On September 9, IGUMO hosted the presentation of Viktor Yashchenko’s book ‘Their Names on the Maps’, the winner of competitive grant projects of the Russian Geographical Society. IGUMO lecturers Kira Mrik and Ismail Kozhemov together with students took part in preparing the book’s publication.

We are all used to using maps in our gadgets. It’s difficult to imagine our today’s life without such applications. However, have you ever wondered what preceded the invention of such a convenient function? Who and when made those maps? Did you know that 900 people died while creating maps of Russia in the second half of the 20th century alone? Some of them drowned, others froze to death, and still others were killed by bears.

Viktor Yashchenko spent 10 years in taiga geodesic expeditions and often was on the brink between life and death. He survived in the fallen helicopter and in frosty woods when he had no energy even to light a fire. The usual work of geodesists and topographers is also a real heroic feat. They walk through impassable taiga with equipment weighing 35 kilos in addition to tents, sleeping bags, and food. The frost, the heat, and the pesky mosquitoes and gnats make their hard work even more difficult.

At that time, Viktor Yashchenko started keeping diaries and recording the most interesting things about that work. In Soviet times, it was forbidden to tell about tragic cases. Viktor Yashchenko understood that sooner or later there would be a proper time to bring the truth to people and pay tribute to his fallen colleagues. That is why he started collecting information. He was promoted and became the head of enterprises in the Caucasus and the Urals. After that, he even became a minister, Chairperson of the Main Directorate of Geodesy and Cartography under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. He continues to collect information about the work of his colleagues even now. Viktor Yashchenko has published several documentary books. A year ago, the Russian Geographical Society gave him the grant to publish his book titled ‘Their Names on the Maps’. The author traced the dedicated work and tireless efforts of his compatriots starting with the discovery of new lands since the early 16th century to the creation of a detailed map. The feat of the discoverers is immortalized by writing their names on maps. However, few people know about geodesists and topographers. Viktor Yashchenko’s book fills that gap and pays tribute to the memory and the heroic work of those who created detailed maps.

Every episode of the book is so exciting that it could be easily turned into a thriller film. Sometimes it is difficult to believe in the events described but they are all absolutely documentary. Those are stories about how a man was left alone in the taiga because of a tragic coincidence and survived the whole winter there, how a geodesist was almost dying of a cold, but a family of hermits in the deep taiga helped her to recover, how a geodesic party was in the epicentre of a forest fire but managed to swim across the river and escape, and how a bear cub slaughtered several members of the geodesic party...

At the meeting, you will learn the details of these stories, ask questions to the author and your lecturers who assisted in the creation of the book, watch a fragment of the documentary film about Viktor Yashchenko by Ismail Kozhemov, and even get a book as a gift.

Tatyana Vorozhtsova, journalist

Translated by Nikolay Gavrilov

07.09.2021
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