Street names on the map betray either a translation error, or a misunderstanding about English language street naming conventions. The Russian word for "street" is "ulitsa" ("улица" in Cyrillic). The mapmakers took the street names appearing on US maps and inserted "ulitsa" in front of them, without removing the English word for street from the name. An example of this is the redundant "Ulitsa Constitution Avenue".

Soviet Mindset

The labels on the map show a distinctly Soviet view of Washington. In translating the US governmental names and terms they frequently substituted the analogous Russian word instead of using a direct translation. Thus the House of Representatives becomes the "Palace of Representatives", mimicking the Palace of Soviets. The State Department has been transformed into the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs".

A preference for the word "Aerodrome" over "Airport" produced Anacostia Aerodrome (Bolling AFB), Aerodrome Washington Virginia (Reagan National), etc.

A 'points of interest' table on the map includes several mundane selections that the Soviet's deemed noteworthy. Reflecting an obsession with industry, they call out an asphalt plant, Petrolium Products Inc, Northeast Distributors Inc, Adams Fabricated Steel Corp, and several others.

The maps may seem less impressive in the age of GPS and Google Maps, but they are incredibly detailed and comprehensive for the 1970s.



If you enjoyed this article you might also like to read about the Geography & Maps Division at the Library of Congress, or how the Fed's old nuclear now houses an A/V archive.