Researchers	Years of research	Main achievements
Marco Polo	1271-1295	The first European to visit China and many parts of Asia
Afanasy Nikitin	1466-1472	The first Russian to visit India and Arabia
Bartolomeu Dias	1488	explored Western and south coast Africa
	1492-1494	Discovered America in 1492 - Bahamas, Greater and Lesser Antilles
	1497_1499	Opened an uninterrupted sea route to
Vasco Nunez de Balboa	1513-1525	Crossed the Isthmus of Panama and went to the coast in America
Ferdinand Magellan	1519-1522	Under the leadership of this navigator, the expedition made the first
Francis Drake	1577-1580	Made the second trip around the world, discovered many geographical objects in different parts of the Earth
Abel Tasman	1642	Discovered Tasmania
Vitus Bering	1741	Discovered the northwest coast of North America
	1768 -1779	Discovered the east coast of Australia Hawaiian Islands, the first explorer to cross the Antarctic Circle
Alexander Humboldt	1799 -1804	Comprehensively explored the nature of South America
F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev	1819 -1821	Discovered the adjacent islands
David Livingston	mid 19th century	Conducted research in South and Central Africa
P. P. Semenov Tyan-Shansky	1857	Explored the Tien Shan mountain ranges
N. M. Przhevalsky	1870-1888	Made four trips to Central Asia

The era of great Russian discoveries

The first Russian chronicle - "The Tale of Bygone Years" by Nestor contains geographical data from 852. Novgorodians, whose city was at that time the richest in Russia, in the XII century. reached . After that, voyages to Scandinavia began. Ermak in 1581 began his journey to Siberia. In 1632, the Yakut prison was founded. I. Moskvitin in 1639 reaches the Pacific Ocean near Okhotsk. V. Poyarkov in 1643-1646 the first of the Russian Cossack explorers made a voyage along the Amur Estuary and the Sakhalin Bay. In 1647-1648. Erofey Khabarov passes the Amur to the Sungari. in 1648, he opens a cape that now bears his name, and proves that Eurasia is separated from North America by a strait.

Development of geography in Russia

As well as abroad, many talented scientists-geographers worked in Russia. I. K. Kirilov in 1727 finishes his work “Blossoming State Russian state”, publishes in 1734 the first issue of the Atlas of the All-Russian Empire. V. N. Tatishchev in 1746 wrote the book “On Geography in General and on Russian Geography”, M. V. Lomonosov introduced the term “economic geography” into science (1760). K. I. Arseniev is the author of scientific works “Hydro-graphic-statistical description of Russian cities ...” and “Statistical essays of Russia”. acts as the author of the five-volume Geo-Graph-Statistical Dictionary of the Russian Empire, as well as a scientific work on the historical geography of Russian settlements. created the work “Climates of the globe, especially Russia”, V.V. Dokuchaev wrote the classic works “Russian”, “Our steppes before and now”, and developed his teaching, spreading it to the entire USSR. in 1926 he developed the doctrine of, A. A. Grigoriev formed the doctrine of the geographical shell. The works of I. A. Vitver are also of great importance.

Tasks and accents of geography

Today, in the 21st century, geography does not need to answer the question: "Where is it located?", because there are no more "white spots" left. Now geography is shifted towards answering the questions: “How does it work?”, “How is everything interconnected and developing?” and “What needs to be done for a prosperous life?”. However, the main geographic issues to date are:

• The problem of the unity of geography as a science and the search for a single object of study.
• The problem of "theoretical geography" and philosophical foundations in science.
• The problem of "loss" practical sciences and the decline of public interest in geography.

The main stages in the development of geography

Lecture plan

What is geography? The first stage is from ancient times to the middle of the 17th century. The second stage - from the middle of the 17th to the middle of the 11th century. The third stage - from the middle of the 19th to the 20s of the 20th century. The fourth stage - from the 20s of the twentieth century. until now.

1. What is geography?

The purpose of mastering the discipline:

To introduce students to the professional world of geography related to the systems of natural and social sciences. A discipline that lays the foundations of a geographical worldview, thinking and knowledge. A kind of "bridge" between school and university geography.

Geogr a fiya in BSES(from geo... and ... graphy), a system of natural and social sciences that study natural and industrial territorial complexes and their components. Unification of natural and public geographical disciplines within the framework unified system sciences is determined by the close relationship between the objects they study and the commonality of the scientific task, which consists in a comprehensive study of nature, population and economy in order to most effectively use natural resources, rationally locate production and create the most favorable environment for people's lives.

Geographical sciences study the surface of the Earth, covering and underlying layers of matter (spheres), both natural (part of the lithosphere, troposphere, hydrosphere, biosphere) and non-natural (sociosphere, technosphere). Together, they constitute a special kind of geographical object of study, which has not yet received an unambiguous definition and explanation in the system of geographical sciences. The reason is the complex structure of this geographical reality, which is often called the geographical picture of the world. Therefore, geography took the path of differentiation of the sciences, that is, from a multitude of facts to their generalization into separate sciences, in which the object of study is well defined.

object a component of such an approach can be a geoverse as holistic phenomenon in a special geospace of the Earth with its structure and patterns of functioning on the principle of two subsystems - nature and society. Subject studies of such a folded object are components (abiotic, biotic, social), geospheres and local geosystems of the Earth's surface - natural, social, integral, etc.

Modern geography is a complex complex (system) of sciences that closely interact with each other. With all the complexity of this system, three main, stem branches are usually distinguished in it.

First branch - physical geography, which includes general geography, landscape science, geomorphology, climatology, hydrology, soil geography, biogeography, etc. The second branch is economic and social geography, which includes the geography of population, industry, agriculture, transport, services, etc.

The third branch is cartography. At the junctions between physical and economic geography, as well as between them and others related sciences many "frontier" areas of geographical research have emerged: political geography, historical geography, medical geography, recreational geography, geography of natural resources, etc.

Depending on the approaches and breadth of territorial coverage, there is also a general geography, the subject of which is more general, primarily global scope, questions of both physical and economic and social geography, and regional geography, which studies individual natural territories, countries and regions.

The first stage - from ancient times to the middle17th century

This stage is characterized by the initial accumulation of reo gpa of physical knowledge. In general terms (at an accessible level), almost the entire surface of the Earth was studied at this stage, i.e., by the end of the stage, mankind had formed a global geographical outlook, many important ideas and ideas for geography were born, inherited and developed by other generations of scientists.

Geographical representations arose in ancient times in connection with the practical activities of people - hunting, fishing, nomadic cattle breeding, primitive agriculture. The range of actual (existential) knowledge was determined by the nature of human activity and the immediate natural environment. The ability to navigate in space is closely related to observation. Observation and good knowledge of individual facts were combined in them with the underdevelopment of thinking. Hence the inability to explain many natural processes and phenomena (droughts, earthquakes, floods, etc.), the birth and death of a person, which found its expression in animism(the idea of ​​spirits and soul) and magic (witchcraft, sorcery, sorcery). The idea of ​​primitive man about the origin of things was inevitably fantastic and was transmitted in oral from generation to generation. It took the form of myths, that is, folk tales about gods and legendary heroes about the origin of the world.

