The geographic information system (GIS) is based on the first and only Russian Imperial Census of 1897 and the First All-Union Census of the Soviet Union of 1926. The GIS features vector data (shapefiles) of allprovinces of the two states. For the 1897 census, there is information about linguistic, religious, and social estate groups. The part based on the 1926 census features nationality. Both shapefiles include information on gender, rural and urban population. The GIS allows for producing any necessary maps for individual studies of the period which require the administrative boundaries and demographic information.

This data set of state and regional boundaries was derived from the 1:3 million scale administrative boundaries (ESRI, 1998) for the land area of the Former Soviet Union. There are 162 administrative regions distinguished in this data set. The vector map of state and regional boundaries for the FSU is in ArcView shapefile format.

This data set consists of roads, drainage, railroads, utilities, and population center information in readily usable vector format for the land area of the Former Soviet Union. The purpose of this dataset was to create a completely intact vector layer which could be readily used to aid in mapping efforts for the area of the FSU. These five vector data layers were assembled from the Digital Chart of the World (DCW), 1993. Individual record attributes were stored for population centers only. Vector maps for the FSU are in ArcView shapefile format.