The Russian Empire census, formally the First general census of the population of the Russian Empire in 1897,[lower-alpha 1] was the first and only nation-wide census performed in the Russian Empire. The census recorded demographic data as of 9 February 1897 [O.S. 28 January]; with a population of 125,640,021, it made Russia the world's third-most populated country at the time, after the British and Qing empires. Although the census was performed in most of the empire, no enumeration was done in the Grand Duchy of Finland.
The census revealed the social class, native language, religion, and profession of citizens, which were aggregated to yield district and provincial totals. The data processing took eight years; publishing the results began in 1898 and was completed in 1905. In total, 119 books in 89 volumes were published for 89 governorates in the empire, including a two-volume summary.
The next census had been planned for December 1915, but was cancelled due to World War I.[1] It was not rescheduled before the Russian Revolution. The next census in Russia only occurred at the end of 1926, almost three decades later.
Background
Population censuses in Eastern Europe, as well as throughout the world, were carried out in one form or another throughout the existence of tribes, principalities, kingdoms, kaganates, khanates, kingdoms, empires, and states in order to determine the expected collection of income from subject territories and peoples.
In the thirteenth century, the Golden Horde enumerated the population of the Rus' three times—1245, 1257, and 1274; according to censuses, the Rus' population was then estimated at approximately 10 million people.[2] The population in the Tsardom of Russia under the reign of Peter the Great was about 15 million in 1710.
Previous censuses had been recorded for fiscal and military purposes. Until the eighteenth century, population records were sporadic, as in either scribal or census books. Audits began to be carried out at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and population censuses became relatively regular. Since 1858, the audit had been replaced by administrative and police registration of the population based on data from family lists. In total, three large administrative and police censuses of the population were carried out—in 1858, 1863, and 1885. Running population registrations – including births, marriages, and deaths – were carried out by religious organisations until 1918. All the items mentioned above were characterised by inaccuracy and insufficient completeness.
By 1897, significant experience had been accumulated in local, mainly urban, population censuses that had been conducted since the later half of the nineteenth century. Population censuses were performed in separate governorates (Pskov in 1870 and 1887, Astrakhan in 1873, Akmola in 1877, etc.), in which residents in all cities were enumerated. The population in the entire Courland Governorate was enumerated in 1863 and 1881, and in the governorates of Livonia and Estonia in the latter. Registration of the rural population was performed during household and other surveys of zemstvos. In 1871, under the general editorship of the professor of military statistics, Nikolai Obruchev, officers of the General Staff published a military statistical collection, the four-volume edition of which contained data on the population of Russia as a whole, and was categorised by governorates and okrugs.
In 1870, the project for an all-Russian population census was discussed at the First All-Russian Congress of Statisticians, and in 1876, at the eighth session of the International Statistical Congress. On 26 February 1877, the draft of "Regulations on the General National Census", which was developed by a commission under the Ministry of Finance, was submitted to the State Council; however, it was not discussed there, possibly due to the Russo-Turkish War that occurred from 1877 to 1878. In the early 80s of the nineteenth century, the Ministry of Internal Affairs began to receive statements from some zemstvo assemblies and governors about the need to conduct a population census as soon as possible; this was due to the unbalanced distribution of taxes among peasant families and an increase in arrears in collections from the population. After the famine of 1891–1892, the question of the obligation to have accurate figures of the population of the empire again arose.
The census was performed in two stages. For the first stage (December 1896 — January 1897) the counters (135,000 persons: teachers, priests, and literate soldiers) visited all households and filled in the questionnaires, which were verified by local census managers. For the second stage (9 January 1898 [O.S. 28 December 1897]) the counters simultaneously visited all households to verify and update the questionnaires. The census was performed during winter as the population was less mobile then.[3] Despite this being the only imperial census, historians are able to estimate the Russian Empire's population during earlier times by collecting city censuses.
The data processing required 8 years using Hollerith card machines. Publication of the results started during 1898 and ended in 1905. In total, 119 volumes for 89 guberniyas, as well as a two-volume summary, were issued.
Data fields
The questionnaire contained the following questions:
The total population of the Russian Empire was recorded to be 125,640,021 people, 62,477,348 or 49.73% of whom were men and 63,162,673 or 50.27% were women—the median age was 21.16 years.
By native language
Map of subdivisions of the Russian Empire by largest ethnolinguistic group (1897)
Each enumeration form was copied twice, with the three copies filed in the Volost (county) archives, the governorate archives, and the Central Statistical Bureau in St. Petersburg. The copies in St. Petersburg were destroyed after they had been tabulated.[7][3] Most of the copies stored locally and regionally have also been destroyed; however, the complete census for the Arkhangelsk and Tobolsk governorates has been preserved, and the census for portions of several other governorates is also extant.[8][9]
Assessment
The results may have been influenced by national policy of the authorities: the population of Russian ethnicity was somewhat exaggerated.[10] Thus for example, the number of Poles is underrepresented.[11][12] Imperial officials classified the Ukrainian and Belarusian languages as belonging to the Russian group and labeled those nationalities as Little Russian for Ukrainians and White Russian for Belarusians.[10]
The census did not contain a question on ethnicity, which was deduced from data on mother tongue, social estate and occupation. There was also a 1916 and 1917 "agricultural census" that was carried out throughout the empire (except in some parts of the Caucasus, Eastern Russia, and Siberia), and a 1920 "general census" (except in the Russian far north, far east, Ukraine, and the Caucasus).[13]
Yekaterinoslav Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yekaterinoslav. It bordered Poltava Governorate to the north, Don Host Oblast to the east, Sea of Azov to the southeast, Taurida Governorate to the south, and Kherson Governorate to the east, and covered the area of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts of modern Ukraine.