Already in ancient times, the sphericity of the Earth was recognized (Parmenides,VI-5th centuries BC e., Aristotle,4th century BC e., Eratosthenes, 111 11 centuries. BC e.). On this basis, the concept of geographical zoning arose (Eudox,4th century BC e., Posidonius, c. BC e., Strabo,1st century BC e. and etc.). Philosophical thought approached the idea of ​​change earth's surface(Heraclitus,VI-5th centuries BC e.). General geography and geographic regional studies, cartography and hydrology were born.

Among the most important philosophical and geographical achievements of the era of ancient culture are:

The formation of a spatial (geospatial) approach that played big role(in the methodology of geography) at all other stages of the formation of geographical sciences. Its methodological essence, of course, taking into account temporary features different eras survived and has survived to the present day.

The formation of natural philosophy based on the holistic thinking of that time, which combined many aspects of history, mathematics, natural science, ethnography and other areas. Geographical ideas were formed in the unity of these views and did not constitute an independent direction. “I believe,” Strabo wrote, “that the science of geography, which I have now decided to deal with, just like any other science, is included in the scope of philosophy.”

In geography, a descriptive and regional direction is being formed, which contributed to the accumulation geographical facts about the various regions (spaces) of the ecumene and education unified (descriptive) geography (chorography). The first country-specific descriptions were peripluses(description of the coast), periegesis(descriptions of sushi) and periods(detours of the earth). Generalizations of such works were made by Hecataeus, Strabo, Ptolemy and others. It was a country-specific direction of geography closely related to history. J. O. Thompson called it general geography.

There is a birth of a natural-science or general geography direction (Aristotle's line), associated with an attempt to explain the described natural phenomena. Here we can see the basics of theoretical understanding through the system conceptual apparatus: about the figure and spheres of the Earth, thermal zones, the ratio of land and sea, climate and climatic zones, the geocentric model of the cosmos, geography, chorography, etc. These ideas were formed not only in the works of Aristotle, but also Thales, Eudoxus, Heraclitus, Funidides, etc. .

A mathematical and geographical direction appears, which laid the foundations for mathematical geography, geodesy and cartography. The works of Eudoxus, Anaximander, Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Ptolemy introduce such concepts as topography, latitude and longitude, cartographic projection, meridian length, etc.

Ecological motifs in geography are traced, connected with thoughts about the natural determination (conditionality) of human existence (Democritus), the role of climate in people's lives, the formation of their character, traditions and customs (Hecataeus, Hippocrates). These thoughts apparently influenced C. Montexieu when he formulated the concepts of geographical determinism.

AT early middle ages The collapse of the Roman Empire weakened Europe's overland trade links with the East. Low shipbuilding technologies, religious isolation of countries, superstitions and myths prevented long-distance travel. Overland travel is mainly to " sacred places were performed by pilgrims or missionaries. The educational process began with Latin patristics, that is, the totality of the theological and philosophical doctrines of Christian thinkers (fathers of the church). In the history of geography, it was the time of preservation of elements of ancient knowledge in general background their decline and the first attempts by Christian authors to interpret geographical information from biblical positions. An example would be the works of Kozma Indikoplov written in the 6th century. This was reflected in the early medieval "wheel maps", which was associated with the flat shape of our planet. Jerusalem, the location of the "Holy Sepulcher", was recognized as their center, the axis of the universe.

In the Middle Ages, there was an expansion of spatial horizons in the North of Europe and the North Atlantic (the voyages of Irish sailors and Scandinavian Vikings) and the acquaintance of Europeans with Arabic-speaking science. It was the time of scholasticism (religious philosophy with the premises of rationalism), the time of empirical research and the accumulation of new actual material about the nature and population of Oikumene, the beginning of its systematization and the identification of some cause-and-effect relationships in the works of Ibn Batuta, Ibn Sina and others. the language translated works of Greek, Roman and other thinkers. From India, they learned the decimal system of counting, from the Chinese - the compass, improved the system of irrigated agriculture, built new canals, and produced silk. The geography of the Arabs was first of all the science of the paths connecting separate territories and of the territories themselves. However, Arabic geography theoretical provisions did not advance further than the ancient geographers. Her merit lies in expanding the spatial outlook (trade was the engine) and in preserving the ideas of antiquity for posterity. The maps of Arab geographers until the 15th century remained without a degree grid.

This time ends with the formation of early humanism, which became the apogee medieval geography with its idea of ​​a single ecumene in the world and the threshold of the VGO, which radically changed the medieval paradigm. This was preceded by a number of circumstances related to book printing and the publication of regional descriptions of the countries of the East rich in gold, precious stones and spices. Reliable cartographic material is also appearing, which ensures the predictability of travel. Venice becomes the center of geographical thought, which, according to K. Ritter, has become "the highest school of geographical and historical sciences." Numerous manuscripts of ancient, Persian and Arabic authors were collected in the city's libraries. Compiled collections of travel and locations. The first educational institutions, called voluntary "academies", also appear.

VGO pushed the boundaries geographical world. It was an extraordinarily difficult process of knowing the world in the space of the Earth, which required great personal heroism and energy, which was not known by any science except geography. The era of the VGO, according to F. Engels, was the era of titans in terms of the power of thought, passion and character, in versatility and scholarship. The emerging capitalism required reliable data on land and sea routes, on the natural conditions of known and newly discovered territories. In European countries, the process of accumulating knowledge about the geographical space began, replacing the iconographic ideas about the world. AT modern world the most significant are "horizontal", desacralized relationships between cultures and countries.

The main achievements of geography in the Middle Ages can be called:

The development of cartography, the formation of a modern map of the world, the publishing of maps, which became possible due to the spread of printing and engraving on copper. In the 16th century, Antwerp became the center of cartography with its famous Flemish school, famous for the names of A. Ortelius and G. Mercator. The first left a memory of himself by publishing a collection of maps called "Teatrum", which included 70 titles. The second developed the mathematical foundations of cartography. M. Beheim made the first globe that has come down to us. Unfortunately, most of the maps were published as an appendix to Ptolemy's Geography, which created a lot of controversy.

Illumination in literature geographical discoveries. Letters and diaries of H. Columbus, A. Vespucci, Pygaffet and others were published. Pedro Martir compiled the first chronicle of the history of discoveries. Later literature voyages and travels is published in multi-volume collected works. In 1507, the Lorraine geographer M. Woldseemüller, impressed by the letters of A. Vespucci, proposed calling the New World America.

The appearance of the first regional-statistical descriptions. For example, the books of the Florentine merchant L. Gricciardini "Description of the Netherlands", which describes nature, population, economy and cities.

