I created this map as my final project for the class "The Russian Mind." Paired with a paper, I argued that the Caucasus, as Russians know it, did not exist until Pushkin created it in 1822 with his poem “The Prisoner of the Caucasus.” Since then, reflected in movies, poems, and other works, the region has taken on a "wild west" mythology, one that does not reflect that actual culture and reality of the region. I made this for print, and its dimensions are 3.5ft x 2ft.
The Caucasus is a region unlike any other, with towering mountains framed by the Black and Caspian Sea on either side. It is incredibly ethnically and linguistically diverse, being home to over 50 different peoples and three unique Caucasian languages groups including the Kartvelian family (Georgian), Abkhazo-Adyghian (Circassian, Abkhaz, and others), and Nahko-Dagestani group (Chechen, Ingush, and Dagestani languages). The land has a deep history, with skulls being found dating back to 1.8 Million years ago. Armenia is considered the first nation to have adopted Christianity as its state religion by King Trdat III in 301 AD. The Caucasus also makes up the border between Europe and Asia, the exact location being up for debate. But the Caucasus did not exist in the mind of Russians as it does now until Pushkin created it in his 1822 poem “The Prisoner of the Caucasus.” Since then, the region has evoked a wild, romanticized freedom in the Russian imagination.
The goal of my map of the Caucasus is to respond to the invented Russian romanticism of the Caucasus with a literal, accurate depiction of the geography and people groups of the Caucasus. I show natural features through a subtle hillshade, overlaid with labels of the mountain ranges and notable mountain peaks. The political data and labels of the region are modern, but I did not want to focus on which territories belonged to who, so I did not include any borders. Instead, I labeled the general areas with their names, including disputed regions or separatist states. My goals were simplicity and neutrality in depicting a region with a tumultuous and war-marked history. I included cities based on population and importance, adding a few smaller cities due to relevance, including Gori, Sochi, Poti, and the capital cities of the disputed territories.