Abstract
The state statistical systems of Russia differ significantly between the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Federation. In the period of the Soviet Union, we can distinguish three periods: from the Russian Revolution to the 1920s; the Stalin period; and the period after the mid-1950s. Despite the differences, we can point out three characteristics of the Russian and Soviet statistical systems. First, a so-called centralized statistical system functioned in which censuses and statistical surveys were carried out by the central statistical organization. Second, in most of the periods, a system of reporting statistics was constructed based on information collected by regular reports from business entities. Third, statistical resources prepared by administrative institutions have been very rich and have been well preserved.
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Notes
- 1.
Concerning the historical depiction of the Russian statistical system, Goskomstat Rossii (1996b) (which publishes in both Russian and English), Simchera et al. (2001), and Rosstat (2013) are the most relevant literature in recent years. I also referred to Tiurina (1999) and Danilov and Miniuk (1998), written as one of the results of the Asian historical statistics project. I made use of such Japanese literature as Yamaguchi (2003) for the Russian Empire and Soviet Union, and Sasaki (1974) for the Russian Empire.
- 2.
This evaluation by Lenin was cited in Anon (1993, p. 4).
- 3.
The year mentioned here refers to the year of publication. The whole list of these statistics can be found in Simchera et al. (2001, pp. 267–279).
- 4.
The Statistical Yearbook for 1916 was printed in 1918. Since the Statistical Yearbook for 1918 was published in 1918, we may say that the number of total volumes was 14 although, in 2018, the Russian Empire is no longer in existence (Simchera et al. 2001, p. 280).
- 5.
See examples of classified data in the period 1942–1963 in Miniuk (2014), which includes a table of contents of the Statistical Bulletin of the TsSU in the period 1948–1963 and other statistical documents in the period 1942–1963, collected by the Russian State Archive of the Economy (RGAE). This book was jointly published by RGAE and the Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, in conjunction with the long-term historical statistics project on Asia and with a preface written by Professor Emeritus Yoshiaki Nishimura.
- 6.
Although it is not clear as to exactly when this classification was introduced, it was already being used in the abovementioned balance of the national economy for 1923/1924 (Iwasaki 2012, pp. 257–262).
- 7.
The title of the statistical yearbook published in 1956 did not include the year. From the following year, the title began to include the year to which it referred such as the Statistical Yearbook of the National Economy of the USSR for 1956. Since, as for 1957, 1967, 1977, 1982, and 1987, this yearbook was published as a memorial publication celebrating 40Â years from the October Revolution or 60Â years of the Founding of the Soviet Union, for example, these yearbooks have different titles.
- 8.
Handbooks published in 1990 and 1991 were co-published by the state statistical organization (Tabata 1994, p. 434).
- 9.
As for sample surveying in agriculture, see Goskomstat Rossii (2004, pp. 293–306).
- 10.
With respect to the problem of biases in Soviet growth rates and those in estimates by the CIA pointed out after the collapse of the Soviet Union, see Suhara (2013, pp. 3–79, 440–454).
- 11.
The list of statistical handbooks published after 1985 is available at http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/tokeisyu/handbooks-e.html.
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Tabata, S. (2019). Characteristics and Development of State Statistics. In: Kuboniwa, M., Nakamura, Y., Kumo, K., Shida, Y. (eds) Russian Economic Development over Three Centuries. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8429-5_2
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