The development of the ideas of mathematical geography. The most famous are the works of M. Waldseemüller "Introduction to Cosmography" and P. Apian "Cosmography", which focused on navigation rather than geography. They continued the traditions of the geography direction of ancient authors about the place of the Earth in the Universe and the features of its structure, and also summarized knowledge in astronomy, physics and geography.

There are ideas about the occurrence of layers of the earth's crust (Leonardo da Vinci), about general structure Earth (R. Descartes, Mr. Leibniz), mountain building processes (N. Stenon). At the end of the stage, the first works appear, summarizing the accumulated geographical knowledge, which to a certain extent theoretical(work by B. Varenius and others).

The second stage - from the middleXVII to mid X1st century

The crisis of geography in the XVIII-XIX centuries arose not so much from a misunderstanding of geographical reality, the complexity of its structure (the ratio of part and whole, the general and the individual, the place of biota and man in it), but the level of development and the state of methodology (the sum of research methods), its possibility explore only simple geographic features. For example, individual components of nature. However, already in the 19th century, the main provisions of the theory of physical geography began to form, and it ceased to be part of natural philosophy, standing out as an independent science.

The formation of the capitalist mode of production in Europe led to a change in ideological criteria and the desire for liberation from religious dogma and guardianship of the church. Philosophical doctrines are being created, which have received the name of metaphysical (mechanistic) materialism.

The worldview was based on experimental natural science, the foundations of which were laid by Copernicus, G. Galileo, I. Newton and others. With the comprehension of the vast factual material of the VGO era, the principles of cognition change from the worldview of the surrounding reality to its worldview. Introduced scientific method knowledge, answering the question of how to obtain new reliable knowledge. F. Bacon, using the position of philosophical positivism, substantiated inductive method of knowledge. In geography, this was the beginning of the formation of branch sciences that study individual components of nature.

R. Descartes laid the foundations of methodology as the philosophical essence of the process scientific knowledge. Being the founder of rationalism (reason is the basis of knowledge), he substantiated deductive method knowledge, relegating a large role to mathematical methods in it. The experience of such a deductive analysis in geography can be considered the work of B. Vareniya "General Geography", which was the prototype of the general geography trend in physical geography. For the first time, the object of study of geography is defined (the author calls it a subject) - an "amphibian ball", which is considered as a whole (model-image), and in parts ( regional entities surface of the earth). Therefore, he divided geography into universal, cognizable through sensory experience, and private - chorography and topography, using descriptive method. The second experience of deductive analysis is I. Kant's idea of ​​space as an absolute receptacle of things independent of matter (Newtonian interpretation). He considered such a space an object of study of a unified geography.

An important event of this time was the appearance of the first textbooks on geography: I. Gyubner "The Amphibious Circle Brief Description", S. Nakovalnin "Political Geography", G. Kraft "A Brief Guide to Mathematical and Natural Geography", H. Chebotarev "Geographical Methodological Description Russian Empire and etc.

For the formation of geographical science, it is extremely important that this stage ends with the formation of evolutionary ideas in natural science. The idea of ​​the global unity of the nature of the earth's surface is being realized. geography begins to be taught in schools and universities. However, the strengthening of its differentiation leads to a deepening crisis of a single geography, which has called into question its existence as a science. At the same time, disciplines that study individual components of nature are actively developing. Beginning withXVIII century, experimental sciences and technology are intensively developing, new branches of natural science are being formed, enriching geography, stimulating geographical research. The growth of productive forces and the expansion of industrial production contribute to active geographical exploration natural conditions and resources. In geography, the historical approach is firmly rooted.

The third stage - from the middle of XI X up to 20-x years of the XX century.

This stage is marked by the overcoming of the crisis of unified geography, the development of chorological (A. Gettner) and genetic () concepts, the creation of the foundations of the doctrine of the geographical shell and the doctrine of economic zoning, and the development of the principles of landscape science. For geographers, the study of the past nature of the earth's surface is becoming more and more interesting, since the task of explaining the structure and changes occurring in the geographical shell can be solved only by combiningpoc of temporal analysis with historical. This was facilitated by the traditions of Russian geography, starting with the first to introduce the idea of ​​development into the interpretation of geographical phenomena, brilliantly continued in the works of V. V. Dokuchaev (in relation to relief and soils).

Geography Novogo time is laid before ince go the ideas of K. Ritter, starting from the 30-40s.XIX century, but the stage ends in our country in the 20x - the beginning of the 30th years. 20th century

The earth's surface is beginning to be perceived by geographers as a special integral spatio-temporal system, consisting ofe natural-historical zones. Ideas are being developed about the geographical shell as a hierarchy of landscape systems, an object of physicaleo gpa fii, designed not only to describe the nature of the earth's surface, but also to explain its patterns. Geocomponent anda ntpo ecological paradigm.

At the same time, departments ofeo gpa fii, geographical faculties, as well as specialized research institutes are being created, the network of scientific geographical societies is expanding.

The considered period was characterized by the following features:

The ideas of A. Humboldt and K. Ritter are considered, on the one hand, as completing the classical period of unified geography, on the other hand, as beginning the construction of modern geographical science. A. Humboldt and K. Ritter occupied a very high place in the scientific community, but had significant differences in worldview positions on geography. He wrote about this: “Humboldt, in addition to brilliant generalizations, introduced many new facts into science. Ritter only systematized the former, highlighting it with a well-known idea ... Humboldt recognized the influence of nature on man, but did not try to build an independent, separate science on this motto; he considered the earth not only as a physical body, but also as a world body, he sought to expand and comprehend general ideas about the universe. Ritter, on the other hand, wanted to use the main motto (about the influence of nature on man) to create a completely new, but impossible science, that is, regional country studies. Therefore, the divergence of views of scientists on geography is increasing. One part went into "pure" natural science (Unitarians), developing the ideas of physical geography. Another group developed the problems of regional geography (dualists), where nature, according to the words, was considered “as something fatally connected with the history of the peoples inhabiting the Earth, and the specificity public relations associated with the determining influence of natural conditions.

The 19th century was a "silver age" in the development and formation of geography as a science, although there were still vast "white spots" of practical knowledge, especially in the polar countries. Travelers and researchers who "erased" these spots on geographical maps ah, they became national heroes (F. Nansen, D. Cook, D. Levingston, etc.).

An attempt by geography to determine its place in the system of sciences as one of the earth sciences (along with geology, geophysics, biology) with a powerful set of geographical natural sciences. In addition to the abiotic spheres, the structure of the amphibious sphere also includes A. Humboldt's "sphere of life". It was he who first raised the question of a new quality of the Earth - a complex shell, where the abiotic and biotic substratum of matter is combined. This was due to the fact that geographical expeditions contributed to the development of bioecological doctrines, which in the second half of the 19th century supplemented the subject of geography and determined the departure from topographic descriptions.

