The Development of Russian Population Statistics in the 19th Century: From the German Descriptive Statistics School to Academic Statistics

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2026-2/74-87

Authors

Keywords:

the history of population statistics, descriptive statistics, political arithmetic, mathematical-statistical school, the average man, International statistical congress, academic statistics

Abstract

The genesis of Russian national population statistics dates back to the 19th century. At the beginning of the century, the first textbook on statistics was written in the Russian Empire, and by the end of it, Russian statistics had been shaped as the independent scientific theory. This study aims to describe the evolution of the Russian statistical thought in the 19th century, as set out in two textbooks from that period written by academicians C.F. Hermann (1808) and N. Bunge (1876). Besides, the article analyzes three statistical schools — the German school of descriptive statistics (G. Achenwall), the English school of political arithmetic (W. Petty), and the mathematical-statistical school (A. Quetelet). It also studies the influence of Western scientists and the International Statistical Congress 1853–1878 on the Russian statistical thought in the 19th century. Throughout the century, Russian statistical thought evolved from the blind imitation of the German descriptive statistics school to the unique approach of academician N. Bunge who was influenced by the International Statistical Congress and critically reinterpreted the statistical legacy of the Belgian scientist A. Quetelet.

Author Biography

  • Mark Ivanov, Lomonosov Moscow State University

    Ivanov, Mark V. — Post-Graduate Student, Department of Ethnology, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russian Federation). E-mail: markivanov.info@mail.ru ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2330-5340

    For citation: Ivanov, M. V. 2026. The Development of Russian Population Statistics in the 19th Century: From the German Descriptive Statistics School to Academic Statistics. Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik Antropologii) 2: 74–87.

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Published

11.06.2026

Issue

No. 2 (2026): Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik antropologii)

Section

Идентичность в количественном измерении