Nakhichevan-on-Don, also known as New Nakhichevan, was an Armenian-populated town near Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia founded in 1779 by Armenians from Crimea. It retained the status of a city until 1928 when it was merged with Rostov.
The Vilna Governorate was a province (guberniya) of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of 41,907.9 square kilometres (16,180.7 sq mi) and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governorate to the south, the Grodno Governorate to the southwest, the Suwałki Governorate to the west, the Kovno and Courland Governorates to the north, and the Vitebsk Governorate to the east. The capital was located in Vilna (Vilnius). The city also served as the capital of Vilna Governorate-General, which existed until 1912. The area roughly corresponded to the Vilnius Region, which was later occupied by Germany, Bolsheviks, and Poland.
Narew is a village in Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Narew. It lies approximately 21 kilometres (13 mi) north of Hajnówka and 33 km (21 mi) south-east of the regional capital Białystok.
The Jebrail uezd, also known after 1905 as the Karyagino uezd, was a county (uezd) of the Elizavetpol Governorate of the Russian Empire with its center in Jebrail (Jabrayil) from 1873 until its formal abolition in 1921 by the Soviet authorities.
Kurds in Russia form a major part of the historically significant Kurdish population in the post-Soviet space, with close ties to the Kurdish communities in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Wierland County was one of the four counties of the Russian Empire located in the Governorate of Estonia. It was situated in the eastern part of the governorate. Its capital was Rakvere (Wesenberg). The territory of Wierland County corresponds to most parts of present-day Ida-Viru and Lääne-Viru counties and a small part of Jõgeva County.
Wiek County was one of the four counties of the Russian Empire located in the Governorate of Estonia. It was situated in the western part of the governorate. Its capital was Haapsalu (Hapsal). The territory of Wiek County corresponds to present-day Lääne and Hiiu counties, the westernmost part of Rapla County, and a small part of Pärnu County.
Harrien County was one of the four counties of the Governorate of Estonia. It was situated in the central part of the governorate. Its capital was Reval (Tallinn), which was the capital of the governorate as well. The territory of Harrien County corresponds to present-day Harju County and most parts of Rapla County.
Dobeles apriņķis was a historic county of the Courland Governorate and of the Republic of Latvia. Its capital was Dobele (Doblen).
Aizpute County was a historic county of the Courland Governorate and of the Republic of Latvia. Its capital was Aizpute (Hasenpoth).
Grobiņas apriņķis was a historic county of the Courland Governorate and shortly of the Republic of Latvia. Its capital was Grobiņa (Grobin).
Talsu apriņķis was a historic county of the Courland Governorate and of the Republic of Latvia. Its capital was Talsi (Talsen).
Jaunjelgavas apriņķis was a historic county of the Courland Governorate and of the Republic of Latvia. Its capital was Jaunjelgava (Friedrichstadt).
Ilūkstes apriņķis was a historic county of the Courland Governorate and of the Republic of Latvia. Its capital was Ilūkste (Illuxt), but the most populous settlement was Grīva (Griwa-Semgallen) immediately south of Daugavpils (Dünaburg).
The Javad uezd, known after 1921 as the Salyan uezd, was a county (uezd) within the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire and then of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Azerbaijan SSR until its formal abolishment in 1929 by the Soviet authorities. The uezd was located in the central part of the governorate, bordering the Geokchay, Shemakha, and Baku uezds to the north, Caspian sea to the east, Lenkoran uezd to the south and Iran to the west. The administrative center of the uezd was the city of Salyan.
Pavlovsky Uyezd was an uyezd of Voronezh Governorate in the Russian Empire. It was situated in the central part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Pavlovsk.
The Shemakha uezd was a county (uezd) within the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire, and then of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Azerbaijan SSR until its formal abolishment in 1929. The county was located in central part of the Baku Governorate, bordering the Javad uezd to the south, Baku uezd to the east, Geokchay uezd to the west and Kuba uezd to the north. The administrative centre of the county was the city of Shemakha.
Berdyansky Uyezd was one of the subdivisions of the Taurida Governorate of the Russian Empire. Its administrative centre was Berdiansk. Other populous places in the uyezd were Dmytrivka and Tokmak.
Sudzhansky Uyezd was one of the subdivisions of Kursk Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the western part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Sudzha.
↑ Piotr Eberhardt, Jan Owsinski, Ethnic groups and population changes in twentieth-century Central-Eastern Europe, M.E. Sharpe, 2003, ISBN0-7656-0665-8, Google Print, p.27
↑ Jerzy Borzęcki, The Soviet-Polish peace of 1921 and the creation of interwar Europe, Yale University Press, 2008, ISBN0-300-12121-0, Google Print, p.10
Первая всеобщая перепись населенiя Россійской Имперіи. Под редакцiею Н. А. Тройницкаго. — СПб.: Изданiе центральнаго статистическаго комитета министерства внутреннихъ делъ, 1905. (The First Total Census of Russian Empire. A publication of the central statistical bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Editor N. A. Toynitsky.)
РОССИЯ. Полное Географическое Описание Нашего Отечества. Под ред. П. П. Семенова-Тян-Шанского. — СПб., 1913. (Semenov-Tyan-Shanskiy, P. 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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