On Wednesday, the National Geographic Society made the first move, announcing future maps will include Crimea as part of Russia. José Valdés, geographer and director of editorial and research for National Geographic Maps, told U.S. News:
“We map de facto, in other words we map the world as it is, not as people would like it to be. 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.”
Meanwhile, Rand McNally, maker of educational maps found in classrooms throughout the US, stated they will keep Crimea in Ukraine, citing the US State Department as the ultimate authority on territorial boundaries. On the digital front, Google Maps recently updated their rendering of the peninsula with a red dotted line, meant to convey the area’s ownership is in dispute.
What do you think — should mapmakers move Crimea into the Russian Federation? 