First All-Union Census of the Soviet Union

The First All Union Census of the Soviet Union took place in 1926. It was an important tool in the state-building of the USSR, provided the government with important ethnographic information, and helped in the transformation from Imperial Russian society to Soviet society. The decisions made by ethnographers in determining the ethnicity ("narodnost") of individuals, whether in the Asiatic or European parts of the former Russian Empire, through the drawing up of the "List of Ethnicities of the USSR", and how borders were drawn in mixed areas had a significant influence on Soviet policies. Ethnographers, statisticians, and linguists were drawing up questionnaires and list of ethnicities for the census. However, they also had the more ambitious goal of deliberately transforming their identities according to the principles of Marxism-Leninism. As Anastas Mikoyan put it, the Soviet Union was "creating and organising new nations" [" _ru. Национальный вопрос и национальная култура в Северо-Кавказском крае (Итоги и перспективы): К предстоящему съезду горских народов" ("Natsionalny vopros i natsionalnaya kultura v Severo-Kavkazskom kraye (Itogi i perspektivy): K predstoyashchemu syezdu gorskikh narodov"), Rostov-on-Don, 1926.]

Previous censuses

The First All Union Census of the Soviet Union followed two partial censuses carried out by the Bolsheviks following their seizure of power in Russia. The first, the general census of 1920, took place during the Civil War and the Soviet-Polish War and was thus unable to deal with the Crimea, much of Transcaucasia, Ukraine, Belarus, Far Eastern, Siberian, and Central Asian parts of the Soviet Union as well as with its Far Northern parts. The 1923 Census was restricted to cities. Prior to the Russian Revolution, the only Russian Empire Census was done in 1897.

Methodology

By classifying the population in terms of "narodnosti" (nationalities)—as opposed to tribe or clan—along with policies which gave these nations land, resources, and rights, experts and local elites were encouraged to interfere with the information collecting. Coercion and deception were used to manipulate the census information on nationality to gain more resources and land, as representatives of different groups tried to swell their groups numbers, or present them as a compact mass, the better to gain territorial rights. As often as not the new census aggravated territorial disputes rather than solving them.fact|date=May 2007

