Geography, Museum of

the geological and geographical museum of Moscow State University (MGU) for teaching and research, founded between 1950 and 1955. There is a general geography section which deals with problems concerning the origin and structure of the earth, endogenic and exogenic processes, the formation of minerals and commercial minerals, and the history of the earth and life. Other sections of the museum are concerned with regional surveys of the USSR and the world (according to geographical belts, zones, and regions) and with the history of the development of exact and natural sciences at MGU. The exhibitions combine displays of various collections (for example, geographical, biogeographical, or soil) and scientific graphs (showing causal relationships, historical development, dynamics, and the practical significance of the processes occurring in the earth’s crust and terrain). There are also landscape paintings and portraits of scientists. This type of exhibition successfully demonstrates the synthetic aspect of the dialectics of nature and the variety and wealth of the earth’s natural re-sources, as well as the problems encountered in using these resources. The Museum of Geography at MGU is the central natural history museum in the USSR and gives methodological assistance to the nature departments in museums of local lore. Since 1961 the museum has published collections of scientific articles under the title Zhizn’zernli (Life of the Earth).