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. 5 figures, 8 tables, 60 references.     

The Present State of Medical Geography in the USSR

A review of the present state of Soviet medical geography based on an analysis of papers presented at the Second National Medical Geography Conference held in Leningrad in November, 1965. The authors, representing four departments of the Geography Faculty of Moscow University, stress geophysical and geochemical causative factors of human disease and the contributions being made by medical landscape science in relating environmental prerequisites to particular diseases.     

The Conception of a Unified System of Settlement and the Planned Regulation of city Growth in the USSR

A unified system of settlement, defined as an interrelated network of places that is regulated for the benefit of society, is viewed as the most effective approach to overcoming socio-economic differences between town and countryside. Such a settlement system is viewed as ultimately replacing the present settlement patterns ranging from large urban agglomerations at one extreme to small rural places without adequate services at the other extreme. The unified settlement system is expected to insure roughly equivalent living and working conditions for all people within such a system. Some of the recent changes in Soviet settlement patterns are viewed as steps in that direction: an expansion of the network of large cities in connection with the economic development of new regions; the policy of industrializing small towns bypassed by the previous development of industry; the growing practice of establishing research organizations and branch plants in small towns to foster their development; the mechanization and industrialization of animal husbandry; the improvement of rural bus lines, providing access to service centers.     

The Study of Local Waters in the Deserts of the USSR

A review of potential local fresh-water sources in the deserts for the use of livestock herds, herders' settlements, and extractive and other industrial enterprises. One of the most promising approaches is held to be the use of takyrs [clay pans] as catchment areas for ephemeral runoff of precipitation, which is then directed into natural aquifers or artificial underground storage cisterns. Another potential source of water is large perched ground-water lenses that could be tapped by paired wells to prevent the intrusion of salt water from below. Artesian waters in the desert which are far from areas of recharge are found to be largely saline.     

The Role of the Eastern Regions in the Economy of the USSR

The economic development of the eastern regions, including Siberia and the Far East, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, has been hampered by manpower shortages (except in Central Asia) and the high cost of construction. However the generally more favorable conditions for resource development are viewed as a sound basis for further industrialization of the Eastern regions, focusing on fossil fuels and electric power and on industries consuming large amounts of fuel and power (nonferrous and ferrous metals, some chemicals, and forest products). In view of the need for integrated regional development, primary resource-based industries should be supplemented by some manufacturing, particularly heavy machinery industries and pulp and paper. Savings in construction could be achieved by investing in territorial-production complexes with interrelated industries and common engineering and transport systems.     

Contemporary Migration in the USSR

The predominance of individual migration and a lack of coordination among government agencies result in a situation in which migration in the USSR often works at counter-purposes, with people moving away from areas suffering from a labor shortage and into areas with a labor surplus. A system of economic measures is advocated to optimize Soviet migration patterns. Since differences in living conditions are the basic motive between migration, an effort should be made to establish relationships between region al living standards that would attract migrants to regions with a labor shortage and induce them to settle permanently, instead of taking temporary advantage of high wage rates.     

The Transport Industry in the West and East Zones of the USSR

The levels of development of production and transportation are compared for the western and eastern zones of the USSR. The low density of the transport net in the East, combined with the high cost of transport construction and a manpower shortage, tends to favor the development of large industrial complexes within limited areas making use of the zone's unique natural resource base. Such areally concentrated development would reduce the need for local transport systems and make more investment available for the more efficient mainline routes. The western zone, with its virtually continuous economic development and denser transport net, favors a more uniform location of production and the increasing location of industry in small and middle-size cities, which would ease the load on heavily used mainline transport routes and make greater use of local forms of transportation, including motor freight.