Afanasenkov V.O. Pre-revolutionary official statistics of animal husbandry: The state of historiography and research prospects // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №2. P. 63-82.

EDN: ALCYDM

Annotation

The article considers research approaches, hypotheses and assessments of the pre-revolutionary livestock statistics as presented in historiography. At the early stage, the expert community mainly believed in the low reliability of such data, although admitted its suitability for the study of livestock population dynamics and geographical distribution. The retrospective scientific analysis started with A. L. Vainshtein’s article (1960) comparing annual statistics with the 1916 agricultural census. Vainshtein proposed a method for adjusting annual data and upward corrections and questioned the comparability of the Veterinary Department statistics before and after 1896 and the consistency of data of the Central Statistical Committee and the Veterinary Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The most recent stage of historiography was marked by the debate between “optimists” and “pessimists” in the 2000s. The most reasonable hypothesis was proposed by S. A. Nefedov — that the pre-revolutionary annual statistics fully accounted for adult livestock, while the 1916 census also counted young cattle. None of the historiographic research questions have been resolved, including the use of the livestock population data for identifying the volume of livestock production. The author suggests considering statistics as an element of the state system of governance.

Keywords

A. L. Vainshtein, agricultural census, agricultural history, Central Statistical Committee, provincial governors’ reports, Veterinary Department.

About the author

Vladislav O. Afanasenkov, Junior Researcher, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Vernadskogo Prosp., 82, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.