Plans for the next national census in 2010 ensured that it would be unique: the government decided to conduct the census in the year ending with zero, only eight years after the 2002 census. Previously censuses in Russia have never been held with such a brief interval between them.

Preparations for the new census coincided with the economic crisis that began in 2008, so a postponement was proposed. However, the government accepted the view of the expert community: census is not only a source of information about the population, but also is a source of employment and income for many people (over 600,000 people were active in organising and holding the census).

«Rejection of the sample census»

A key difference between the 2010 and 2002 censuses is that the new census set the goal of complete coverage. Abandonment of the sample census technique was initially seen as a forced measure to reduce costs.

However, it was soon understood that the census process was made much easier for census takers and for those who processed the results when sampling was not used.

In 2010, more than a million people refused to take part in the census for personal reasons and 2.6 million people were absent from their homes throughout the census period, so could not be measured by the census takers.

More than 8 million people (6.2% of the Russian population, and nearly one in five in Moscow and one in ten in Saint Petersburg) took part in the census by coming to polling stations.