UDC

94(47).065:[311:911.2]

DOI

10.37482/2687-1505-V432

Authors

Andrey Yu. Skrydlov
Cand. Sci. (Hist.), Head of the Sector for History of the Academy of Sciences and Scientific Institutions, St. Petersburg Branch of S.I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences (address: Universitetskaya nab. 5, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia).
e-mail: askrydlov@gmail.com, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9913-3580

Abstract

The article examines the activities of Mikhail Lomonosov as head of the Geography Department of the Academy of Sciences, focusing on the “academic questionnaire” of 1760 as a pivotal tool for collecting geographical and statistical data on the territory, population, and economy of the Russian Empire. The questionnaire is analysed as part of a broader research programme that encompassed the processing of census data, the acquisition of information from central governmental institutions, the preparation of geographical descriptions and maps, as well as the active collaboration with local administrations and provincial intellectuals. The study highlights the methods of data collection and verification employed within the programme. These included not only questionnaires but also formal requests to state institutions, processing of information from cadastres and the establishment of a network of correspondents associated with the Academy of Sciences. The findings demonstrate that Lomonosov’s research programme played a significant role in the institutionalization of statistics in Russia, despite numerous organizational challenges and interdepartmental conflicts. The article concludes that Lomonosov envisaged the Academy of Sciences as the main centre for collecting and processing geographical and statistical information. His proposals were underpinned by a comprehensive approach to gathering and handling data, which relied on diverse sources, key among them being state authorities accumulating materials withing their areas of competence. Operating outside the formal framework of state administration, the Academy sought to develop effective mechanisms for interacting with central and local authorities. In this context, the Academy’s requests were sanctioned by an imperial decree formalized through a Senate order. The article emphasizes the lasting influence of Lomonosov’s research programme on the development of Russian geography and statistics as scientific disciplines.

Keywords

history of statistics, history of geography, geographical and statistical research, M.V. Lomonosov, Academy of Sciences and Arts, Geography Department, 1760 “academic questionnaire”

