The Formation of a Per Capita Population Census System of the Russian Empire in the 18th Century

Abstract

A wide range of issues regarding the mechanism of state registration of subjects of the Russian Empire in the 18th century is covered. It is noted that Peter the Great’s large-scale reforms in all spheres of public life logically showed the imperfection of the then household accounting of the population of the Tsardom of Muscovy. The reasons for the transition to a per capita census of the country’s inhabitants are considered, and the evolution of census accountancy and its complication and improvement throughout the 18th century are traced. The procedure of carrying out “people’s censuses” has been studied. It is shown that the first censuses carried out in the first half of the 18th century were of a transitional nature since they contained features of household descriptions of the population of the Muscovy state. The people’s censuses of the second half of the 18th century were organized on a qualitatively new basis: the survey mechanism was simplified, and unified documentation appeared, uniform for the entire country. It is concluded that demographic information contained in census materials is of critical importance.