At the end of the 19th century, the works of F. Richthofen, F. Ratzel, finally took shape geospheric general terrestrial concept. First time defined common object physical geography, consisting of four spheres: litho-, atmo-, hydro- and biosphere. Different authors, unfortunately, called it differently: Richthofen - the earth's surface, Petri - the outer cover, Brownov - the outer shell, Abolin - the epigeneme. In parallel, a regional direction was developing, called landscape concept(, Z. Passarge). This concept received theoretical substantiation already in the 30-60s of the XX century.

Under the influence of the modeling attitude of philosophy and physics, a significant change in geography was the understanding space- from the subjective approach (divine or "empty" physical space) to the objective understanding, i.e. the space of bodily things. In this case, the leading concepts are "territory" (space according to Gettner), "locality" and "district" as part of the territory. As a consequence, the idea of ​​many private spatial objects on the surface of the Earth begins to dominate. K. Retter argued that geography should deal with spatial categories, with a description of filled spaces, starting from the specific realities of nature and ending with the sphere of the spirit. The idea of ​​the unity of the dwelling and its inhabitants raised the doctrine of space into the problem of the relationship between man and nature. As a special category of human-modified nature, he singled out the "cultural sphere". AT further development went within the framework biological determinism and passivism. The first direction (F. Ratzel, E. Reclus) tried to spread the ideas of Darwinism and biological laws to human society. F. Ratzel in his work "Political Geography" likened the state to a living organism, which is struggling to expand its space in order to survive. E. Reclus represented the globe as a whole, as a kind of living organism with the functioning of various elements of nature and society, the interaction of organic and inorganic nature with man. The second direction is possibilism(lat. possibilis - possible), further developed by Vidal de la Blache, was associated with a description of the mechanisms of adaptation of the economy and human life with the environment, i.e. spatio-temporal geo-adaptation processes. These were the foundations of the future cultural landscape concepts.

According to the data, in Russia, when studying regional differences in mid-nineteenth centuries, the terms “spaces”, “bands” (), “belts” (), “natural regions” () have already been used. In 1979, having developed a network of agricultural "districts" in Russia, he introduced the term "district" into the geographical literature, which subsequently became widespread in our country. In most foreign countries, it is not used and the concept of region corresponds to it.

The formation of institutional formations that strengthened the position of geography in world science. The role of geographical societies in the organization of complex expeditions is growing. There is a formation of departments of geography in the largest universities of various countries. Professional institutions are being formed. International geographical congresses are held.

University geographical entity, which determined the formation of professional activity and the emergence of professional geographers. This predetermined the formation of two directions in the development of the theoretical provisions of geography: “university geography”, which is formed in the course of understanding the empirical material reflected in the literature and the personal experience of geographical professors (E. Reclus, Vidal de la Blache, F. Ratzel, A. Gettner and others. ), and "geographical natural science" emerging under the influence of joint expeditionary research (-Tyan-Shansky, V. Davis, etc.).

One of the largest generalizations of the century was the substantiation of the law of world zonality in the pamphlet "On the Teaching of the Laws of Nature" (1899), where he wrote about closest connection"between the vegetable, animal and mineral kingdoms, on the one hand, man, his way of life and even the spiritual world, on the other." The largest theoretical achievements are associated not only with the law of zoning, but also with Dokuchaev’s emergence of a general scientific worldview generalization: “fortunately, not only one law of the great Darwin reigns in the world - the law of the struggle for existence, but also another - the opposite - the law of love, help , which is especially pronounced in the existence of our zones.

The fourth stage - from the 20s of the twentieth century. until now.

At this latest stagec tooe go development world geographical science has shown itself to be an important component ince go the process of scientific and technical and cultural development humanity. The main trends in its development were determined by the need to solve the complex problems faced by human society, especially in the "nature-society" system, the need for in-depth knowledge of the laws of the natural environment of the Earth and the nearest space, the study of urgent problems of the spatial organization of productive forces, the settlement and movement of the planet's population, social and political development of countries and regions of the world.

" Kpy r interests of geography is undergoing changes in accordance with changes in the sphere of dominant interests of society: the search for renewable (and, less often, non-renewable) resources, the assessment of naturalpecyp owls of sparsely populated spaces - territorial organization of production (Land use, industrialization, TPK) "organization social life society" improvement of co-creation of society and nature. In this regard, the idea of ​​the status of geography in the system of sciences also changed ...

AT The research notes the deployment of two theoretical paradigms of regional geography - chorological (A. Gettner, R. Hartshorne) and landscape (Z. Passarge, O. Schluter), and in research methods - regionalization, factorial and functional analysis, mathematical and statistical processing. Applied areas are developing: research resource potential countries, territorial organization of state administration (zoning, district planning, settlement systems). There is a growing interest in political geography (the global nature of world wars and the impending collapse of colonial system) and military geographical topics.

For Soviet geography it was difficult period associated with the continuity of pre-revolutionary geography and modern geography. There has been a slowdown in a number of areas of science (social and political geography) and excessive ideologization of the philosophy of specific sciences in the form of sharp criticism of geographical determinism and rejection of the chorological concept (Hettnerianism as a bourgeois ideology).

The main achievements of the geography of this stage:

The leading methodological setting of this era is the spatial-complex setting associated with the approach to the study of objects of earthly reality as complexes, in which the most important properties are relationships and relationships between elements. This attitude determined the formation of ideas about general geographical objects: the geographical envelope (,), natural-territorial and territorial-production complexes (,), economic region (,). The subject orientation of geographical research focuses on both spatial morphology (countries, zones, regions) and external factors this morphology, and on the consideration of the processes of this morphological heterogeneity. Thus, the concepts of a physical-geographical process are introduced, which were based on the features of heat and moisture exchange; geochemical processes of landscapes; energy production cycles of TPK.

Integrative ideas in geography of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were generalized and developed, which assigned to the biosphere the concept of a “complex shell” as an area of ​​existence of life, living organisms on Earth in the form unified education. The biosphere was considered by him as a special geological "body", the structure and functions of which are determined by the characteristics of the Earth and Space, and living organisms, populations, species and all living matter are forms, levels of its organization. Another aspect was also highlighted, connected with humanity as a new geological force on the scale of the Earth. For the first time, two important planetary phenomena of the global geospace of the Earth were identified: the biosphere and something new - humanity.

The doctrine of the biosphere was supplemented by the concept of Geomeris, which meant the entire living cover of the Earth. Humanity also "is part of the living cover of the Earth and gradually becomes its main organizing principle." This concept is one of the first concepts of global ecology, i.e., the problem of subject-object relations: It supplemented the doctrine of the biosphere, introduced into it biocenological and ecological characteristics, the concept of the ecosphere. According to the opinion, the concept of "geomerid" emphasized the element of integrity inherent in this higher biocenosis, while the term "biosphere" does not mean the highest biocenosis, but the highest biotope.

Ideas and made it possible to take a fresh look at the essence of the natural landscape. On the one hand, understand it as part of the general, i.e., the biosphere. On the other hand, to understand the landscape as invariant conditions for the existence and functioning in its structure of certain groups of bioecosystems in the rank of facies, which are, in hierarchical terms, the primary basis of the ecosphere and determine the self-regulation of its environment. However, these ideas found theoretical understanding in the second half of the twentieth century.

