The first general census of the population of the Russian Empire in 1897 () was the first and only nation-wide census performed in the Russian Empire (excluding the Grand Duchy of Finland). It recorded demographic data as of . Previously, the Central Statistical Bureau issued statistical tables based on fiscal lists (ревизские списки).
The census revealed the social class, native language, religion, and profession of citizens, which were aggregated to yield district and provincial totals.
The second Russian census was scheduled for December 1915, but was cancelled because of World War I, which had begun during 1914. It was not rescheduled before the Russian Revolution. The next census in Russia only occurred at the end of 1926, almost three decades later.
Organization
The census project was suggested during 1877 by Pyotr Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, a famous Russian geographer and director of the Central Statistical Bureau, and was approved by Czar Nicholas II in 1895.
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 () 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. 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: Family name, given name, patronymic or nickname (прозвище) Sex Relation with respect to the head of the family or household Age Marital status Social status: sosloviye (estate of the realm), rank or title (сословіе, состояніе, званіе) Place of birth Place of registration Usual place of residence Notice of absence Faith First language (родной язык) Literacy Occupation (profession, trade, position of office or service), both primary and secondary
In the census summary tables, nationality was based on the declared primary language of respondents.
Census results
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
By religion
Population by modern-day countries
Russia 67,476,000 (from this Siberia 5,758,822) Ukraine 23,430,407 (from this Crimea 1,447,790) Poland (Vistula basin) 9,402,253 Belarus 6,927,040 Kazakhstan 4,000,000 Lithuania 3,135,771 Georgia 2,109,273 Uzbekistan 2,000,000 Moldova 1,935,412 Latvia 1,929,387 Azerbaijan 1,705,131 Estonia 900,000 Armenia 797,853 Kyrgyzstan 750,000 Tajikistan 646,000 Turkmenistan 350,000
Largest cities
Largest cities of the Empire according to the census:
Saint Petersburg – 1,264,900
Moscow – 1,038,600
Varshava (Warsaw) – 626,000
Odessa (Odesa) – 403,800
Lod (Łódź) – 314,000
Riga – 282,200
Kiev (Kyiv) – 247,700
Kharkov (Kharkiv) – 174,000
Tiflis (Tbilisi) – 159,600
Vilna (Vilnius) – 154,500
Saratov – 137,100
Kazan – 130,000
Rostov-on-Don – 119,500
Tula – 114,700
Astrakhan – 112,900
Ekaterinoslav (Dnipro) – 112,800
Baku – 111,900
Chișinău – 108,500
Helsinki – 93,000
Nikolayev (Mykolaiv) – 92,000
Minsk – 90,900
Nizhny Novgorod – 90,100
Samara – 90,000
Orenburg – 72,400
Yaroslavl – 71,600
Dvinsk (Daugavpils) – 69,675
Vitebsk – 65,900
Reval (Tallinn) – 64 572
Libava (Liepāja) – 64,489
Yekaterinodar (Krasnodar) – 65,600
Tsaritsyn (Volgograd) – 55,200
Data availability
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. 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.