How commonplace for us is the census today… This will not surprise anyone, will not outrage. In a sense, this process is already an integral part of our life. After all, it is so natural to ask a question in a search engine about the population in the city where you plan to go on vacation. When asked whether it is you who live in a big city, almost everyone, without hesitation, will name an approximate, but close figure. A student can easily list the million-plus cities of his country and will certainly be able to answer how many people live with him in the same territory. But it was not always so. Previously, the census was an exceptional event. A new, difficult, peculiar occupation.
A bit of world history
In ancient times, during active wars and the division of territory between different states, the population census was used everywhere. Each feudal lord knew his people, the number of families living under his command. After all, the amount of taxes paid depended on this, it was necessary to know the number of able-bodied people for conscription in the event of another war.
Arosethis need goes back to ancient times. The Indians, the Egyptian pharaohs, the governments of ancient China and ancient Japan all had their own population accounting mechanisms.
Interestingly, even the Bible describes the census conducted by King David.
Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome took into account only the number of adult men. But the governments of some medieval states (such as Germany, France, Italy) preferred to consider the population as whole families.
The debut full-fledged census in the modern sense was carried out in the United States of America shortly before the end of the 18th century.
Russian state
The first census in Russia was carried out in the middle of the XIII century. It became one of the administrative innovations introduced by the Mongols. The main reason for accounting was the calculation and planning of taxation (tributes).
After the liberation from the Mongol-Tatar yoke in some territories of the Russian state, this procedure was preserved. However, the census was carried out only in a few principalities. It is known for certain about accounting only in the Novgorod and Kiev principalities. Initially, the object of the census were land plots (plow, tithe, yard).
Records were kept in the so-called scribe books. However, only the unstructured part of the information was taken into account. Later they were replaced by "seasoning books". The scribes were mainly representatives of the clergy. This was explainedalso by the fact that literate scribes were much more common among them.
During the Russian Empire
The first general population census was a unique event for those times. More than twenty years have been spent on its preparation. It was and remains the only project of its kind when the census in Russia was carried out everywhere and on the same day.
According to the idea of Nicholas II, it was planned to carry out the work of entering data using electric calculating machines.
In fact, most of the information was entered by counting officials, since the literacy of the population did not allow the achievement of technical progress of that time to be realized.
However, the next step was still made on calculating electric machines. All the information received was put on a punch card, individual for each resident.
According to experts, the cost of the entire procedure exceeded 6 million Russian rubles.
Population accounting under the Soviets
The Soviet authorities paid considerable attention to determining not only the quantitative composition of the population, but also the territorial distribution, religion and nationality.
The first census after the revolution was carried out in 1920, but covered only territories where there was no Civil War.
After 3 years, all urban residents were enumerated, and after another 3, a general census took place.
In modern Russia
The population census in Russia wascompleted only ten years after the formation of the new state. It took place from 14 to 25 October 2010. According to preliminary results, announced in March 2011, the population of Russia amounted to 142,905,200 people. Since 2002, Russia has moved from 7th to 8th place in the world in terms of population.
The population census in Crimea was carried out by the Russian Federation in the autumn of 2014. Its objectivity has been repeatedly criticized, especially with regard to information about the religious and national affiliation of citizens.
Data integrity
The credibility of census statistics is always subject to error, and therefore is often the subject of discussion.
Difficulties of an objective and subjective nature that negatively affect the accuracy of its results should not be ruled out.
An error can occur both at the stage of preparation and during the collection and processing of data. Another thing to consider is that every day someone dies and someone is born.
During the time of the Russian state, census takers were deliberately deceived. Residents used fairly simple but effective methods. Since the tax was charged on the yard, and not on the number of people living in it, peasants could be moved from several houses to one, or one temporary fence was erected around two or more yards.
For example, the 1897 census was accompanied by a huge amount of rumors. Not all residents were favorable to this idea. Among the inhabitants wentlots of gossip. The people were deliberately and unintentionally intimidated by the fact that the purpose of the census was to introduce new taxes. And this is the most harmless. Residents were afraid that they would want to be relocated to the undeveloped Siberian lands. Among some Old Believer communities, it was said that counting people is a sign indicating the coming of the Antichrist.
Some data was deliberately distorted by the respondents themselves. For example, not everyone reported objective information about their attitude to military service, about additional types of income, religion.
According to the primary census forms, bias in the preparation of survey documents and imperfection of data processing is visible. For example, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz in a number of regions belong to the same people. And in other sources it is clear that the Turkmens are considered together with the Tajiks. And there are many such errors.