General problems of geography, which were formed in the scientific areas of landscape science, geomorphology, soil science, anthropogeography, comparative country studies. prevailing scientific methodology there were chorological and landscape approaches. According to the chorological concept, the most striking founders of which were A. Gettner and R. Hartshorne, geography is a “single” science, covering both nature and man. Philosophical basis Such a concept was formed by the views of the neo-Kantians on the "filled space", i.e., the space along, which includes elements from rivers and thunderstorms to fairy tales, customs and crimes. Regional studies should deal with their description, because the entire earth's surface is a complex or system of countries and localities. At the same time, the essence of space as an object of study is not disclosed either in the works of Getner or in the works of modern socio-economic geography, taking into account the geographical approach. In this case, space has become synonymous with "territory" (country). The essence of geography in such a contest is the cognition (description, classification) of a multitude of individual territorial formations, taking into account the principle of uniqueness.

Territorial research in the USSR, which had as its goal the study of natural conditions and natural resources, led to the selection of the smallest object of physical geography - the landscape, which fit well into the concept of the new biosphere from the standpoint of holism, i.e., the factor of integrity (abiotic and biotic substances). As a result, one of the leading sections of physical geography, landscape science, is being formed. Proceedings, etc. create methods of landscape research and landscape mapping. At the same time, he singled out the landscape as the main object of physical geography (the influence of the ideas of the chorological concept).

The formation of economic geography is underway. W. Gotz introduces the term economic geography into science. Kristaller and A. Lesh create a spatial model for the location of settlements and the economy, and also distinguish the non-productive sphere in geography. In Russia, its founder was the head of the first department of economic geography. scientific school Dena had an industry and statistical direction. Methodological foundations economic geography was based on the provisions economics based on statistical information (laws of the market). Under the influence of the ideologization of science, this direction is sharply criticized by its supporters, who believed that the main subject of study is economic region as the basis of state regulation of the economy. This approach assumed the development of industry based on the use of local resources and the formation of ideas about the area as territorial complex with national specialization. However, the victory of the "regional direction" caused de-economization (the disappearance of market relations) and the growth of macro-technological areas (combines, industrial zones, industrial and technological relations, etc.).

Changing priorities for the development of foreign and Soviet geography. The first considered the problems of society and nature as general part spatial relations, the center of which was a person, his vigorous activity and the environment of life. That's why theoretical basis of such relations was possibilism, and the leading laws were social and economic. In contrast to natural history geography, social geography begins to develop rapidly: the doctrine of the cultural landscape of R. Hartshorne, K. Sauer and O. Schluter, the environmentalism of E. Semple, etc. Soviet school natural geography remains the leading direction, largely associated with the demands of production for resource supply. Social geography was dominated by economic geography, aimed at the development of sparsely populated territories, and population geography, based on statistics.

Applied research priorities are changing. The spatially complex concept played a role in solving spatial and morphological problems - natural and agricultural zoning, economic zoning, as well as in assessing natural conditions, developing sparsely inhabited territories and territorial organization production, location of enterprises, creation of territorial production complexes.

Trends in ideologization affected the development of geography geographical works for geopolitical purposes. On the one hand, they influenced the development of erroneous methodological positions and "nationalist motives". This was most clearly manifested in pre-war Germany and was associated with the idea of ​​a “national landscape” (cultural landscapes form a special “German spirit”), “living space of the state”, the right of the Aryan race to rule over others. This circle of ideas actually nurtured the geopolitics of K. Haushofer with fascist ideology and largely predetermined the outbreak of the Second World War. On the other hand, the ideologization of geography contributed to its division into two camps - socialist and capitalist (bourgeois), which affected the inhibition of the ideas of theoretical geography, especially in the USSR. Scientific topics were often replaced by labeling: “idealism”, “pests”, “denovshchina”, “followers of the bourgeois Gettner school”, etc. Even world-famous scientists were criticized:, etc. The “ideological struggle” led: 1) to “divorce » physical and economic geography, refusing to discuss their general foundations. After lengthy discussions in 1954, by the decision of the second geographical congress of Russia, the physical and economic geography were finally divided into two independent sciences; 2) to the loss of such an important categorical concept of the theory of geography as "geospace"; 3) to the exclusion from the geography of "man", a complete break with demography and ethnography. On the other hand, the process of division of geography was determined general course evolution of this science. As soon as geographers engaged in an in-depth study of the phenomena of interaction between society and nature, they met with qualitatively different patterns, which predetermined the polarization of physical and economic geography.

The main forms of geographical generalizations in the works of geographers remained regional studies and monographic publications, very diverse in volume, content and scientific merit. These are the works of A. Penk on geomorphology, V. Kristaller "Central places of southern Germany", on the location of the industry of the USSR, "Subarctic", "Elements water balance rivers of the globe", "Geographical zones Soviet Union”, “Paleogeography”, etc.

Geography is becoming a sphere of special professional activity. The expeditionary work is organized by specialized research institutes (the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the Institute of British Geographers). There was also a formation of a mass profession associated with an increase in the number of departments of geography, faculties, industry courses, and the publication of textbooks for higher and secondary schools. Formed national schools R. Hartshorne, and others.

At 70e go there is a desire to accept the ideology of the human sciences before ince go sociology ... With sociologization, gThe desire to take a worthy place in the sciences that ensure the survival of mankind in a rapidly changing world is also associated with manization and ecologization.

In the geography of this period, interest in the unity and integrity of science, complex problems and research is clearly expressed. The formation of the geocomplex paradigm is taking place, associated with the statistical (morphological) and paleographic (genetic) study of landscapes, as well as ecological and geostructural paradigms. Such general scientific approaches and methods as math modeling, system analysis, etc.

Significant influence on the formation of the main directions and improvement of methods of geographical research in the second half of the twentieth century. provided by the scientific and technological revolution.

This stage, in particular, is characterized by the so-called "quantitative revolution" in geography, which began in the 1960s.x years and expressed in active use mathematical and statistical methods in geographical research (using computer programming).

It is also important to note the search by geographers for spatial patterns in the distribution of productive forces, the resettlement of the population ("the theory of central places", the theory of "poles of growth" and "centers of development" and other concepts), and the development of "regional science". In world geography, there are three main approaches to the knowledge of the object of science - spatial, regional complex and ecological-geographical.

By the end of the twentieth century. geography has taken one of the leading places among the branches of knowledge in the study of environmental problems, global and regional problems of interaction between society and nature, improving the territorial organization of society. At the same time, the desire to develop international cooperation among geographers increased, which is due to the increase in their responsibility for solving urgent problems of mankind, the increase in constructive, transformative role science.

history of geography

How did geographical thought develop over time? Who was the creator geographical ideas? What were the turning points in the development of the theory of geography? Without answering these questions to understand scientific problems modern geography, its theoretical provisions are very difficult.

