The book "Collection of information on Russia, 1890". St. Petersburg, Central Statistical Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 1890.

The Stargift collection contains an antique edition of the statistical collection of information on Russia of the Central Statistical Committee of the Interior of the Russian Empire for 1890, duplicated in two languages — Russian and French.

The collection provides summary tables with various statistical data: on fires over 28 years, on urban productivity, on gold mining, on the production of pig iron and iron by districts, on tax collections by provinces, on the performance of military service and others.

The organizational and structural design of statistical activities in Russia began on September 8, 1802. On the basis of the Supreme Manifesto, at the end of the year, each Minister was obliged to submit to His Imperial Majesty, through the Government Senate, a written report on the management of all the units entrusted to him.

On March 20, 1811, the official center for government Statistics of Russia was established — the Statistical Part of the Russian Empire. Later, a special Statistical office is established in the Council of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. His task was to compile detailed and as accurate as possible descriptions of the condition of all units subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In addition, he was charged with preliminary consideration of city plans, projects for new divisions of provinces and counties, and assumptions about city revenues and expenditures. The basis of statistical work was the information received from the departments of the Ministry and from the heads of provinces. The rules stipulated that in the production of statistical work, officials should always begin with a historical review of the previous state of the part described by them, in order to compare it with the present. Tables were attached to the text of the descriptions.

In 1852, a Statistical Committee was established under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and on March 4, 1858, it received the name of the Central Statistical Committee. This transformation testified to the official recognition of the need to combine all statistical work carried out in the country.