GOVERNMENT STATISTICS ON CITIES OF VOLYN PROVINCE (UNTIL THE 1870S)

Abstract

Statistical editions of the 19th century (until the 1870s), which contain information about Volyn cities, were considered. The stages of the formation of state statistics in the Russian Empire in the context of data collection on urban settlements and the urban economy were singled out. We analyzed in detail the content of statistical sources issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and indicated the features and shortcomings of each of these publications. It was noted that the first work of the statistician Karl German was a historical-statistical research of a compilative nature. More extensive statistical information about urban settlements (including those in the Volyn province) was contained in a publication prepared under the leadership of Matvyi Shtern. It served as a foundation for future collections that were printed in the 1830s and 1840s. The urban population's statistical information has been summarized in tabular form. The statistical tables published in 1858 include a wide range of materials about the cities of socio-economic and cultural content, the reliability of which is based on the annual reports of the governors to the emperor. It was emphasized that in the next edition, the compilers did not limit themselves only to compiling tables but also conducted a thorough analysis of them. According to the article, the reform of city administration needed planning work from the central government to gather information about the city's economy. As a result, this led to the creation of two voluminous statistical reference books, which are valuable sources for studying the history of cities before the reform of 1870. It was supplemented by detailed information about the city economy at the beginning of the 1860s contained in another publication prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was noted that a researcher dealing with urban issues of the first half of the 19th century must consider the heterogenic, incomplete, and incorrect nature of statistical information due to the lack of consistent practice of keeping state statistics in the Russian Empire. At the same time, statistical sources remain very significant for historical urbanism.