Census Truths

Russians are not ready to share information about their personal lives and income with the state

Apparently, statisticians will not be able to create a complete picture of the demographic, economic, family and housing situation of Russians within the framework of the population census planned for the fall of 2010. The fact is that the state’s interest in the private life of citizens causes the latter more and more irritation every year. “Carrying out a population census is becoming more and more difficult,” lamented Alexander Surinov, deputy chairman of the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), yesterday, summing up the results of a trial census conducted in October this year. According to him, during the 2010 census it is likely that a number of additional questions about the lives of Russians will have to be abandoned.

During the pilot census, statisticians, in particular, hoped to receive more detailed answers from citizens to questions regarding their marital relations, reproductive plans and living conditions. However, according to Mr. Surinov, the “dress rehearsal” showed that residents of St. Petersburg, Khabarovsk and Balashikha near Moscow, where the new census questionnaires were tested, not only refused to answer personal questions, but generally behaved extremely unfriendly. Residents of the Petrogradsky district of St. Petersburg especially distinguished themselves, according to Rosstat. However, Mr. Surinov noted, this “complex territory”, where the difference in the income of residents is too great and many representatives of the less affluent segments of the population still live in communal apartments, was not chosen for the pilot study by chance. This picture, according to statisticians, is typical for most modern Russian megacities.

Townspeople reacted negatively, for example, to questions about the planned number of children and the request to choose from the proposed options the type of activity in which the enterprise is engaged, and to inform about sources of income. According to Alexander Surinov, compared to the last population census in 2002, “Russians’ fears have not changed.” They are afraid of government interference in their personal lives and do not want to disclose their financial side. In addition, statisticians attribute the unfriendliness of citizens towards census takers to the fact that the study coincided with the military conscription campaign and took place against the backdrop of general nervousness due to the financial crisis.

As Irina Zbarskaya, head of the population census and demographic statistics department of Rosstat, told Vremya Novostei, it is quite difficult to choose a more convenient and emotionally calm time for the census in Russian conditions. “In other countries, the census is carried out, as a rule, in April, under a more favorable emotional background. Due to the specifics of our country, we cannot count on spring, since part of the population may simply be torn off from the “mainland” by water. Summer is the season for vacations and summer cottages. We select periods of least population mobility,” she clarified.

Apparently, the statisticians themselves had a presentiment that now was not the best time for a test census. Rosstat claims that every third of the 1,800 people who were asked to survey their compatriots refused, citing the “difficulty of interacting with the population” and a “tight schedule.” The expectation that Russians would voluntarily fill out and submit questionnaires did not materialize during the trial population census. So, according to the deputy head of Rosstat, if in the USA the percentage of questionnaires returned is up to 70%, then in our country no more than 7-8% were returned.

“Statistical culture needs to be cultivated,” they say at Rosstat, especially since the “self-calculation” method allows saving up to 60% of funds. In general, a large-scale statistical study in 2010 will cost the state budget just over 17 billion rubles, two-thirds of which, as a rule, goes to the salaries of temporarily hired census takers.

The exact dates of the census and the final version of the questionnaire, according to Alexander Surinov, will be approved by the government. And despite the skeptical attitude of respondents towards the topics of a large-scale study, Rosstat has no doubt that the data obtained will be sufficient, if not for a full assessment of internal social, economic, demographic and migration policies, then at least for comparing Russian indicators with UN countries. Traditional questionnaires are compiled in accordance with the recommendations of an international organization and meet the main task of the census - to collect facts about a person’s life. “How many children he plans to have is not a fact, but an assumption,” noted the deputy head of Rosstat. In addition, according to him, a large-scale sociological study on the family behavior of Russians, their reproductive plans and health will be conducted separately next year.

Yulia KHOMCHENKO