A continuity of ideas? salme nõmmik, edgar kant and the development of economic geography in soviet estonia

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse the accommodation of Estonian geographical science into that of the Soviet Union after World War II. The process is viewed in the context of scientific and political developments in the Soviet Union on the basis of the scientific legacies of Edgar Kant (1902–1978), the first professor in economic geography in the pre‐war Republic of Estonia, and Salme Nõmmik (1910–1988), the first professor of economic geography in Soviet Estonia. Kant, who was recognized abroad and was probably the first who proposed to apply Walter Christaller's (1893– 1969) central place theory, namely, in reorganization of Estonian rural communities (1935–1938), was in disgrace in Soviet Estonia where his works were actively criticized. This article distinguishes, for the first time, different periods in the reception and valuation of the scholarly activities of Kant in Estonia during the Soviet period. On the basis of the archival documents of the Estonian Historical Archives, the department of manuscripts of the University of Tartu Library, and archive of the University of Tartu, it appears that in her investigations, Nõmmik often made use of the concepts Kant had put forward before the war. As a result, Estonian geography managed to secure an important position in the discipline of economic geography in the USSR.