Soviet geographers and the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945: Lev Berg and Andrei Grigor'ev

The significance of the Second World War for Soviet geography was somewhat different from that in much of the West. In the USSR, as a result of the 1917 Russian Revolution and, more particularly, of Joseph Stalin's ‘Great Turn’ implemented in 1929–1933, geographers were faced with pronounced political and economic challenges of a kind which arguably only confronted most Western geographers with the onset of war. It is therefore impossible to understand the impact of the war for Soviet geography without taking into account this broader context, including events during the turbulent post-war years. The paper will focus on the experiences of two prominent geographers who played a major role in the developments of the era including their responses to the revolutionary circumstances occurring from the late 1920s, their activities and experiences during the war, and the debates and conflicts they engaged in during the post-war crisis. Some of the more significant contrasts with geographical developments in Western countries during these years will be emphasized. •Soviet wartime experiences are placed in the context of the period 1929–1953.•The experiences of two prominent and rival geographers are compared.•The experiences included compulsory evacuation, war work and general research.•Political and ideological pressures as well as those generated by war are apparent.•Significant contrasts with the West are emphasized.