Atlas of Forestry Statistics of European Russia

A new genre of statistical publication emerged in the 1870s: authoritative reports intended for public, and often external, consumption. One of earliest on the scene was a report on the forested spaces of the empire:

Notice sur les forêts et leurs produits en rapport avec la superficie totale du territoire et avec la population. Russia: Ministère des domaines, Comité spécial, chargé de la collection des produits des industries rurales et forestières pour l'Exposition universelle de Vienne, 1873.

The author, Pyotr Nikolayevich Verekha, was director of the Forest Department and a member of the Forestry Society of St. Petersburg, but he wrote the report in his capacity as chair of the special committee of the Ministry of State Domains "charged with the collection of the products of rural industry and forestry for the Universal Exposition in Vienna."

The report made its way systematically through the dominant species, describing their distribution, use, and value. And it was accompanied by an exquisite set of 8 maps published separately as the Atlas of Forestry Statistical of European Russia. 

The forest, in other words, was on full display at the World Exposition in Vienna in 1873.

Verekha’s report was a tipping point. If to that point voluminous amounts of data about the forest had been collected by various branches of the imperial government, to various ends, and with various levels of sophistication and success, Verekha showed that it was possible to collate that mass of information into a digestible text – one girded with statistics and imbued with the language of scientific objectivity. Not only that: he demonstrated the capacity of thematic mapping to produce compelling arguments about the productivity and value of Russian territory.

This collection contains the 8 chromolithographed maps published in the 1873 atlas. Each item in the collection offers citation information, a translation of the map title and legend, and a high-resolution dynamic viewer.

Special thanks to the University of Chicago Library for providing the TIFF files. Click here to access the original item record.

Distribution of Forests

In addition to the legend items, the map shows the borders of the empire, borders of provinces, major bodies of water (seas, lakes, rivers), rail lines, provincial capitals, mountain ranges. Longitude calculated from both Pulkovo and Greenwich.

Forested area in relation to the total area of each province

In addition to the legend items, the map shows the borders of the empire, borders of provinces, major bodies of water (seas, lakes, rivers), rail lines, provincial capitals, mountain ranges. Longitude calculated from both Pulkovo and Greenwich.

State forest in relation to the total area of each province

In addition to the legend items, the map shows the borders of the empire, borders of provinces, major bodies of water (seas, lakes, rivers), rail lines, provincial capitals, mountain ranges. Longitude calculated from both Pulkovo and Greenwich.

State forest in relation to the provincial population

In addition to the legend items, the map shows the borders of the empire, borders of provinces, major bodies of water (seas, lakes, rivers), rail lines, provincial capitals, mountain ranges. Longitude calculated from both Pulkovo and Greenwich.

Forested area in relation to the provincial population

In addition to the legend items, the map shows the borders of the empire, borders of provinces, major bodies of water (seas, lakes, rivers), rail lines, provincial capitals, mountain ranges. Longitude calculated from both Pulkovo and Greenwich.

Established state forests as a percentage of all state forests

In addition to the legend items, the map shows the borders of the empire, borders of provinces, major bodies of water (seas, lakes, rivers), rail lines, provincial capitals, mountain ranges. Longitude calculated from both Pulkovo and Greenwich.

Exploitation of state forests

In addition to the legend items, the map shows the borders of the empire, borders of provinces, major bodies of water (seas, lakes, rivers), rail lines, provincial capitals, mountain ranges. Longitude calculated from both Pulkovo and Greenwich.

Average gross revenue from state forests

In addition to the legend items, the map shows the borders of the empire, borders of provinces, major bodies of water (seas, lakes, rivers), rail lines, provincial capitals, mountain ranges. Longitude calculated from both Pulkovo and Greenwich.

Collection Tree