“We map the world as it is – not as people would like it to be,” National Geographic’s map-making authority says, as the educational entertainment giant prepares to mark Crimea as part of Russia after the parliament officially ratifies the measure.
Juan Jose Valdes, NatGeo’s geographer, chief editor and research director for the map-making division, emerged from a meeting with the magazine’s editorial, legal and cartographic authorities on Tuesday, where the decision was made to give the area a temporary special shading (like the Gaza Strip or the West Bank), until permanent coloring after the Russian parliament approves the treaty signed by President Putin and the Crimean authorities.
When the parliamentary vote takes place later in the week, “the document will be revised to indicate that the change has officially occurred and Crimea is officially part of Russia, then we will identify Crimea with the Russian boundary tint,” Valdes told the U.S. News.
“As you can only surmise, sometimes our maps are not received in a positive light by some individuals who want to see the world in a different light,” the director explained, which is not the case with other map makers. Rand McNally, another leader in atlas and map production, will not be making any changes to its maps.
The company spokesperson, Amy Krouse said “we take our direction from the State Department.”
Google has continued to show Crimea as part of Ukraine.
Source: RT
