Governmental Statistics in Russia in the Second Half of the Nineteenth and Beginning of the Twentieth Centuries

Abstract

This article analyzes the prerequisites for the formation of government (administrative) statistics in Russia in the first half of the nineteenth century. Using archival material and publications, we analyze the step-by-step process of creating and developing statistical bodies, beginning with the organization of the Department of Statistics under the Ministry of the Police in 1811. The creation of the Central Statistical Committee in the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1858, and its role in the preparation of the reforms of 1861 and othertransformations in the Russian Empire are traced. In particular, we focus on the active work of P. P. SemenovTyan-Shansky (1827–1914), the director of the Central Statistical Committee in 1863–1882, who raised statistics in Russia to a level that in many respects corresponded to that of the European experience. As an indicator of the success of Russian state statistics, we consider the establishment of regular statistical publications: Statistical timeline of the Russian empire, Vremennik of the Central Statistical Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Statistics of the Russian Empire, Yearbook of Russia. These publications, although not without flaws, ensured the comparability of statistical indicators and the possibility of building extended time series. The preparation of voluminous statistical compilations was carried out by a small number of Central Statistical Committee employees and was accompanied by detailed introductory articles in which data sources were specified, as well as their accuracy and suitability for comparative analyses. The significance of the participation of Russian representatives in international statistical organizations (such as the International Statistical Congress after 1853, and then the International Statistical Institute after 1885) is discussed. Attention is paid to the interrelation of government and departmental statistics, attempts to identify duplication of indicators, and to develop measures taken to eliminate them. The problems of reforming the statistical service in different periods of Russian history are discussed.