List of ethnicities

This list, called "Programmy i posobiya po razrabotke Vsesoyuznoy perepisi naseleniya 1926 goda", vol. 7, "Perechen i slovar narodnostey", Moscow 1927, was developed by the Central Statistical Administration of the USSR. ["Empire of Nations:Ethnographic Knowledge and the Making of the Soviet Union" by Francine Hirsch, Cornell University Press, 2005, pp. 329–333]
#Russian (Great Russian)
#Ukrainian
#Belarusian
#Pole
#Czech
#Slovak
#Serb
#Bulgarian
#Latvian (151,410)
#Lithuanian
#Latgalians
#Zhmud (Zhmudin, Samogitian)
#German
#English
#Swede
#Dutch
#Italian
#French
#Romanian
#Moldavian
#Greek (Ellino)
#Albanian (Arnaut)
#Jew
#Crimean Jew
#Mountain Jew (Dag Chufut)
#Georgian Jew
#Central Asian Jew (Dzhugur)
#Karaim
#Finn
#Leningrad Finn (Chukhon)
#Karelian
#Tavas
#Estonian (Esti) (154,666)
#Veps (Chukar, Chud, Kaivan)
#Vod (Vot, Vad, Vad'd'alaiset)
#Izhora (Ingrian)
#Kven
#Lopar (Sami people)
#Zyrian
#Permiak
#Votiak (Udmurt)
#Besermian
#Mari (Cheremis)
#Mordva (Moksha, Erzya, Teryukhan, Karatai)
#Magyars (Hungarian)
#Gagauz
#Chuvash
#Tatar
#Misher (Meshcheriak)
#Bashkir (Bashkurd)
#Nagaibak
#Nogai
#Gypsy
#Kalmyk
#Mongol
#Buryat
#Sart-Kalmyk
#Vogul (Mansi)
#Ostyak (Khanty)
#Ostiako-Samoed
#Samoyed (Khasava)
#Yurak
#Soyot (Soion, Uriankhai, Tuba)
#Barabin (Barbara Tartar)
#Buknaran (Bukharlyk)
#Cherneviy Tartar (Tubalar, Tuba-Kizhi)
#Altai (AAltai-Kizhi, Mountain or White Kalmyk)
#Teleut
#Telengit (Telengut)
#Kumandin (Lebedin, Ku-Kohzi)
#Shors
#Kharagas (Tuba, Kharagaz)
#(Kızıl) (Kyzyl)
#Kachin
#Sagai
#Koybal
#Beltir
#Dolgan (Dolgan-Iakut)
#Iakut (Sakha, Urangkhai-Sakha)
#Tungus (Ovenk, Murchen)
#Lamut
#Orochon
#Goldai (Nanai)
#Olchi (Mangun, Ulchi)
#Negidal (Negda, Eleke Beye)
#Orochi
#Udegei (Ude)
#Orok
#Manegir
#Samogir
#Manchurian
#Chukchi
#Koryaks
#Kamchadal (Itel'men)
#Giliak (Nivkhi)
#Iukagir
#Chuvan
#Aleut
#Eskimo
#Enisei (Ket, Enisei Ostiak)
#Aino (Ainu, Kuchi)
#Chinese
#Korean
#Japanese
#Georgian (Cartvelian)
#Ajar
#Megeli (Mingrelian)
#Laz (Chan)
#Svan (Svanetian)
#Abkhaz (Abkhazian)
#Cherkess (Adyghe)
#Beskesek-Abaza (Abazin)
#Kabard
#Ubykh
#Chechen (Nakh, Nakhchuo)
#Ingush (Galgai, Kist)
#Batsbi (Tsova-Tish, Batswa)
#Maistvei
#Lezgin
#Tabasaran
#Agul
#Archi
#Rutul (Mykhad)
#Tsakhur
#Khinalug
#Dzhek (Dzhektsy)
#Khaput (Gaputlin,Khaputlin)
#Kryz
#Budukh (Budug)
#Udin
#Dargin
#Kubachin (Ughbug)
#Lak (Kazi-Kumukh)
#Avar (Avartsy, Khunzal)
#Andi (Andiitsy, Kwanaly)
#Botlog (Buikhatli)
#Godberi
#Karatai
#Akhvakh
#Bagulal (Kvanandin)
#Chamalal
#Tindi (Tindal, Idera)
#Didoi(Tsez)
#Kvarshi
#Kapuchin (Bezheta)
#Khunzal (Enzebi, Nakhad)
#Armenian
#Khemshin
#Arab
#Aisor (Assyrian, Syrian, Chaldean)
#Kaitak (Karakaitak)
#Bosha (Karachi, Armenian Gypsy)
#Ossetian (Os)
#Kurd
#Iezid (yezid)
#Talysh
#Tar
#Persian
#Karachai
#Kumyk
#Balkar (Mountain Tartar, Malkar)
#Karakalpaks
#Tiurk
#Osman Turk (Osmanli)
#Samarkand and Fergana Turk
#Turkmen
#Kirgiz (Kyrgyz, Kara-Kirgiz)
#Karakalpak
#Kipchak
#Kashgar
#Taranchi
#Kazakh (Kirgiz-Kazakh, Kirgiz-Kaisak)
#Kurama
#Uzbek
#Dungan ( _ru. Дунгане)
#Afghan
#Tajik
#Vakhan
#Ishkashim
#Shugnan
#Iagnob
#Iazgul
#Iranian
#Djemshid
#Beludji
#Berber
#Khazara
#Hindu (Indian)
#Other Ethnicities
#Ethnicities not noted or noted inexactly::a) Tavlin::b) Kraishen::c) Teptiar::d) Uigar::e) Oirot::f) Khakass::g) Others191. Foreign subjects

References