Abstract: The authors assess how 1897 Census papers stored in Russian and foreign archives are represented and preserved. The study of primary data document collections leads to a conclusion that the term “census papers” is heterogeneous and includes several different forms used depending on a type of household and region as well as first, second and third copies of census forms. A peculiar feature of the article is the presentation of conclusions in the form of cartograms based on modern and historical maps. The study has used source studies analysis and spatial analysis as well as a complex approach treating census papers as a unified historical source irrespective of their storage place. The research novelty is identification and introduction of a complex of nominative 1897 Census data. In addition, the authors propose an original approach that takes into account both the number of areas populated and the number of census papers preserved in them which allowed them to assess the degree of preservation of census materials in Russian Empire uezds. The article concludes that census papers with different preservation state have been identified for 47 % of guberniyas and 25.5% of uezds.  Census paper collections cover regions of European Russia and Siberia, partly those of the Caucasus and Central Asia. The volume of census paper data preserved and their "territorial spread" allows one to consider them a complex source on the history of the Russian Empire population at the turn of the 19th century.
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Abstract: The article characterizes the goals and the structure of a database which aims at accumulating data of the First  General 1897 Population Census of the Russian Empire preserved by Russian and foreign archives. The database has two basic data input and data retention modules “Archive” and “Finding Aid”. The first module realizes the idea about the hierarchical level structure preservation characteristic of archival storage system (archive – fund – series – file – document). The second module reflects the search history that is data on archival reference books, information about electronic copies of archival reference books and documents as well as their access conditions. The interarchive database is a result of archive, document and source analysis both of archival fund documents and their finding aid. The author considers the idea to create such a system based on the First General Population Census of the Russian Empire new for Russian historical studies. A user is provided with an opportunity to carry out a search (online as well) by archives, funds, files, document types as well as administrative units with account of both to historical and present day names.