Geography · Maps · Monarchies · Society

Alexander I as King of Poland and the Incorporation of the Duchy of Warsaw into the Russian Empire in 1815

Alexander I, King of Poland, Tsar and Autocrat of All the Russias Just a reminder of Russia's borders before 1918: in 1815 the greater part of the Duchy of Warsaw became part of the Russian Empire as the Kingdom of Poland, or the Vistula Land, until everything fell

The East · Archaeology · Geography · Maps · Science · Rome

Marco Galli on Ancient Rome's Trade with India and China from the 1st to 3rd Century AD

I have read an interesting article by the Italian archaeologist Marco Galli of Sapienza University of Rome, "Beyond the Borders: Ancient Rome and Eurasian Trade Networks". Galli examines the Roman Empire's part in trade with India and China in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd centuries AD,

Archive · Geography · Maps · Moscow

Second map of Moscow in Georg Braun's atlas of cities, published in 1618

In 1618 an engraving with a view of Moscow appeared in the six-volume atlas of the cities of the world, Civitates Orbis Terrarum. The atlas was compiled by the Cologne priest Georg Braun, beginning in 1572, and this was already the second map of Moscow in the edition. A

Archive · Geography · Maps · Science · Nature

How the Source of the Volga at Volgoverkhovye Was Identified and Studied, from the Chronicle to Today

Photographs taken by Maxim Dmitriev in the 1900s near the source of the Volga. The officially recognised source of the Volga is a marshy area on the Valdai Hills in the Tver Region, near the village of Volgoverkhovye. It is a small spring at an altitude of about 228 metres

Engraving of four figures holding a map of Poland in 1772 and pointing at its lands.

Geography · Maps · Observations · Humour

Three partitions of Poland among Russia, Prussia and Austria in 1772, 1793 and 1795

The History of Poland Consists of Just Three Partitions. The partition of 1772 between Russia, Prussia and Austria, the partition of 1793 between Russia and Prussia, the partition of 1795 between Russia, Prussia and Austria. And then straight on to 1918.

Geography · Maps · Observations · Society

As for the suggestion that Trump's mania for Greenland stems from his ignorance of the Mercator projection, and that he therefore believes Greenland to be even larger than America, as it appears on ordinary maps, it should be noted that, of course…

In fact, Greenland, which on the map looks commensurate with America, has an area 12 times smaller than that of North America and almost 5 times smaller than that of the United States. The habitable parts of Greenland are the narrow coastal strips free of ice, which make up about

The East · Geography · Maps

A Map of Persia from 1922, a Diagram of the Border with the USSR, and a Map of Present-Day Iran

The shared border between Iran and the USSR ran to 2,500 km of Azerbaijani-Iranian, Armenian-Iranian and Turkmen-Iranian land frontier, together with a maritime boundary across the Caspian Sea

NB! · Geography · Maps

A map of the West Indies and North America, 1741, drawn by Henry Overton, bearing in mind that most of the continent remained unexplored at the time: it is labelled simply “unknown parts”

Black and white photograph of a huge board with the Moscow Metro map above a street, with a tram passing and pedestrians in front.

NB! · Archive · Geography · Maps · Moscow

Giant model of the Moscow Metro map installed on Okhotny Ryad in the 1930s

The Moscow Metro map as an octopus. The installation is a gigantic model of the metropolitan railway. It was set up in the 1930s in Okhotny Ryad

NB! · Geography · Maps · Observations

51% of Europe's area lies within the territory of the former USSR, and if one takes the Russian Empire, rather more still

Three-dimensional relief map of Asia on a white background, with the high orange Tibetan Plateau at the centre and blue plains and dark mountains around it.

NB! · The East · Geography · Maps · Observations

Relief map of Asia showing the West Siberian Plain and mountain systems

A relief map of Asia. On the one hand, one is struck by the singularity of the West Siberian Plain; on the other, by the impassable wall of mountain systems running from west to east.

Geography · Maps · Society

Provinces of pre-revolutionary France and their replacement by departments during the Revolution

Map of the French provinces before their abolition and division into departments in 1789. Before the Revolution, France was divided into provinces, many of which go back to medieval kingdoms and feudal territories. These provinces differed considerably in their laws, customs and administrative systems. During the Revolution they were replaced