The all-Russian agricultural population censuses 1916 and 1917: history, problems and results (on the example of the indigenous people of the Biysk district Tomsk province)

The article is devoted to characterizing All-Russian Agricultural Census in 1916 and 1917, which was an important experience for the national statistics. Censuses took place in conditions of limitation of financial means. In 1916 copyists revealed food stocks and resources in the country. In 1917 the attention was focused on types of farms and data on the population. Higher scientific importance of materials of census 1917 in comparison with the previous is connected with good safety of questionnaires and more wide range of questions containing in them. Materials of census of 1916 can be attracted as comparative and verification data. Materials of the census 1917 have high scientific potential on condition of attraction of computer technologies. However, now materials of agricultural census 1917 are among one of most poorly demanded contemporary records. There is only primary experience of the analysis of this array of data. The use of census materials, which are well preserved in the State Archives of the Altai region, will reconstruct the demographic structure, economy and environmental management systems of indigenous people North Altai foothills early XX century.