Russian Empire Census

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Russian Empire Census of 1897 was the first and the only census carried out in the Imperial Russia. In recorded demographic data as of 28 January [O.S. 15 January 15] 1897.

Previously, the Central Statistical Bureau issued statistical tables based on fiscal lists (ревизские списки).

The project of the census was suggested by a famous Russian geographer, chief of the Central Statistical Bureau Petr Semenov-Tianshanski (Pyotr Semyonov-Tianshansky) in 1877. It was approved by tsar Nicholas II in 1895.

The census was performed in two stages. At the first stage (December 1896 — January 1897) the counters (135,000 persons: literate soldiers, teachers and priests) visited all households and filled the questionaries, which were verified by local census managers. At the second stage (December 28 (O.S.), 1897) the counters simultaneously visited all households to verify and update the questionaries.

The data processing took 8 years using the Hollerith card machines. The publishing of the results started in 1898 and ended in 1905. In total, 117 volumes for 89 guberniyas, as well as a two-volume summary were issued.

The questionary contained the following questions:

Family name, given name, patronymic or nickname (прозвище)
Gender
Relation with respect to the head of the family or household
Age
Marital status
Social status: sosloviye, rank , or title (сословие, состояние, звание)
Place of birth
Place of registration
Usual place of residence
Notice of absence
Faith
Mother language
Literacy
Occupation (profession, trade, position of office or service), both primary and secondary

In census summary tables, nationality was based on the declared mother language of respondents.

The second Russian Census was scheduled for 1915, but was cancelled because of the World War I.

Census results

The results of the census are too broad to publish, but its online Russian version can be found here: [demoscope.ru].

The total population of the Russian Empire was recorded to be 125,640,021 people (50.2 % female, 49.8 % male).

References

Первая всеобщая перепись населенiя Россiйской Имперiи, 1897 г. Изданiе центральнаго статистическаго комитета министерства внутреннихъ делъ. Под редакцiею Н.А. Тройницкаго (The First Total Census of Russian Empire. A publication of the central statictical bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Editor H.A.Troynitsky)

Семенов Тян-Шанский, В.П.(Ред.): РОССИЯ. Полное Географическое Описание Нашего Отечества (Санкт Петербург) 1913
Semenov Tian-Shanskii, V.P. (Ed.): RUSSIA. Complete Geographical Description of our Fatherland (St. Petersburg) 1913

(This latter work reproduces most of the results of the census, and is a good deal easier to find in western libraries than the original publication)

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