Science is thought, and the history of science is the movement of thought. Any science as a form of social consciousness passes hard way development from the descriptive stage (collection, accumulation and classification of data on the objects of study) to the stage of theoretical and methodological understanding. The development of science is also closely connected with the demands of human practical activity, which do not remain constant in different eras.

Mandatory attributes of any science should be the object and subject of research, as well as methodology and theory, fundamental categories and concepts, principles and explanation schemes. Traditionally, geography was considered a science that studies the surface of our planet. The discovery and study of this surface began at the earliest stage of civilization and is being completed in our time. The main goal of geographical research has always been the study of geographical reality and the geographical picture of the world, with which the life of man and society is connected. Hence the term geography itself was born as "description of the earth". However, according to W. Bunge, the history of the development of geography, its "ideology" is complex and not very cloudless. It has few "guiding ideas and a lot of facts."

Other sciences accumulated data and on their basis created a theory of science, and then a “new” science (for example, new physics) absorbed the older one, but did not reject it. In geography, the directed-wave nature of development prevailed with frequent change directions, goals, methodological and theoretical tasks. The protracted descriptive stage of accumulation of facts and data, the complexity of the object and subject of study, the influence of political and socio-cultural factors of society did not contribute to the formation of an invariant of geography as a science, the formation of its theory and methodology. In addition, the formation of geography as a science was associated with the difficulty of reconciling interests between the synthesis of accumulated data and the pursuit of the latest facts, which increased the differentiation scientific directions and complicated the system of geographical sciences, acquiring the image of " Tower of Babel". The desire of the leaders of geography to combine the search for truth, which affirms the prestige of geography in the scientific community, and the desire to be useful to society.

Difficulties in the formation of geography as a science, according to V.S. Preobrazhensky, were associated:

With the changing status of geography, its transformation from school and university geography into science ( late XIX c.), and then in the 30-60s of the XX century. into the mass sphere of professional activity;

With the constant expansion of the boundaries of the object and the boundaries of the subject of study;

With the complication of research methods (travel ® expeditions ® hospitals ® remote sensing ® ships of science and sledge-tractor trains) and methodological re-equipment in the field of empirical generalizations (cartographic ® mathematical-statistical ® cartographic-mathematical modeling based on a computer ® computer systems and networks);

With the change in the information functions of geography: cartographic ® regional descriptions and multi-volume works ® national and world geographical atlases ® functionally-oriented maps ® electronic data banks ® geographic information systems.

That is why the terms "modern" and "new" geography, "crisis" and "revolution" are often used in geography. If the former fix only some changes in the theory and the structure of conceptual models, then the latter indicate a decisive revision of established theories, visions of the subject or methods of studying it.

Our predecessors and contemporaries have repeatedly tried to identify the most common features development of geography from ancient times (Eratosthenes and Strabo) to the present day (A.A. Grigoriev, A.G. Isachenko, I.M. Zabelin, Yu.G. Saushkin, K. Gregory, N.K. Mukitanov, V .S. Preobrazhensky, V.P. Maksakovskiy and others). A.A. Grigoriev analyzes the development of physical and geographical ideas in Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A.G. Isachenko publishes the monograph "The History of the Development of Geographical Ideas". An interesting work by Yu.G. Saushkin, as well as "Geography and Geographers" by K. Gregory. The result of the 20th century is summed up by the monograph by V.S. Preobrazhensky, T.D. Alexandrova and L.V. Maksimova "Geography in a Changing World". " historical geography of the world” is published by V.P. Maksakovskiy. The first textbook on the "History of Geography" is offered by M.M. Golubchik, E.V. Evdokimov and G.N. Maksimov.

Geographic ideas of the ancient world

The beginnings of geographical knowledge appeared even among primitive people, whose very existence depended on the ability to navigate in space and find natural shelters, water sources, places for hunting, stones for tools, etc. Primitive man was distinguished by keen observation and even the ability to make drawings of the area on skins, birch bark, wood - the prototypes of geographical maps. The primitive map as a way of transmitting geographic information appeared, apparently, long before the emergence of writing. Already at the earliest stages of his economic activity, primitive man entered into complex interactions with the natural environment. Archaeological studies in recent years have shown that already at the end of the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), man destroyed the bulk of large mammals within temperate zone northern hemisphere, thus causing a kind of "first ecological crisis" in the history of our planet, and was forced to move from gathering and hunting to agriculture.

The first written documents were left to us by agricultural peoples ancient east: Egypt, Mesopotamia (Assyria and Babylon), Northern India and China (IV-II millennium BC). These peoples had the beginnings scientific knowledge in the field of mathematics, astronomy, mechanics, which were then used to solve problems of a geographical nature. So, in Egypt in the era of the Old Kingdom (until 2500 BC), land surveying was carried out, a land cadastre was created (mainly to determine the amount of taxes). In order to determine the timing of various agricultural work, regular astronomical observations began to be carried out. The Egyptians quite accurately determined the length of the year and introduced solar calendar. The ancient Egyptians and Babylonians knew sundial. Egyptian and Babylonian priests, as well as Chinese astronomers, established patterns of repetition solar eclipses and learned to predict them. From Mesopotamia, the ecliptic is divided into 12 signs of the zodiac, the year - into 12 months, the day - into 24 hours, the circle - into 360 degrees; the concept of " lunar week". Modern numerical numbering originates from India.

The ideas of the peoples of the Ancient East about nature, although they were based on real practical experience, in theoretical terms, retained a mythological character. Back in the III millennium BC. The Sumerians created myths about the creation of the world, the flood and paradise, which turned out to be extremely tenacious and were reflected in many religions. Astronomical observations at that time did not lead to correct views on the structure of the universe. But the belief in the direct influence of heavenly bodies on the fate of people led to the emergence of astrology (it was especially popular in Babylonia).

Ideas about the Earth were based on the direct perception of the surrounding world. Thus, the ancient Egyptians saw the Earth as a flat, elongated rectangle surrounded on all sides by mountains. According to Babylonian myth, the god Marduk created the Earth in the midst of an initially continuous ocean. In a similar, though more poetic form, the origin of the Earth is depicted in the sacred books of the Indian Brahmins - the Vedas: the Earth arose from water and is like a blooming lotus flower, one of the petals of which forms India.

Among the geographical ideas of the ancient world, inherited by modern geography, the views of scientists of antiquity are of particular importance. Ancient (Greco-Roman) geography reached its peak in ancient Greece and Rome in the period from the 12th century to the 12th century. BC. to 146 AD

In ancient Greece around 500 BC. The idea of ​​the sphericity of the Earth was first expressed (Parmenides). Aristotle (4th century BC) gave the first reliable evidence in favor of this idea: the round shape of the earth's shadow at lunar eclipses and a change in the appearance of the starry sky when moving from north to south. Around 165 BC Greek scientist Crates from Malla made the first model of the globe - a globe. Aristarchus of Samos (III century BC) for the first time approximately determined the distance from the Earth to the Sun. He was the first to teach that the Earth moves around the Sun and around its axis (the heliocentric model of the cosmos).

