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Transport Network of Yakutia: Multi-time Analysis by Cartographic Sources

Filippova Viktoriia Viktorovna

ORCID: 0000-0002-3900-918X

PhD in History

Senior Scientific Associate, Department of History and Artcic Studies, Institute of Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Institute of Natural Sciences, Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University

677027, Russia, Yakutsk, ul. Petrovskogo, 1, of. 403

filippovav@mail.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 
Arkhipova Irina Mikhailovna

ORCID: 0000-0003-1828-8607

Cartographer, North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk

677007, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) region, Yakutsk, Kulakovsky str., 48, office 746

irina_arhipova13@mail.ru

DOI:

10.7256/2454-0609.2022.6.39093

EDN:

GSYSJG

Received:

02-11-2022


Published:

30-12-2022


Abstract: The article is devoted to the study of the development of the transport network of one of the largest regions of Russia on the example of mapping land routes in different historical periods. The relevance of the research topic is due to the lack of research, among the available historical and geographical works related to the study of the history of mapping the transport network of Yakutia. The purpose of this work is to study the history of the development of the transport network of Yakutia from the XVII to the beginning of the XXI centuries based on the analysis of various cartographic sources. To achieve this goal, the domestic experience of transport mapping was investigated; on the basis of identified published and unpublished sources, multi-time maps showing land routes of communication were selected and analyzed; on the basis of the analysis, the main stages of mapping land transport in Yakutia were identified. The study was conducted using a systematic approach, historical-comparative, cartographic and geoinformation methods. Due to the fact that this research is at the junction of a number of sciences, the work is based on an integrated approach. As a results of the study, the authors identified the stages in the history of mapping the transport network of Yakutia: the first stage (XVIII – late XIX centuries); the second stage (the first half of the twentieth century); the third stage (mid–twentieth century - 1990s); the fourth stage (post–Soviet period - to the present). Currently, a new information environment for the development of historical and geographical sciences is being created. GIS technologies enable access to historical maps, as well as the emergence of new ways to extract historical information from them. There are opportunities to detect previously hidden information, extract it and process it. The practical significance of the presented work is connected with the possibility of using its results to determine the directions of development and optimization of territorial aspects of the functioning of transport networks of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).


Keywords:

transport network, ways of communication, maps of transport, multi-time analysis, Okhotsk way, Ayan way, stages of development, mapping, GIS technology, Yakutia

This article is automatically translated. You can find original text of the article here.

IntroductionThe natural and climatic conditions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are an obstacle to the development of the transport system on its vast territory.

One of the important components of the economy of any region that ensures the movement and supply of vital goods is transport, which is no exception for the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

It is well known that transport maps occupy one of the most important places in socio-economic cartography. Transport and economic maps are very important. The transport network is a set of communication routes and transport hubs that provide a stable interconnection of the largest settlements and economic centers. On the maps of transport networks, the communication paths are displayed. The main task of transport mapping is to show the transport-geographical system, which includes a network of nodes, points and centers, transport flows and transport-geographical relations (transport development of the territory, accessibility, distance from roads and proximity to them), in addition, complementarity is inherent in it – mutual correspondence and complementarity of all elements in the system. The main aspects of transport mapping consist in mapping the transport infrastructure (network and nodes, means of communication and enterprises serving them), as well as in the work performed by transport for the transportation of goods and passengers [1].

Transport maps of Yakutia began to appear simultaneously with the development of its transport network. Natural and climatic conditions and landscape determined the dispersed nature and wide geography of the settlement of peoples on the territory of the republic. With a low population density and a nomadic lifestyle of some indigenous peoples, there was no need to lay roads, and all movements and transportation of goods were carried out by pack-riding. The accession of Yakutia to Russia necessitated the creation of a communication system in the region, primarily for closer communication with the center. Already in the XVII century, the Cossacks laid water and land routes between the prisons and winter quarters. In 1743, the Irkutsk –Yakut Tract was founded, which became a continuation of the main Siberian state highway, the starting point of which was the capital of the empire – St. Petersburg [2].

In this article, based on the analysis of multi-time maps, the history of the development of the transport network of Yakutia is traced: disappeared, preserved and newly appeared roads have been identified.

 

Structure and content of mapsTo compile multi-time maps of the dynamics of the transport network of Yakutia, examples of similar maps to the territory of other regions were studied.

