The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-23
The Recent Russian Census.

The first census Of the Russian Empire ever
taken occurred nominally on Feb. 9 of the
present year, but all the details of the in
formation procured are not yet forthcom.
ing. The more important data, however,
are set forth by Mr.. E. J. DILLON in the
Contemporary RerfeD.
While the present enumeration is the first
comprehensive, scientific, and Trustworthy
census ever carried out in Russia. there
have been. Of course, periodical attempts
to guess at the number of the Cars sub
jects. Ono in about fifteen years an in:
quiry would be made as to the names, ages,
and dwelling places of that portion of the
male population which paid personal taxes.
The object of the statistics thus secured was
exclusively fiscal, the area Of investigation
was partial, and the method Of collecting
data was inadequate and clumsy.
This year, however, the utmost pains were
taken to obtain exhaustive and accurate re-
turns. The work was distributed among
90 provincial and 757 district committees.
again each of the districts being split up
into cantons. The cantonal sections were
themselves divided, every rural division
comprising 1000 souls, and every urban
ulSlSiOH IOU. 10 edCu OIL UneBe SMALLEST Ql-
visions a registrar was appointed.
The labors of all these subordinate func.
tionaries were superintendent by a central
committee, which had its seat in st. Peters.
burg. The magnitude of the task under.
taken by the Central Committee will be
understood when we recall the fact that
the Russian Empire comprehends a sixth
part of the globe, and hat It's population is
heterogeneous to a degree unknown even In
Austria-H Hungary. Innumerable are the
languages and dialects in which the census
papers had to be printed. When we con-
slider that the work Of organization was
not begun until September, 1895, 1t must
be pronounced a remarkable achievement
that the census papers should have been
delivered In time for the process Of stimuli
taneous collection to begin at daybreak on
Feb. 8 of the present year.
Not all the details brought out by the
census papers are yet, as we AVE said, &C.
cessible, but the principal results are
known. Fol instance, the entire popula.
ton OF the Russian Empire is 129,211,114
souls, Of whom 81, 1873. $50 inhabit Euro.
pean Russia; 9,442, 500, Poland; 9,723, 5bS,
the Caucasus; 2,527,sO1, Finland $751;
732, Siberia; 3,415,1 ia, the Steppe regions,
and 4,175, 1O1, the provinces of Transcaspla
and of Turkestan. There are. also, GALS
subjects of the Gear now residing In Khiya
and Bokhara.
The average density Of the population Is
S.S persons to the square verst, a Russian
verst being about IA of a square mile. The
density varies q great deal in different re,
gions; 1t is $40 to the square verst in
Poland and only 0.5 in Siberia. As regards
the distribution of the sexes, we find that
In European Russia there are 1O2 females
to 100 males, but in the Polish provinces
only $50 females to 100 males. Elsewhere
the proportion of women Is still smaller
In Siberia there are but 93.7 females to loo
males In the Steppe country, s9.4 females
to 100 males in the Caucasus, S9.5 females
to 100 males. and in Turkestan, S3.6 fe,
males to 100 males.
There are, 1t seems, 10 cities in Russia
which have In each case a population OF
more than 100000 souls; and 30 more
which have from $4,000 to 100, 900 each
In Is cities the number of females exceeds
that of the males, whereas, in all the others
1t Is smaller, and, in some, the difference In
favor of the males is very marked. Thus
In Kars, there are only 44.3 females to loo
males in New Marghelan, 30.7 and, In
Khabaroysk, 27.9 females to 100 males
There are said to be towns In the Caucasus
! where q manageable young woman seldom