German, Karl

Born Aug. 25 (Sept. 5), 1767, in Danzig; died Dec. 19 (31), 1838, in St. Petersburg. Russian economist and statistician.

German studied at Göttingen University and in 1795 was invited to come to Russia. In 1807 he became professor of political economy and statistics at the St. Petersburg Pedagogical Institute and subsequently professor at St. Petersburg University. In 1810 he was named a supernumerary academician. He was the editor and publisher of Statisticheskii zhurnal from 1806 to 1808. In 1811 he was put in charge of the statistical division of the Ministry of Police and later of the Ministry of Home Affairs. In 1816 and 1817 he delivered private lectures on political economy to future Decembrists. Because of the progressive ideas advanced in his lectures, he was removed from his teaching post at the university in 1821, and his works on statistics were prohibited. In the 1820’s and 1830’s he conducted scientific work in the Academy of Sciences. In 1835 he was named a regular academician. He was a supporter of the theories of Adam Smith and regarded serfdom in Russia as an obstacle to economic progress. He was opposed to the system of an absolute monarchy.