Mapmaking, science and state building in Russia before Peter the Great

While Peter the Great (ruled c1694–1725) can be credited with a concerted attempt to introduce modern European science, technology and other achievements to Russia, the fact that he built upon earlier processes of change which tended in the same direction is frequently underemphasized. The paper challenges the idea that Russia was totally isolated and static before Peter, but emphasizes the very different context in which science, technology and related pursuits developed there by comparison with Europe. It is asserted that the effects of state building in both the European and Russian cases gave rise to certain parallels and similarities. Using mapmaking as an example the paper suggests that its growing importance in both regions during this period was a reflection of the requirements of state building and not merely a product of the rise of commercial capitalism (the latter being as yet relatively insignificant in Russia). The frequently postulated links between commercial capitalism, the rise of mathematical sciences and a growing interest in mapmaking are questioned as being largely inapplicable to Russia before Peter and sometimes overstressed in the case of Europe. The paper presents an analysis of the early seventeenth century Book of the Great Map, a written artefact of pre-Petrine cartography which reflects the priorities and also some of the limitations of Russian mapmaking during the period.