Atlas Narodov Mira

The 'Atlas of the Peoples of the World' was compiled by the Laboratory of Ethnic Statistics and Cartography of the Institute of Ethnography. N. N. Miklukho-Maklai of the Academy of Sciences of the CCCP and the Scientific and Editorial Mapping Department. Main Directorate of Geodesy and Cartography of the State Geological Committee of the USSR. It is intended for a wide range of readers, workers in the field of ethnography, history, linguistics, geography, teachers of higher and secondary schools, lecturers, leaders and participants in seminars of the political education network, for students, as well as for all those interested in national relations. The atlas will serve as a source for the development of various scientific problems in the field of ethnography and related disciplines. The widespread interest in the resettlement of peoples is largely due to the importance of the national question in the modern era, which, as stated in the Program of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, is. the era of the struggle of two opposing social systems, the era of socialist and national liberation revolutions, the era of the collapse of imperialism, the liquidation of the colonial system, the era of the transition to the path of socialism of all new peoples, the triumph of socialism and communism on a worldwide scale 1 In the Soviet Union, the national question was resolved on the basis of the Leninist national policy, which proclaimed the principle of complete equality of all peoples and their the right to self-determination. In the large family of Soviet republics, representatives of all peoples, large and small, live together, work and successfully develop their culture. They are united by common vital interests and the common goal of communism. In contrast to the countries of socialism In most capitalist countries there is no national equality. Forced assimilation of national minorities is observed in a number of countries. In the United States of America, the Republic of South Africa and some other countries, large sections of the population are subjected to racial discrimination. The struggle against national and racial oppression has gained ever wider scope in recent years. The national liberation struggle in the colonial and dependent countries after the Second World War dealt a crushing blow to the entire colonial system: it brought political independence to more than 50 countries in Asia, Africa and America. At present, the processes of national consolidation are rapidly developing in these countries, nationalities and tribes are uniting, and the movement for the revival and development of national culture is expanding. Mismatch of state borders with ethnic ones, the multinationality of some countries often lead to complications in relations between states and to aggravation of relations between neighboring peoples and, thus, become an important factor in the common political history. Interest in the ethnic composition of the countries of the world is also determined by the expansion of economic and cultural ties between the USSR and foreign countries (especially the countries of Asia and Africa), and the development of tourist ties. Peoples and tribes, recently known only to specialist ethnographers, now attract the attention of the general public. All this makes the publication of the Atlas of the Peoples of the World timely and relevant. Representing an independent ethnogeographical work, at the same time, in essence, it completes the series published by the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The peoples of the world."* 1. Program of the CPSU M., 1962, p. 9 1. Peoples of the world. Ethnographic Essays. Under the general editorship of S. P. Tolstov, Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

About 1600 peoples are identified on the maps of the Atlas, which are given in a unified system of classification by language families and groups. For the depiction of peoples on maps, the method of colored backgrounds has been adopted; the proximity of colors reflects, if possible, the genetic proximity between peoples. The scales of the maps are chosen depending on the complexity of the ethnic composition of the population of different areas. Sparsely populated ethnic territories (with a population density of less than 1 per. per 1 sq. km) are shown with colored icons that evenly fill the territory. Ethnically mixed areas are highlighted on all maps alternating stripes of different colors, and in these areas two prevailing in terms of population. To reflect minor groups of national minorities, icons are used, containing information about the national composition of the countries of the world. The maps from the atlas can be grouped into three main groups. The first group includes various ethnic cartographic materials and linguistic maps, population density maps, etc.

The second group includes materials from population censuses containing direct information about ethnicity (nationality) or language (mother tongue, spoken language, etc.), as well as census data, where there are indirect data information about the national composition of the population (about the origin, place of birth, nationality) things, religions, races). The third group consists of ethnographic publications of official government bodies, international organizations (the United Nations, etc.), as well as the works of ethnographers, geographers and demographers about the settlement on births and other data on the national composition of the countries of the world. Employees from different sectors took part in the review of the Atlas maps Institute of Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Institute of African Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and other institutions.