For example, in the works of Dashpilov Ts. B. [3], the historical analysis of the formation and development of the transport network of Eastern Siberia was displayed using animated mapping. The cartographic Web resource "Trans-Siberian Railway": sources and development technology" describes the process of creating a web GIS on the NextGIS Web platform. The GIS project is represented by a set of vector and raster data transformed to work in a modern coordinate system based on a datum (ellipsoid) WGS-84. These include, first of all, historical maps and diagrams, satellite images in the form of mosaics and fragments of images obtained through available geoservices (Google, Yandex, Bing), as well as digital layers generated and edited based on digitization of historical and modern maps of different scales [4].

After studying the experience of mapping transport maps, various cartographic sources were selected that display the transport network of Yakutia. Next, the binding of multi-time maps was carried out (Fig. 1). In the process of binding, significant inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the spatial data of old cartographic sources were revealed. The main approach in the process of binding rasters is the location of points on the image from which their coordinates can be accurately removed, and when binding maps on which there is no coordinate grid, or it is not accurate, the control points are natural geographical objects, such as the mouth of rivers, cape, locality, etc. The basis for binding was the Open map Street Map (OSM), the coordinate system was chosen by EPSG: 3857 (Web Mercator).

 

 

Fig.1. The process of linking and digitizing transport network maps

[compiled by the authors]

 

Digitization of information from old cartographic sources made it possible to form a group of thematic GIS layers (Table 1).  

Table 1

Structure and content of maps of the transport network of Yakutia

(compiled by the authors)

Layer name

Layer Content

Name of the source

 

XVIII century

Deer and dog sledding trails

·         Plan of Irkutsk province of Zashiversky district

·         Plan of Irkutsk province of Olekminsky district

·          The plan of the Irkutsk province of Olensky uyezd·        

The plan of the Irkutsk province of the Yakut districtXIX century

County roads

· Map of the destination of the borders of Irkutsk province in 1824· map of the Yakut region, Okhotsk and Kamchatka districts from the atlas of the Russian Empire in 1830

· map of eastern Siberia "Irkutsk Province with the eastern part of the Yenisei, and regions: Trans-Baikal, Amur, Yakut and Primorye"

the first half of the XX century

Unpaved roads

Trails

· map of communication routes of Asian Russia· map of the Yakut Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic of 1924

·        

The scheme of communication routes of Yakutia and variants of the Yakut railway 1930.· map of the Yakut ASSR of 1935

· map of the Yakut ASSR of 1939

the second half of the XX century

Roads of national, regional and republican significance

Other

·         Yakut ASSR 1958·        

Yakut ASSR: administrative-territorial division 1979XXI century

Federal and regional roads

·         Road accessibility of the territory from the National Atlas of Russia 2008· Map of communication routes of the RS (Ya), 2012

The results of the study.

 

The overlay of the created GIS layers on top of each other made it possible to create thematic maps showing changes in the transport network of Yakutia. Maps of disappeared, preserved and newly appeared roads have been compiled. Where the layers of previous years overlap with the layers of subsequent years, a new spatial object appears (preserved roads). Accordingly, the layers that are not overlapped by new layers are the disappeared roads. Examples of disappeared and preserved roads can be traced on the maps "Okhotsk and Ayansky Tracts" (Fig. 2). The tracts were created for the purpose of delivering goods and mail to Yakutsk from other regions of Russia and China. In Fig. 2b it can be seen that the Okhotsk tract has been preserved from the village of Nizhny Bestyakh to the village of Churapcha. The rest can be considered as disappeared roads, perhaps only hunting trails remain.  The Ayan tract has been preserved from the Lower Bestyakh through the village of Amga to the mouth of the Maya River (Fig.

Fig. 2. Maps of a) Okhotsk and Ayan tracts b) overlay of layers of the Okhotsk and Ayan layers with roads of the XX and XXI centuries

[compiled by the authors]

 

The newly appeared roads can be viewed on the example of the map of the technological road of the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline (Fig. 3). The figure shows that the road that existed on the map of 1935 disappeared from the mid-1950s, but reappeared on the Kirensk – Olekminsk oil pipeline section on modern maps. Also, it can be noted as a disappeared highway that ran from the city of Aldan to the village of Saniyakhtakh, located on the left bank of the Lena River. The autozymic was associated with the history of gold mining in the Aldan River basin, but it is no longer displayed on maps of the second half of the XX century.

