RUSSIA: Census

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Sudden suppression of Russia's 1937 census figures and the "disappearance" of statisticians who prepared them led to that bad internal conditions had lowered Russia's population, doubts abroad about Soviet military civil strength.

Timed to counteract this impression in London and Paris while pact bargaining hangs fire, its first complete census figures since 1926 were published by the Soviet Government last week. They showed a population for the whole Soviet Union of 170,467,186 (a gain of 23,500,000 since were counted in 1926). Exulted Pravda: The percent of population growth not surpassed by any other country. Its estimates: U. S. 11%; Italy 9%; Germany 7%; Britain 5%; France 2.7%. Exulted Chief of the Central Statistical Administration of the National Economy Sautin: "A continuous growth of population is a law of socialism." Non-socialists guessed that sex laxness, the anti-abortion law, influx of peasants "running after their bread" and seeking work accounted for the urban gains which were the greatest (112%).

Two Russian republics showed only small increases: White Russia 12%; Ukraine 7%. Since the population of these border republics died by the million as a result of the Kremlin's starvation policy in 1932, was purged from 1933 to 1938, while whole frontier villages were transported for military reasons, observers wondered how census figures were able to show any increase at all.