Sources ecosociology. Series: «Ecosociology». I. P. Kulyasov

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СКАЧАТЬ influence of social factors on the personality, he advocated the idea that all social interaction is a consequence of interactions between personalities, and therefore it is basically psychological. Hence, biology, or, more precisely, physiology and psychology are capable of explaining all social phenomena. At the same time, an individual’s activities are not dominated by biological characteristics. De Roberti’s biosocial theory emphasizes that human society has evolved from three forms of universal energy – non-organic, organic and supra-organic or psychic53.

      Kovalevsky and De Roberti became Russia’s first professional sociologists. They saw their task as providing insights on all theories, approaches and methods used in sociology. Lectures in sociology relied on factual material, supported by physiological and psychological data as well as by statistics, born as an exact science and dating back much earlier than the history of Russian sociology.

      The first censuses of population and inventories of extracted natural resources started in Novgorod and Kiev in the 10^th century for the purposes of duty levying.

      Ivan Kirillovich Kirillov (1689—1737) used the data from the 1710 census of peasant households and the first audit conducted in 1718, which provided the basis for his work “The flourishing state of the Russian land…", published in 1727. In 1734, he prepared the first statistical-economic survey in the form of a historical, ethnographic and economic atlas of Russia54.

      In 1737, Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev (1686—1750) compiles the first questionnaire with guidelines for land surveyors, featuring questions in geography, geology, soil science, archeology, natural resource use, agriculture, industrial and backyard production, residential communities and residents, their culture and language. He dispatched the questionnaires himself and used the answers received in his work “Introduction to the historical and geographical description of Russian Empire” sending copies of the answers to the Russian Academy of Sciences.

      In 1747, he wrote a scientific work on organization of census registration titled “The reasoning for the audit of the polls…", where he proposed to introduce a uniform census document, reduce census timeframes and improve qualifications of census takers55.

      In 1760, Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (1711—1765) presented his work “Academic questionnaire” containing 30 questions, some of which related to physical and economic geography and the rest – to culture, ways and methods of natural resource use. Unlike Tatishchev’s work, this questionnaire was dispatched to governors and regional academics by the government.

      Academics then used the poll data for compiling a new “Russian Atlas”56 and Lomonosov – in his treatise “On preservation and reproduction of the Russian people”, where he suggested legislative and public measures aimed at increasing Russia’s population (increase in the birthrate, retention of those already born and measures to encourage foreigners to take Russian citizenship)57.

      In parallel with that, Feodor Ivanovich Miller (1705—1783) compiled “Economic questions”, another questionnaire that was similar to Lomonosov’s in its goals. It comprised 65 questions on the population structure, agriculture, industry and trade. This questionnaire was dispatched to governors, officials and major landowners. As a result, he wrote a number of works comprising historical, geographical and ethnographical materials58.

      Statistical efforts made by the government since 1764 included the general inventory of MaloRossia, general land surveying and topographic descriptions of provinces, which comprised descriptions containing cultural-historical, geographical, administrative and economic characteristics. These new methodologies for gathering, processing and analysis of diverse data using a single question structure were important for development of sciences in general and for ecosociology. The emergence of economic statistics in the 18^th century and its further development provides retrospective research material for analyzing social dynamics and interaction with natural resources.

      Aleksandr Nikolaevich Radishchev (1749—1802) was instrumental in further development of Russian statistics, using both the Academy of Sciences and his own data obtained in the course of, one can say, an ecosociological research in his estate59. This data was later used for substantiating expert proposals.

      In his work “On legal provisions”, he writes that the government is complaining that the huge Russian territories are scantily populated. With 12—20 children born to a typical peasant family, less than a quarter reach adult age. The government does not know the causes of child mortality and the cause probably lies in the arduous economic conditions of peasant’s life. Many landlords reside outside their land holdings and, totally unaware of the working conditions of their peasants, levy a rent of 1—2 rubles, and some – even 5 rubles. However, this rent should be levied based, as a minimum, on soil fertility. He proposed to exempt the peasants living in areas characterized by infertile soil, harsh climatic conditions and the absence of abundant hunting acreage from the state duty and rent to the landlord.

      Further, he suggests establishing a nationwide system of taxes on production and trade based on such poll data from provincial censuses as the number and quality of population (composition and standard of living), land (fertility and capability), local industries (plants and factories) and crafts (product types and output, number of workers, including seasonal ones). The next category of questions relates to various types of duties, landowners, recruitment, road maintenance, prisoners, issue of money and police maintenance costs60.

      In the end of the 18^th century, Lyudvig Wolfgang Krafft (1743—1814) formulated the need and suggested a statistical methodology for population accounting using mortality and birth rates, deriving a formula for calculating the population doubling time61. In doing this, he strengthened the statistical approach to sociology as a method used in exact sciences, giving momentum to development of quantitative methods in international sociology.

      Russia’s first statistical branch, affiliated to the Police Ministry, was then established on 20 March 1811.

      Karl Feodorovich German (1767—1838), the first director of this statistical office, specialized in the subject as a researcher and lectured in the state educational institutions62. Other ministries also conducted statistical surveys and published their results. However, they were more interested in departmental data, frequently – about their numerous officials, official buildings and bureaucratic routine conducted in towns and provinces.

      After a series of state-initiated reforms and internal reorganization of statistical institutions, the Russian Empire’s first general census of the population was taken in 1897. The results were published in 1899 in 89 volumes featuring data by province. Subsequent editions, containing analytical statistical materials in figures and diagrams, were then published regularly until the year 190563.

      The county councils (or “zemstvo” – Russian sound), established by the 1864 reform, conducted their own local social and statistical surveys studying the social structure of the population, social categories, СКАЧАТЬ