The conflicts in the Caucasus are often directly linked to changes in territorial borders. For Jean Radvanyi, director of the Franco-Russian Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences in Moscow, creating an atlas of the Caucasus is a key to understanding the nature of the conflicts in the region. Radvanyi presented the second edition of the Geopolitical Atlas of the Caucasus at the Carnegie Moscow Center, in an event chaired by Carnegie’s Alexey Malashenko and Nikolay Petrov.  

Geopolitical Atlas of the Caucasus

The Geopolitical Atlas of the Caucasus (Atlas géopolitique du Caucase, in French, second edition – Paris, 2010) is the joint work of Radvanyi and Georgian geographer Nikolay Beruchashvili. Russian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian geographers all took part in the project, which presents a variety of different kinds of maps: administrative maps of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and the neighboring regions in Russia; economic, ethnic and demographic maps; and a historical section showing all of the border changes since 1920. Along with the maps, the atlas contains additional reference materials and a timeline of conflicts in the region.

Use of maps in territorial disputes in the Caucasus

Radvanyi explained that the use of maps to justify territorial claims has always been part and parcel of geopolitical disputes. The Caucasus is no exception. The countries in the region draw up maps that reflect their own version of history and ignore the interests of other parties. 

• The territory of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan: Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan all have territorial claims against their neighbors. All have used old geographical maps to support their claims. Not only have borders changed since those old maps were drawn, however. Ethnic and demographic makeup and economic situation in the disputed territories have also changed. Conflicts over disparities between real and desired borders end up drawing in not just regional players, but also actors beyond the Caucasus.
   
• Russia: Russia’s situation is complicated by the fact that Russia is at once a local and external player in the Caucasus. While it has a strong influence in the region, Russia does not have a strategy for resolving the region’s problems.

How to define the Caucasus’ borders?

Most outside players define the Caucasus as covering only the territories of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan and do not include Russia’s North Caucasus in their discussion of the region. Radvanyi, however, argued that the South Caucasus’ problems cannot be resolved without also taking the North Caucasus into account.

Summing up his presentation, Radvanyi said that “any attempt by countries to include others’ territories into their administrative maps is bending reality.”