Tabulations of the 1926 Census Results in the Context of the 1937 and 1939 Censuses: Necessity or Deliberate Distortion?

Abstract

The total population of the Union republics is analyzed based on three tabulations of the 1926 population census, conducted in 1927–1928, 1937, and 1939. Through a comparative analysis of the results of the population censuses of 1937 and 1939, it is concluded that the redistribution of the total population among the republics did not seek to eliminate shortcomings in the conduct of the 1926 census since in all these tabulations the main indicator of the total population of the Soviet Union remained unchanged and amounted to 147 027 915 people. Most likely, the aim of this redistribution was to disguise the consequences of the demographic catastrophe associated with the famine of the early 1930s, especially in relation to Kazakhstan. In this context, this article also provides data on the population dynamics of the Central Asian republics from 1926 to 1939, obtained from three tabulations of the 1926 census. The results of these tabulations showed similar trends. It is concluded that the results of the first, earlier tabulations of the 1926 census materials are the least susceptible to distortion and can be used in scientific analysis. Another conclusion is that subsequent changes made to the 1926 census were intended to hide the consequences of the demographic catastrophe in the Soviet Union that had occurred as a result of the famine of the early 1930s. These changes were carried out by manipulating the redistribution of various categories of the population in the Union republics. In the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Kyrgyz ASSR), the number of Kazakhs increased by 1749 people.