PERM PROVINCIAL URBAN CENSUSES, 1860S — 1918: A CATALOGUE AND DESCRIPTION

The article is dedicated to the study of urban population censuses in the late 19th — early 20th century Perm’ province of the Russian empire. Modern local censuses became widespread in post-reform Russian cities due to the prolonged delays of a nationwide demographic enumeration. The first urban censuses in the Middle Urals were taken in the 1860s and continued until 1918. A preliminary list of 12 censuses taken in Perm, Ekaterinburg and small provincial towns has been created based on journal articles, published census results, instructions and other documentary records. Most of them were conducted in the 19th century. Some enumerations were considered failures by the organizers while the results from others remained unpublished. It is also possible that some censuses are still undiscovered. The publication of results was done in separate volumes, in periodicals, or indirectly through scientific articles. The censuses of the Middle Urals’ main cities, Perm and Ekaterinburg, had specific features. In the regional capital, Perm, the provincial statistical committee played a significant role, relatively regularly and professionally organizing local surveys. At the same time in Ekaterinburg, the residents were enumerated by local self-government bodies and the intelligentsia, while in small towns, the role of zemstvo statisticians was significant.