Third census of the Russian Federation population
The 2021 Russian census (Russian: Всероссийская перепись населения 2021 года, romanized: Vserossiyskaya perepis naseleniya 2021 goda, lit. '2021 All-Russian population census') was the first census of the Russian Federation population since 2010 and the third after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It took place between October 15 and November 14. However, for the remote and inaccessible areas of Russia, the census took place between April 1 and December 20.[1]
The preparations for the census started in 2017 with the adoption of the government decree "On the conduct of the Russian Population Census 2020".[2] According to Pavel Malkov, head of Rosstat, the budget allocated for the 2020 census was 33 billion rubles.[3] The motto of the census was "Create the future!".
On June 25, 2020, Rosstat announced its intention to conduct the main stage of the Russian population census in April 2021,[4] and on June 29 this was confirmed.[5] Due to the spread of COVID-19, the census dates were shifted several times, first to April, then to October 2021. The results have come under scrutiny due to a lack of participation within the census. Rosstat maintains that 99% of the population completed the census[6] however the Levada Center estimated that around 42% of the population was not enumerated[7] and has described the results as "one of the worst in 150 years".[8]