The 1926 Soviet census (Russian: Всесоюзная перепись населения, All-Union census) took place in December 1926. It was the first complete all-Union census in the Soviet Union and 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.[1] 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".[2]
The first all-Union census was preceded by two partial censuses carried out by the Bolsheviks after their seizure of power in Russia. The first, the general census of 1920, took place during the Civil War and the Soviet-Polish War. It was thus unable to deal with the Crimea, much of Transcaucasia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Far Eastern, Siberian, and Central Asian parts of the Soviet Union as well as with its Far Northern parts. Yet it is worth to note that there was only 15,000,000 population increase between 1920 and 1926 constituting in some 131,304,931 people according to the TIME magazine while is still undisclosed in Russian history.[3] The 1923 Census was restricted to cities. Prior to the Russian Revolution, the only Russian Empire Census was done in 1897.
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.[4]
The Georgian and Ukrainian delegations each had concerns with the formulation of narodnosti proposed in the census. The Georgian delegation proposed classifying the population in terms of natsionalʹnosti, as they considered it better suited for developed nations like Georgians. Ukrainian representatives preferred to use native language for classification instead of nationality. These protests did not lead to changes.[5]
Responses to the question of nationality were at times reevaluated (changed) by census takers or later by state analysts for "correctness", as it was believed that some people would "confuse" nationality with such other categories as place of residence, native language, or clan.[6]
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. In preparation to the census[7]
191. Foreign subjects
| No. | Soviet Republic |
Territory (km2) | Population | Urban Population | Male Population | Ethnic Russians | Ethnic Ukrainians | Titular Ethnicity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RSFSR | 19 651 446 | 100 891 244 | 17 442 655 | 48 170 635 | 74 072 096 | 7 873 331 | |
| 2 | UkSSR | 451 584 | 29 018 187 | 5 373 553 | 14 094 592 | 2 677 166 | 23 218 860 | |
| 3 | BSSR | 126 792 | 4 983 240 | 847 830 | 2 439 801 | 383 806 | 34 681 | 4 017 301 |
| 4 | Transcaucasian SFSR | 185 191 | 5 861 529 | 1 410 876 | 3 009 046 | 336 178 | 35 423 | 1 797 960 |
| 5 | Uzbek SSR | 311 476 | 5 272 801 | 1 102 218 | 2 797 420 | 246 521 | 25 804 | 3 475 340 |
| 6 | Turkmen SSR | 449 698 | 1 000 914 | 136 982 | 531 858 | 75 357 | 6877 | 719 792 |
| Total | 21 176 187 | 147 027 915 | 26 314 114 | 71 043 352 | 77 791 124 | 31 194 976 |
For the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, Georgians were considered the Titular Nationality.
| USSR | RSFSR | Ukrainian SSR | Byelorussian SSR | TSFSR | Uzbek SSR | Turkmen SSR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 147,027,915 | 100,623,000 | 29,018,187 | 4,983,240 | 5,861,529 | 5,272,801 | 1,000,914 |
| Russians | 77,791,124 | 74,072,000 | 2,677,166 | 383,806 | 336,178 | 246,521 | 75,357 |
| Ukrainians | 31,194,976 | 7,873,000 | 23,218,860 | 34,681 | 35,423 | 25,804 | 6,877 |
| Belorussians | 4,738,923 | 638,000 | 75,842 | 4,017,031 | 3,767 | 3,515 | 864 |
| Georgians | 1,821,184 | 21,000 | 1,265 | 52 | 1,797,960 | 697 | 258 |
| Armenians | 1,567,568 | 195,000 | 10,631 | 99 | 1,332,593 | 14,976 | 13,859 |
| Turks | 1,706,605 | 28,000 | 56 | 0 | 1,652,768 | 21,565 | 4,229 |
| Uzbeks | 3,904,622 | 325,000 | 23 | 0 | 72 | 3,475,340 | 104,971 |
| Turkmen | 763,940 | 18,000 | 21 | 1 | 102 | 25,954 | 719,792 |
| Kazakhs | 3,968,289 | 3,852,000 | 98 | 18 | 61 | 106,980 | 9,471 |
| Kirghiz | 762,736 | 672,000 | 36 | 1 | 10 | 90,743 | 0 |
| Tatars | 2,916,536 | 2,846,734 | 22,281 | 3,777 | 10,574 | 28,401 | 4,769 |
| Chuvash | 1,117,419 | 1,114,813 | 905 | 739 | 92 | 315 | 555 |
| Bashkirs | 713,693 | 712,000 | 114 | 8 | 14 | 765 | 426 |
| Yakuts | 240,709 | 240,687 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Karakalpaks | 146,317 | 118,217 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,563 | 1,537 |
| Tajiks | 978,680 | 10,385 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 967,728 | 566 |
| Ossetians | 272,272 | 157,000 | 184 | 18 | 114,450 | 234 | 38 |
| Talysh | 77,323 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77,323 | 0 | 0 |
| Tats | 28,705 | 223 | 35 | 0 | 28,443 | 0 | 4 |
| Kurds | 69,184 | 14,701 | 1 | 0 | 52,173 | 1 | 2,308 |
| Mordva | 1,340,415 | 1,334,700 | 1,171 | 1,051 | 1,238 | 1,805 | 491 |
| Mari | 428,192 | 428,000 | 122 | 18 | 14 | 19 | 18 |
| Karelians | 248,120 | 248,030 | 60 | 19 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| Udmurts | 514,187 | 514,000 | 91 | 45 | 6 | 19 | 8 |
| Komi | 226,383 | 226,300 | 42 | 21 | 18 | 5 | 5 |
| Permyaks | 149,488 | 149,400 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Buryats | 237,501 | 237,000 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Kalmyks | 132,114 | 131,757 | 92 | 1 | 8 | 18 | 2 |
| Germans | 1,238,549 | 806,301 | 393,924 | 7,075 | 25,327 | 4,646 | 1,276 |
| Jews | 2,599,973 | 566,917 | 1,574,391 | 407,059 | 31,175 | 19,611 | 1,820 |
| Poles | 782,334 | 197,827 | 476,435 | 97,498 | 6,324 | 3,411 | 839 |
| Greeks | 213,765 | 50,649 | 104,666 | 55 | 57,935 | 347 | 113 |
| Vainakhs | 392,600 | 390,000 | 51 | 7 | 84 | 5 | 2 |
| Moldavians | 278,903 | 20,525 | 257,794 | 63 | 316 | 173 | 24 |
| Bulgarians | 111,296 | 18,644 | 92,078 | 22 | 203 | 321 | 28 |
| Latvians | 151,410 | 126,277 | 9,131 | 14,061 | 951 | 737 | 232 |
| Lithuanians | 41,463 | 26,856 | 6,795 | 6,853 | 572 | 311 | 65 |
| Abkhazians | 56,957 | 98 | 8 | 0 | 56,851 | 0 | 0 |
Russian SFSR – 100,891,244 (urban 17,442,655)
Ukrainian SSR – 29,018,187 (urban 5,373,553)
Uzbek SSR – 5,272,801 (urban 1,102,218)
Byelorussian SSR – 4,983,240 (urban 847,830)
Transcaucasian SFSR
Georgian SSR – 2,666,494 (urban 594,221)
Azerbaijan SSR – 2,314,571 (urban 649,557)
Armenian SSR – 880,464 (urban 167,098)
Turkmen SSR – 1,000,914 (urban 136,982)The census aggregated census data for several okruhasofSoviet Ukraine in a larger subdivision called a pidraionorpodraion (Russian: подрайон, romanized: podrayon; Ukrainian: підрайон, romanized: pidraion). There were six such subdivisions.