(O’Neill, p. 223) Officials serving in Crimea discussed the “economic vitality” and prospects of the region with reference to “the productive capacity” of its soil. One general wrote, “paint yourself a picture of the open space from Perekop to the Salgir River, spread out over 100 versts…sometime in the future, this vast plain will be filled with villages, embellished with churches, palaces and other buildings, and around them will be gardens.” This vision – or hope – for a space seems incredibly important for historical understanding, but it seems equally difficult to portray hopes for a space on a map. Similarly, it is hard to specify an exact place on the map to detail these hopes.