References

1. Gnucheva V.F. Geograficheskiy departament Akademii nauk XVIII veka [Geography Department of the Academy of Sciences in the 18th Century]. Moscow, 1946. 445 p.
2. Lomonosov M.V. Polnoe sobranie sochineniy [Complete Works]. Moscow, 1955. Vol. 9. 1018 p.
3. Aleksandrovskaya O.A. Ocherki geograficheskoy nauki v Rossii v XVIII v. [Essays on the Geographic Science in Russia in the 18th Century]. Moscow, 1989. 230 p.
4. Aleksandrovskaya O.A. Stanovlenie russkoy geograficheskoy kontseptsii v XVIII v. [The Formation of the Russian Geographic Concept in the XVIII Century]. Vestnik Akademii nauk Chechenskoy Respubliki, 2019, no. 2, pp. 5–12.
5. Postnikov A.V. Razvitie krupnomasshtabnoy kartografii v Rossii [Development of Large-Scale Cartography in Russia]. Moscow, 1989. 227 p.
6. Krasnikova O.A. M.V. Lomonosov i rossiyskaya kartografiya XVIII v. [M.V. Lomonosov and Russian Cartography in the 18th Century]. Tereshchenko G.F., Kolchinskiy E.I. (eds.). Lomonosov. Vol. 10. St. Petersburg, 2011, pp. 78–105.
7. Rubinshteyn N.L. Topograficheskie opisaniya namestnichestv i guberniy XVIII v. – pamyatniki geograficheskogo i ekonomicheskogo izucheniya Rossii [Topographical Descriptions of Viceroyalties and Provinces in the 18th Century: Monuments of Geographical and Economic Study of Russia]. Voprosy geografii. T. 31. Istoriya geograficheskikh znaniy i istoricheskaya geografiya SSSR [Issues of Geography. Vol. 31. History of Geographical Knowledge and Historical Geography of the USSR]. Moscow, 1953, pp. 39–89.
8. Ptukha M.V. Ocherki po istorii statistiki v SSSR [Essays on the History of Statistics in the USSR]. Moscow, 1955. Vol. 1. 472 p.
9. Ilizarov S.S. Posledniy proekt M.V. Lomonosova (po dokumentam Rossiyskogo gosudarstvennogo arkhiva drevnikh aktov) [The Last Project of M.V. Lomonosov (Based on Documents of the Russian State Archives of Ancient Documents)]. Arkheograficheskiy ezhegodnik za 2011 god [Archaeological Yearbook for 2011]. Moscow, 2014, pp. 34–56.
10. Ilizarov S.S. M.V. Lomonosov v dokumentakh i materialakh Rossiyskogo gosudarstvennogo arkhiva drevnikh aktov [M.V. Lomonosov in Documents and Materials of the Russian State Archives of Ancient Documents]. Ilizarov S.S. (ed.). Novoe o Lomonosove: k 300-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya [New Insights About Lomonosov: To the 300th Anniversary of His Birth]. Moscow, 2011, pp. 81–143.
11. Dmitriev A.L., Eliseeva I.I. Statistical Scientists in the Academy of Sciences: To Mark the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). Voprosy statistiki, 2024, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 84–100 (in Russ.).
12. Okrepilov V.V. From Lomonosov to the Present. Notes on the Development of Economic Science in Russia on the Eve of the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Ekonomika Severo-Zapada: problemy i perspektivy razvitiya, 2024, no. 1, pp. 44–55 (in Russ.). https://doi.org/10.52897/2411-4588-2024-1-44-55
13. Kopaneva N.P. Akademiya nauk kak “gosudarstvennoe i poleznoe uchrezhdenie” v zapiskakh M.V. Lomonosova [The Academy of Sciences as a “Beneficial State Institution” in M.V. Lomonosov’s Notes]. Smirnova A.S. (ed.). Akademiya nauk i deyatel’nost’ M.V. Lomonosova [The Academy of Sciences and M.V. Lomonosov’s Activities]. St. Petersburg, 2024, pp. 14–16.
14. Trofimova O.V., Konovalova E.N. Lomonosovskaya anketa 1760 goda i otvetstviya na nee iz Zapadnoy Sibiri [Lomonosov’s Questionnaire of 1760 and the Responses to It from Western Siberia]. Smirnova A.S. (ed.). Akademiya nauk i deyatel’nost’ M.V. Lomonosova [The Academy of Sciences and M.V. Lomonosov’s Activities]. St. Petersburg, 2024, pp. 31–34.
15. Ilizarov S.S. Moskovskiy aktsent. G.F. Miller i Moskva XVIII veka [The Moscow Accent: G.F. Müiller and Moscow in the 18th Century]. Moscow, 2021. 496 p.
16. Smagina G.I. Peterburgskaya Akademiya nauk i provintsial’nye lyubiteli nauk v XVIII v. [The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and Provincial Science Enthusiasts in the 18th Century]. Smagina G.I. Sluzhenie na pol’zu Otechestva. Peterburgskaya Akademiya nauk v XVIII veke [Serving the Fatherland. The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences in the 18th Century]. St. Petersburg, 2021, pp. 108–135.
17. Bakmeyster L.I. Topograficheskiya izvestiya sluzhashchiya dlya polnago geograficheskago opisaniya Rossiyskoy imperii [Topographical Reports Used for a Complete Geographical Description of the Russian Empire]. St. Petersburg, 1771–1774.
18. Storch H.F. Historisch-statistisches Gemälde des Russischen Reichs am Ende des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts. Leipzig, 1797–1803.
19. Georgi J.G. Geographisch-physikalische und naturhistorische Beschreibung des Russischen Reichs. Königsberg, 1797–1802.
20. Skrydlov A.Yu. Imperatorskaya Akademiya nauk i organizatsiya statisticheskikh issledovaniy v Rossii [The Imperial Academy of Sciences and the Organization of Statistical Research in Russia]. Vestnik RAN, 2023, vol. 93, no. 7, pp. 646–654.