Transport Network of Yakutia: Multi-time Analysis by Cartographic Sources

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the development of the transport network of one of the largest regions of Russia on the example of mapping land routes in different historical periods. The relevance of the research topic is due to the lack of research, among the available historical and geographical works related to the study of the history of mapping the transport network of Yakutia. The purpose of this work is to study the history of the development of the transport network of Yakutia from the XVII to the beginning of the XXI centuries based on the analysis of various cartographic sources. To achieve this goal, the domestic experience of transport mapping was investigated; on the basis of identified published and unpublished sources, multi-time maps showing land routes of communication were selected and analyzed; on the basis of the analysis, the main stages of mapping land transport in Yakutia were identified. The study was conducted using a systematic approach, historical-comparative, cartographic and geoinformation methods. Due to the fact that this research is at the junction of a number of sciences, the work is based on an integrated approach. As a results of the study, the authors identified the stages in the history of mapping the transport network of Yakutia: the first stage (XVIII – late XIX centuries); the second stage (the first half of the twentieth century); the third stage (mid–twentieth century - 1990s); the fourth stage (post–Soviet period - to the present). Currently, a new information environment for the development of historical and geographical sciences is being created. GIS technologies enable access to historical maps, as well as the emergence of new ways to extract historical information from them. There are opportunities to detect previously hidden information, extract it and process it. The practical significance of the presented work is connected with the possibility of using its results to determine the directions of development and optimization of territorial aspects of the functioning of transport networks of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).