2. New Technology and the Mapping of Empire: The Adoption of the Astrolabe

This piece considers the next phase of imperial map-making from the mid-18th century as an official enterprise, using scientific methods and instruments. This was an era in which Russia – and the entirety of Europe, for that matter – was caught up in a fascination with science. This new scientific age meant that the role of Russia in international affairs became more pronounced, and the representation of Russian territories became increasingly important for geographers both in Russia and abroad. The central episode, symbolically and practically, was the systematic import, and then local manufacture, of astrolabes.