A birth rate problem in a provincial Russian city in the late 18th – early 20th century (basing on the materials of Tambov)

Abstract

A birth rate as the major primary demographic process plays a key role in the course of population reproduction, influence on all society life spheres. We consider a number of contro-versial issues related to the study of some aspects of birth rate in a provincial Russian city at late 18th – the first half of the 19th centuries. We identify the features and problems of birth rate regis-tration and analyze birth rate, the number of births per marriage, the number of children in fami-lies, the gender ratio at birth, the number and proportion of illegitimate children in the structure of the newborn in a provincial city in the late 18th – the first half of the 19th centuries. The comparative analysis reveals the birthrates from high to the highest level in this period that is typical for traditional society. At the same time, the study records the reduction in the number of children in the families of Tambov, the decrease in the number of families with six or more children, the reduction in the proportion of illegitimate children from the Tambov Orthodox population in the late 18th – the first half of the 19th centuriesand its increasing in the post-reform period. There was a decrease in infantile mortality. We identify the need to expand the source base, to use the methodological and methodical approaches of a multidisciplinary study and the possibilities of information technologies to clarify a number of quantitative indicators that characterize the birthrate and demographic processes in a provincial Russian city at late 18th – the first half of the 19th centuries.