Reviziia

(census), the census of the taxable population in Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The replacement of the household tax by a poll tax (podushnaia podat’) in the first quarter of the 18th century called for a listing of members of all taxable strata of the population: peasants, townspeople, and merchants. This listing was called the reviziia, or review, and was carried out periodically by the government. Each taxable male individual was known as a revizskaia dusha (census soul) and during the census was listed by name in the revizskie skazki (census lists). The reviziia also recorded most of the nontaxable population, including the clergy, iamshchiki (postriders), and retired soldiers.

The reviziia did not cover the entire Russian Empire; it was not carried out in Poland, Finland, and Transcaucasia. The dvoriane (gentry) and officials, who constituted part of the nontaxable population, were not included in most of the censuses. Army and navy personnel, as well as foreigners, were also not subject to the census. The first, second, and sixth censuses did not include women. However, on the average, that part of the population not included in the census did not exceed 5 percent.

Ten censuses were carried out—in 1719, 1744–45, 1763, 1782, 1795, 1811, 1815, 1833, 1850, and 1857. Each took one to two years to complete, and between its completion and the next census a protracted census was taken, during which the original data were verified and supplemented. These additions were recorded as of the original date of the previous census, regardless of the actual date of inclusion. The revizii provided information on the total population of Russia and its division into classes and nationalities and also distinguished between urban and rural populations. They are a valuable source for the social and economic history of Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries.