Alexey Postnikov

Alexey V. Postnikov (born 1939) is an internationally known specialist on the History of Science, with particular emphasis on the geography and cartography of Russia and these countries that have been under Russian influence from the 17th through the 20th centuries.

He analyzed the development of Earth Sciences and Cartography in a broad social-cultural context. It reveals the limitation of Eurocentric approach by including the rich traditions of old Asian and American countries and people, as well as historical processes of their interaction and mutual influences with European geographical practices and theories. His work ''Mapping of Russian America: A History of Russian–American Contacts in Cartography'' is the most representative examples of this. Besides that fundamental monograph, the article ''Learning from Each Other – a History of Russian-native contacts in late Eighteenth - early Nineteenth Century Exploration and Mapping of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands'' in the ''International Hydrographic Review'' may be mentioned in this connection, whiсh deals with Native Americans' geographical data's use by Russian in Alaska and Aleutian Island.

In addition to their value as fundamental research on the development of cosmographical and geographical ideas and methods in different periods of the human history, Prof. Postnikov's studies in the History of Science, are important research tools for historical geographers who deal with detailed studies of territorial aspects of changes in nature and society. Provided by Wikipedia