“Culture and science have no boundaries…”

At the scientific library of the Society

23 January, items of exhibition “Ukraine at first half of XVII century on the maps of Guillame Le Vasser de Beauplan” were solemnly handovered from Ukrainian Academy of Russian Studies and Rossotrudnichestvo (Federal Agency for the CIS, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation) office in Ukraine to the Russian Geographical Society. The event took place in the Society’s HQ in St. Petersburg.

Ukrainian Academy of Russian Studies unites Ukrainian philologists, historians, culture experts, philosophers, ones studying historic and cultural ties of Russia and Ukraine, distribution of information on Russian history and culture, support for Russian language, development of humanitarian Russia-Ukraine cooperation.

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Maps handover to the Society

Maps, copies of which were presented to the Society were charted by French engineer and geographer Guillame Le Vasser de Beauplan (1595-1685). These maps are considered to be one of the main sources on the history of Ukraine in XVII century.

Guillame Le Vasser de Beauplan on invitation of Polish King Sigismund III served as senior artillery captain and military engineer in Polish army within the territory of modern Ukraine from 1630 until 1647. He took active part in creation of fortification system on the south border of Poland.  Book called “Description of Ukraine” and a series of maps of this land became the result of his time in Ukraine. These maps provide detailed view on hydrography, flora and populated areas of vast territory from Carpathian Mountains to the borders of the River Don. Also, detailed sketches of populated areas fortifications are almost the only available information about character, size and position of Ukrainian fortifications in the first half of XVII century.

Materials handovered to the Russian Geographical Society include replicas of Guillame Le Vasser de Beauplan maps and maps charted by European cartographers’ (such as J. Janson, Nicolas Sanson) on the basis of de Beauplan materials. There’s also a modern edition of Ukraine General map in Russian and works of A.A. Oleynikov “Cartographic heritage of Guillame Le Vasser de Beauplan on Ukraine”, “Land of the Cossacks” etc. intended to reintroduce de Beauplan maps to the science.