Fig. 3. An example of laying a technological ESPO road along the old directions of roads [compiled by the authors]

 

Conclusion. Visual analysis of the history of the development of the transport network with the use of GIS technologies allowed us to establish patterns of placement of the transport network of different years, to identify their features, to detect spatial relationships, to determine the next stages of the development of the transport network of Yakutia.

The first stage (XVI – I - the end of the XIX centuries) shows the paths laid by the pioneers in order to transport goods and create postal messages.

The second stage (the first half of the twentieth century) is associated with the beginning of the construction of highways in connection with the discovery, research and development of the richest mineral deposits.

The third stage (mid–twentieth century - 1990s) of the development of transport networks shows the process of expanding and deepening the economic development of the territory, changing the structure of the transport network in connection with the centralization of settlements. On the maps, many small roads and trails disappear. The construction of railways has begun.

The fourth stage (post–Soviet period - to the present). Along with the political and economic movements in the country, then declines, then jumps, there is the development of road construction. The most significant event of this period was the construction of the ESPO technological road, which crosses the previously existing old highway (XVIII – early XX centuries). Also, the completion of the construction of the Berkakit – Nizhny Bestyakh railway was a big step in economic and spatial terms in the life of the Republic.

ThanksThe research was carried out at the expense of the grant of the Russian Science Foundation No. 21-17-00250.

References
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Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The boundless Eurasian spaces of Russia are held together by two components: cities and roads. It is the development of the transport network that allows ensuring the national security of Russia, and until recently, even on Sakhalin Island, the Russian railway track did not operate. However, both the pre-revolutionary and the Soviet period were marked by major transport achievements: these are the Transsib, Turksib, and BAM. By the way, in recent years, railway construction has been successfully carried out in Yakutia. And although the people are still skeptical about the quality of domestic roads, nevertheless it is impossible to deny their importance for our country. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, noting the importance of developing transport systems, sets the task of "implementing a large-scale road construction plan for 2023-2027, solving ambitious and in-demand tasks for the construction and modernization of highways, bridges, and transport interchanges." In this regard, it is important to study the transport network of this largest Russian region by area. These circumstances determine the relevance of the article submitted for review, the subject of which is the transport network of Yakutia. The author sets out to examine the history of the development of the transport network of Yakutia, to identify the disappeared, preserved and newly appeared roads. The work is based on the principles of analysis, synthesis, reliability, the methodological basis of the research is a systematic approach, which is based on the consideration of the object as a value complex of interrelated elements. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the very formulation of the topic: the author seeks to characterize the transport network of Yakutia on the basis of multi-time maps. Considering the bibliographic footnotes of the article, we note that there are primarily articles devoted to the cartographic topic: S.E. Mostakhova, Ts.B. Dashpilov and other authors. Despite the well-known brevity, the use of various sources and research contributed to the solution of the tasks facing the author. The style of writing the article can be attributed to a scientific one, at the same time understandable not only to specialists, but also to a wide readership, to everyone who is interested in both the transport system of Russia in general and the transport system of Yakutia in particular. The appeal to the opponents is presented at the level of the collected information received by the author during the work on the topic of the article. The structure of the work is characterized by a certain logic and consistency, it can be distinguished by an introduction, the main part, and conclusion. At the beginning, the author defines the relevance of the topic, shows that "the accession of Yakutia to Russia caused the need to create a communication system in the region, primarily for closer communication with the center." Based on the study of cartographic sources, the author identifies four stages in the development of the transport network of Yakutia: it is noteworthy that in the 1950s and 1980s a large network of roads was gradually formed against the background of the disappearance of trails. The paper notes that at the present stage, the completion of the construction of the Berkakit – Nizhny Bestyakh railway line has become a serious contribution to the economic and spatial realities of Yakutia." The main conclusion of the article is that "a visual analysis of the history of the development of the transport network using GIS technologies made it possible to establish patterns of placement of the transport network in different years, identify their features, and discover spatial relationships." The article submitted for review is devoted to an urgent topic, is provided with a table and 3 figures, will arouse readers' interest, and its materials can be used both in training courses and in the framework of mapping transport systems. There are comments to the article: for example, it would be possible to expand the list of references, etc. However, in general, in our opinion, the article can be recommended for publication in the journal "Historical Journal: Scientific Research".