The notion of geographic (climatic) zonation, based directly on the idea of ​​the sphericity of the Earth, also originates in ancient geography (Eudoxus of Knida, 400-347 BC). Posidonius (on the border of the II-I centuries BC) identified 9 geographical zones (we currently distinguish 13 zones).

The idea of ​​changes in the earth's surface also belongs to the oldest achievements of ancient thought (Heraclitus, 530-470 BC), and yet the struggle for it ended only after two and a half millennia, at the beginning of the 19th century. AD

In ancient Greece, the main directions of geographical science were born. Already by the VI century. BC. the needs of navigation and trade (the Greeks at that time founded a number of colonies on the shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas) necessitated descriptions of land and sea coasts. At the turn of the VI century. BC. Hecataeus from Miletus compiled a description of the Oikoumene - all the countries known at that time to the ancient Greeks. “Earth description” of Hecateus became the beginning of the country-study direction in geography. In the era of "classical Greece" the most prominent representative of regional studies was the historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus (485-423 BC). His regional studies were closely connected with history and had a reference and descriptive character. Herodotus traveled through Egypt, Babylonia, Syria, Asia Minor, west coast the Black Sea; gave a description of cities and countries in the work "History in nine books". Such travels did not lead to the discovery of new lands, but contributed to the accumulation of more complete and reliable facts and the development of a descriptive and regional direction in science.

The science of classical Greece found its culmination in the writings of Aristotle of Stagira (384-322 BC), who founded in 335 BC. philosophical school - Lyceum - in Athens. Almost everything that was known about geographical phenomena by that time was summarized in Aristotle's Meteorological. This work represents the beginnings of general geography, which were singled out by Aristotle from undivided geographical science.

By the era of Hellenism (330-146 BC) is the emergence of a new geographical direction, which later received the name of mathematical geography. One of the first representatives of this direction was Eratosthenes from Cyrene (276-194 BC). For the first time, he quite accurately determined the dimensions of the circumference of the globe by measuring the arc of the meridian (the measurement error was no more than 10%). Eratosthenes belongs to great work, which he called "Geographical notes", for the first time using the term "geography". The book gives a description of the Oikumene, and also discusses the issues of mathematical and physical geography (general geography). Thus, Eratosthenes united all three areas under the single name "geography", and he is considered the true "father" of geographical science.

The results of ancient geography were summed up already in the era of the Roman Empire by two outstanding Greek scientists - Strabo (c. 64 BC) and Claudius Ptolemy (90-168 AD). The works of these scientists reflect two different views on the content, tasks and significance of geography. Strabo represented the geography direction. He limited the tasks of geography only to the description of the Oikumene, leaving the elucidation of the figure of the Earth and its measurement to mathematicians, and the explanation of the causes of the phenomena observed on Earth to philosophers. His famous "Geography" (in 17 books) is a descriptive essay, a valuable source on the history and physical geography of the ancient world, which has completely come down to us. K.Ptolemy was the last and most prominent representative of ancient mathematical geography. He saw the main task of geography in the creation of maps. Ptolemy's "Guide to Geography" is a list of several thousand points with their latitude and longitude, which is preceded by a presentation of methods for constructing cartographic projections. Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD the most perfect map of the ancient world was compiled, which was repeatedly published in the Middle Ages.

Geography of the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages (V-XV centuries) in Europe are characterized by a general decline in the development of science. The feudal isolation and religious worldview of the Middle Ages did not contribute to the development of interest in the study of nature. The teachings of ancient scientists were eradicated christian church as "pagan". However, the spatial geographical outlook of Europeans in the Middle Ages began to expand rapidly, which led to significant territorial discoveries in different parts of the globe.

The Normans ("northern people") first sailed from Southern Scandinavia to the Baltic and Black Sea(“the path from the Varangians to the Greeks”), then to the Mediterranean Sea. Around 867, they colonized Iceland, in 982, led by Leif Erikson, they opened the east coast of North America, penetrating south to 45-40 ° N. latitude.

Arabs, moving to the west, in 711 penetrated The Iberian Peninsula, in the south - to the Indian Ocean, up to Madagascar (IX century), in the east - to China, from the south they went around Asia.

Only with middle of the XIII in. the spatial horizons of Europeans began to noticeably expand (the journey of Plano Carpini, Guillaume Rubruk, Marco Polo and others).

Marco Polo (1254-1324), Italian merchant and traveler. In 1271-1295. traveled through Central Asia to China, where he lived for about 17 years. Being in the service of Mongol Khan, visited different parts of China and border areas with it. The first of the Europeans described China, the countries of Western and Central Asia in the "Book of Marco Polo". It is characteristic that contemporaries treated its content with distrust, only in the second half of the 14th and 15th centuries. they began to appreciate it, and up to the 16th century. it served as one of the main sources for compiling the map of Asia.

The journey of the Russian merchant Athanasius Nikitin should also be attributed to a series of such trips. In 1466, with trading purposes, he set off from Tver along the Volga to Derbent, crossed the Caspian and reached India through Persia. On the way back, three years later, he returned through Persia and the Black Sea. The notes made by Afanasy Nikitin during the trip are known as "Journey Beyond the Three Seas". They contain information about the population, economy, religion, customs and nature of India.

Great geographical discoveries

The revival of geography begins in the 15th century, when Italian humanists began to translate the works of ancient geographers. Feudal relations replaced by more progressive - capitalist. AT Western Europe this change occurred earlier, in Russia - later. The change reflected an increase in production that required new sources of raw materials and markets. They presented new conditions for science, contributed to the general rise of the intellectual life of human society. Geography also acquired new features. Travel enriched science with facts. Generalizations followed. Such a sequence, although not marked absolutely, is characteristic of both Western European and Russian science.

The era of great discoveries of Western navigators. At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, outstanding geographical events took place in three decades: the voyages of the Genoese H. Columbus to the Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, to the mouth of the Orinoco River and on the coast Central America(1492-1504); Portuguese Vasco da Gama around South Africa to Hindustan - the city of Callicut (1497-1498), F. Magellan and his companions (Juan Sebastian Elcano, Antonio Pigafetta, etc.) around South America along the Pacific Ocean and around South Africa (1519 -1521) - the first circumnavigation of the world.

The three main search routes - Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Magellan - ultimately had one goal: to reach by sea the richest space in the world - South Asia with India and Indonesia and other regions of this vast space. In three different ways: straight to the west, around South America and around South Africa - the navigators bypassed the state of the Ottoman Turks, which blocked the land routes to South Asia for Europeans. It is characteristic that the versions of the indicated world routes for circumnavigation around the world were subsequently used many times by Russian navigators.

