The first census in the history of modern Russia was scheduled for 1999, exactly 10 years after the last Soviet census. However, economic difficulties forced to postpone the census to a later date, and it was eventually held in October 2002.

The census was the first in the history of Russia to be held on the basis of the new federal law, "On the National Census of the Population". The law was approved in January 2002 and remains in force today, with amendments. The law states that "participation in the census is the public duty of a person and a citizen", and guarantees confidentiality of the information obtained.

«The main unit of account was the household.»

The law enshrined recommendations of the UN and considered the household as the main observation unit in the development of the census plan. The first population census in 1897 was the only occasion before the 21st century when households had been used as the unit in a Russian population census.

The broad post-census campaign to promote and provide information about the results of the 2002 census was also the first of its kind in the history of census-taking in Russia.