The Scientific Basis for Presentation of the General Geographical Relations of the Landscape Sphere in an Exhibit of the Museum of Earth Science

The author, a curator of the Earth Science Museum of Moscow University and an advocate of a general geography, reviews the methodological dispute in Soviet geography. He urges official status in education and research for a general geography that would be concerned with establishing the general geographic laws of the man-nature relationship and would delimit natural-social regions and zones. Such a general geography, in the author's view, would not supersede or dominate the other branches of geography, but would function side by side with the particular disciplines. Proposals made by I. P. Gerasimov in 1966 to restructure geography into basic problem areas instead of the traditional subdivisions are said to be in line with the efforts of those advocating a general geography.     

Discussion Of The Volume Priroda I Obshchestvo [Nature and Society]

In March 1969, a group of geographers at the Geographical Society USSR in Leningrad convened a meeting to discuss the volume Priroda i obshchestvo (Moscow, 1968), a collection of articles concerned with the role of geography in investigating the man-nature relationship. Selected articles appeared in Soviet Geography, May 1969. Some of the discussants were critical of certain authors on the ground that they argued in favor of a unified geography to deal with the man-nature relationship as a whole and did not differentiate between socioeconomic systems (capitalism, socialism) in appraising society's attitude toward nature. The official report of the meeting, in which five principal discussants participated, follows.     

Geosystems and Geostructures

An attempt is made to distinguish geosystems and geostructures as the two basic objects of study in geography. Geosystems and geostructures are interdependent but different spatial formations. Geosystems are defined by direct, reverse, and transformed relationships among such relatively autonomous components as natural environment, population, and economy. Geosystems tend to be superimposed on one another and are relatively flexible and stochastic. Geostructures, on the other hand, are distinguished by a unity of heterogeneous components, by comparatively clearly defined boundaries, and by considerable rigidity of construction. (One of the authors, A. M. Smirnov, died in July, 1969.)     

Study of the History of Geographical Ideas

Two recent books on the history of geographical ideas, by A. G. Isachenko of Leningrad University, and by Preston James of Syracuse University, are reviewed in the general context of the need for a textbook for courses now being taught at Soviet universities. The Isachenko book is criticized on the ground that it reduces the history of geographical ideas to a history of physical geography, ignoring the impact of human activity. James, who deals with the history of geographical ideas as a whole, is praised for having included a chapter on the new geography in the Soviet Union and on the innovative aspects of theoretical geography, such as systems theory, spatial systems, diffusion on studies, etc. In the reviewer's opinion, the two books need to be examined critically in connection with preparation of a text for a Soviet university course on the history and methodology of geography.     

Geographical Aspects of Urbanization

From the geographical point of view, urbanization is treated as a result of economic development as it affects the settlement through the spatial structure of the economy. The spatial structure of the economy and the settlement patterns determine the character of land use in particular physical environments. The urbanization process gives rise to a new, urbanized environment, involving both settlement forms and an altered physical environment. Geographers can make a contribution in urbanization research by focusing on three groups of questions: (1) an analysis of the spatially expressed factors of urbanization to gain an understanding of the mechanism by which an urbanized environment is created; (2) study of settlement and the physical environment as they change in the course of urbanization; (3) investigation of the impact of urbanization on man in terms of mobility, employment, education, etc. Separate indicators need to be developed for each group of questions, crowned ultimately by an integral, synthetic indicator (or indicators) that would offer a generalized characterization of the urbanization process as a whole.     

THE USE OF ANALYTICAL METHODS OF MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS FOR IDENTIFYING RURAL PLACES WITH GROWTH PROSPECTS: (with particular reference to Kaliningrad Oblast)

One of the key objectives in the rural development program for the Nonchernozem Zone of the RSFSR is the consolidation of rural settlement in larger places. An example of the dispersed settlement pattern is Kaliningrad Oblast, which has a total of 1,527 rural places ranging from fewer than 5 to more than 2,000 inhabitants, with a total rural population of 195,529 (1970 census). The author shows that growth prospects are dependent on a combination of five factors—geographical setting and level of development; population; fixed assets in agriculture; nonfarm fixed assets; availability of services—and, using correlation analysis, identifies 283 places with prospects of future growth, ranging from 32 in the 51–100 size class to one of more than 2,000 population. The preservation of some small rural places is termed inevitable because many serve as outlying settlements for livestock subdivisions of collective and state farms, and dairy and beef cattle represents a characteristic type of farming in Kaliningrad Oblast.     

SOIL-CLIMATIC BELTS–DO THEY ACTUALLY EXIST?

The use of combined soil-climatic belts (or soil-bioclimatic belts) has become widespread in the Soviet literature to designate the highest taxonomic entities of a world soil-geographic regionalization. These belts, which include such designations as polar (cold), boreal (cold-temperate), subboreal (temperate), etc., have been defined on the basis of mean annual temperature and the sum of temperatures during the growing season. The author finds that the entire concept of soil-climatic belts lacks a sound theoretical basis and is of little practical significance, with no attempt made to define such belts in terms of soils. A new approach to defining the highest taxonomic units in a world soil-geographic regionalization is urged.     

GEOGRAPHICAL CYCLES IN THE CIRCULATION OF MATTER

Natural scientists have long studied the circulation of matter within nature, and geographers have long investigated the exchange of matter between nature and man in the process of economic production. The time is now at hand to develop an overall theory of geographic cycles that would encompass the circulation of matter both within the natural environment and in the process of human activities. The author suggests an array of geographic cycles that appear to operate in the man-environment system, and shows how the identification and study of such cycles might provide a new focus for the organization of geography as a science, for geographic research and for its practical application.     

观蒙古山水地图手卷有感

2011年10月15日意大利罗马国家博物馆举办"丝绸之路"展览,在一个长30多米的巨型展柜中,展出的长30.12、宽0.59米的《蒙古山水地图》手卷,引起巨大的轰动。因为这件《蒙古山水地图》手卷是中国古代文物的新发现,原图为明代中叶皇家宫廷绘制,绘制了从明朝的边关嘉峪关到天     

胡宗宪《吕港帖》与乍浦之捷考

《吕港帖》是明代胡宗宪致沈良才的一封信。胡宗宪在向上级汇报抗倭作战情况的同时,明确了倭寇驻扎的时间、地点以及胡宗宪拟布置兵力的时间,并说明了作战将领的心理状态。作者就信中人物和事件进行考证,推论出信中涉及的是明嘉靖三十五年七月江浙总督胡宗宪指挥的一次抗倭战事,即胡宗宪撰《筹海图编·大捷考》一章中的"乍浦之捷"。作为个案,《吕港帖》也反映了尺牍丰厚的文献价值。