The era of great Russian discoveries. The heyday of Russian geographical discoveries falls on the XVI-XVII centuries. However, the Russians collected geographic information themselves and through their western neighbors much earlier. Geographic data (since 852) contains the first Russian chronicle - "The Tale of Bygone Years" by Nestor. Russian city-states, developing, were looking for new natural sources of wealth and markets for goods. In particular, Novgorod grew rich. In the XII century. Novgorodians reached the White Sea. Sailing began to the west to Scandinavia, to the north - to Grumant (Svalbard) and especially to the northeast - to Taz, where the Russians founded the trading city of Mangazeya (1601-1652). Somewhat earlier, movement began to the east by land, through Siberia (Ermak, 1581-1584).

The rapid movement into the depths of Siberia and the Pacific Ocean - heroic deed Russian explorers. It took them a little more than half a century to cross the space from the Ob to the Bering Strait. In 1632, the Yakut prison was founded. In 1639 Ivan Moskvitin reaches the Pacific Ocean near Okhotsk. Vasily Poyarkov in 1643-1646 passed from Lena to Yana and Indigirka, the first of the Russian Cossack explorers to sail along the Amur Estuary and Sakhalin Bay Sea of ​​Okhotsk. In 1647-48. Erofey Khabarov passes the Amur to the Sungari. And finally, in 1648, Semyon Dezhne encircles from the sea Chukotka Peninsula, opens the cape that now bears his name, and proves that Asia is separated from North America by a strait.

Gradually, the elements of generalization acquire great importance in Russian geography. In 1675, a Russian ambassador, an educated Greek Spafarius (1675-1678), was sent to China with the instruction to “depict all the lands, cities and the path to the drawing”. Drawings, i.e. maps were documents in Russia state significance.

Russian early cartography is known for the following four of its works.

1. Large drawing of the Russian state. Compiled in one copy in 1552. The sources for it were “scribe books”. The Great Drawing did not reach us, although it was renewed in 1627. The geographer of the time of Peter the Great V.N. wrote about its reality. Tatishchev.

2. Book of the Big Drawing - text for the drawing. One of the later copies of the book was published by N. Novikov in 1773.

3. The drawing of the Siberian land was drawn up in 1667. A copy has come down to us. The drawing accompanies the "Manuscript against the drawing".

4. The drawing book of Siberia was compiled in 1701 by order of Peter I in Tobolsk S.U. Remizov with sons. This is the first Russian geographical atlas of 23 maps with drawings of individual regions and settlements.

Thus, in Russia, too, the method of generalizations became cartographic first of all.

In the first half of the XVIII century. extensive geographical descriptions continued, but with an increase in the importance of geographical generalizations. It is enough to list the main geographical events in order to understand the role of this period in the development of Russian geography. Firstly, an extensive long-term study of the Russian coast of the Arctic Ocean by detachments of the Great Northern Expedition of 1733-1743. and the expeditions of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov, who during the First and Second Kamchatka expeditions opened a sea route from Kamchatka to North America (1741) and described part of the northwestern coast of this continent and some of the Aleutian Islands. Secondly, in 1724 was established Russian Academy Sciences with the Geographical Department in its composition (since 1739). This institution was headed by the successors of the affairs of Peter I, the first Russian geographers V.N. Tatishchev (1686-1750) and M.V. Lomonosov (1711-1765). They became the organizers of detailed geographical studies of the territory of Russia and themselves made a significant contribution to the development of theoretical geography, brought up a galaxy of remarkable geographers-researchers. In 1742 M.V. Lomonosov wrote the first domestic work with a theoretical geographical content - "On the layers of the earth." In 1755, two Russian classic regional studies monographs were published: “Description of the Land of Kamchatka” by S.P. Krashennikov and “Orenburg topography” by P.I. Rychkov. The Lomonosov period began in Russian geography - a time of reflection and generalizations.

The heyday of geographical science continues for more than two and a half centuries, from the beginning of the 18th century (in Western Europe - a little earlier) to the present. The rise of scientific geography is especially noticeable starting from the verge of the 18th-19th centuries - the time of the greatest successes of the capitalist system of production, marked by the industrial revolution in the countries of Europe and the Great French bourgeois revolution.

The development of geography in Russia in the 18th century was initially influenced by the ideas of Western European scientists, for example, B. Vareniya. But they were so strongly and critically revised, so many new things were introduced into science by Russian scientists (I.I. Kirillov, V.N. Tatishchev, M.V. Lomonosov), that the Russian geographical school of that time has a new, original character. And this was due in the first place practical tasks

The first department of geography in Russia was opened at Moscow University in 1884, first at the Faculty of History and Philology; D.N. was invited to manage it. Anuchin. In 1887, he achieved the transfer of this department - geography, anthropology and ethnography - to the natural department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, where he began his work in training young geographers, who then grew into the largest scientists with world names.

versatility scientific interests D.N. Anuchin was exceptional: physical geography, anthropology, ethnography, archeology, history and methodology of science, hydrology (including limnology), cartography, geomorphology, regional studies. But this versatility was not a random collection of current interests, jumping from one subject of study to another. They, like many prominent scientists, theoretically constituted, as we now say, a “single bloc”.

D.N. Anuchin believed that geography should study the nature of the earth's surface. He divided geography into geography and regional studies. Geography studies the complex of physical and geographical components of the entire surface of the Earth, and country studies, although a wider complex that includes a person (“Without a person, geography will be incomplete,” D.N. Anuchin wrote in 1912), but within individual regions ( "countries"). Since the nature of the earth's surface is formed in the process of its historical development, the historical method is necessary in geographical research. And of course, geographical research is not important in itself, but is necessary for practice.

What do we know about the Ancient World? I understand that the philosophers of that time cognized the world, themselves, believing that a person is a particle of the cosmos. But after all, already at that time the area, the nature in which people lived, was studied. That is, geography was already taking root in human life. Now I will tell you about it. :)

What is the Ancient World

There is such a period in human history(between the Middle Ages and prehistoric times), which was formed on European territory, called " Ancient world". For other territories, the end of this time period could vary:

• for America, the end was at the time of the beginning of the colonization of Europe;
• for India - at the time of the birth of an empire called Chola;
• China marks the end of the Qin empire.

The beginning of this ancient historical period refers to the date of the very first Olympiad in the world, and the end is about 476 (when Rome fell).

Ancient World and Science

Before reaching the concept of geography at that time, it is worth paying attention to the people who were then engaged in science. They started human development. One of the main representatives of that time is Pythagoras. He founded a school where science, philosophy, religion and politics united. For the most part, all scientists of antiquity were philosophers at the same time: Plato, his teacher - Socrates, Euclid, Aristotle and others. But, nevertheless, what directions did they study in geography?

The main currents in the development of geography in antiquity

"Everything starts small" - the same applies to geography. AT ancient times people learned how to make the first cards. It was at that time that the year was divided into the usual 12 months. Astronomers have even been able to learn how to predict upcoming solar eclipses. In ancient Greece, a model of our Earth (globe) was first made. The first ideas about climatic zones appeared there. Scientists, of course, were engaged in such a direction as regional studies already in the sixth - fifth century BC.