Heroes with a ruler and compass: the National Centre RUSSIA explained how Soviet topographers brought Victory closer
Geographical maps shaped the outcome of military battles no less than bullets and shells. Guests of the National Centre RUSSIA learned about this as part of an educational programme dedicated to the 81st anniversary of the Great Victory. The unusual event, "Military Topography Lesson", was led by Alexander Odzho, a history teacher, blogger, holder of the title "Teacher of the Year Moscow 2025" and lecturer of the Russian society Znanie. The idea for this unusual topic at the intersection of geography and Russia’s military victories was proposed by volunteers of the National Centre RUSSIA.
The meeting was held in the "Geography Class" lecture hall of the "Geography Lessons" exposition and brought together everyone interested not only in the ceremonial pages of history, but also in the real everyday life of the front, which often remains behind the scenes. Through the lens of military topography, an important applied discipline at the intersection of geography, cartography and tactics, the audience learned the historical truth about the heroic work of Soviet topographers, geodesists and cartographers during the Great Patriotic War.
"Military topography is not simply the ability to read maps, but also the ability to understand and feel the terrain, and to find a way out where there seems to be none. Our topographers did this in difficult conditions, often right on the front line. During the war, they were truly rare specialists, worth their weight in gold," said Alexander Odzho, history teacher, lecturer of the Russian society Znanie, digital education ambassador and member of the Russian Military Historical Society.
The speaker explained how maps were created in the rear and on the front line, what difficulties their creators faced, why the largest military offensives would have been impossible without cartographic data, and how accuracy down to a few metres sometimes saved thousands of lives.
According to Alexander Odzho, at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet troops faced a shortage of the necessary number of maps. During bombardments, maps were often destroyed by fire, and in the event of retreat, these already valuable copies had to be destroyed so that they would not fall into enemy hands. New maps therefore had to be created very quickly, while also taking into account the fast-changing course of combat operations.
"Topographers barely had time to make one map before the situation at the front changed, and this applied even to small settlements, not to mention major cities such as Stalingrad. Of course, command plans depended directly on topographic information: it was almost impossible to develop the right course of action without cartographic material. Added to this was the importance of studying weather and climate conditions, natural and cultural landscapes, as well as analysing resources, which gave the military an understanding of what had to be defended first. For example, the Bashkir oil field was discovered by topographers during the Great Patriotic War," Alexander Odzho continued.
According to the speaker, the scale of the work carried out by military topographers during the war is truly impressive. From July to December 1941 alone, thanks to the efforts of topographers, more than 500,000 square kilometres of terrain were surveyed and 2,000 map sheets of various scales were published. In total, during the Great Patriotic War, millions of copies of maps were created and distributed from the western borders of the country all the way to the Far East.
Alexander Odzho noted that the profession of military topographer remains in demand in the modern world: many of these specialists are successfully serving today in the special military operation zone.
"The difference between mapmaking during the Great Patriotic War and during the special military operation lies primarily in material and technical equipment, for example in the use of GLONASS systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. Yet despite the fact that the technologies are completely different, today’s military topographers continue the glorious traditions of military topography from the Great Patriotic War: the traditions that made it possible to preserve peace. And, of course, military topography is only one element of the great heroism of the Soviet people," Alexander Odzho concluded.
The event ended with an open dialogue with the audience. Viewers asked where one can train as a topographer today, what children should be taught in the age of digital maps, and how to preserve the memory of heroes.
During the lecture, participants followed a route from Anapa towards Novorossiysk and then on to Gelendzhik and Krymsk.
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