,transcribed from the #ahhg ,tomas ,y4  
,crowell ,what to do8 edition by ,david 
,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org          
,,moscow ,,census--,,from ,,what ,,to   
,,do8      ,,article ,,on ,,the ,,census
 ,,in ,,moscow4 #ahhb4      ,the object 
of a census is scientific4  ,a census is
 a sociological  investigation4  ,and   
the object of the science of sociology  
is the  happiness of the people4  ,this 
science and its methods differ sharply  
from all other sciences4    ,its        
peculiarity lies in this1 that          
sociological investigations are not     
conducted by learned men in their       
cabinets1 observatories and             
laboratories1 but by two thousand people
 from the community4  ,a second         
peculiarity is this1 that the           
investigations of other sciences are not
  conducted on living people1 but here  
living people are the subjects4  ,a     
third peculiarity is1 that the aim of   
every other science is simply           
knowledge1 while here it is the good of 

the people4  ,one man may  investigate a
 nebula1 but for the investigation of   
,moscow1 two thousand  persons are      
necessary4  ,the object of the study of 
nebulae is merely that  we may know     
about nebulae2 the object of the study  
of inhabitants is that  sociological    
laws may be deduced1 and that1 on the   
foundation of these  laws1 a better life
 for the people may be established4  ,it
 makes no  difference to the nebula     
whether it is studied or not1 and it has
 waited  long1 and is ready to wait a   
great while longer2 but it is not a     
matter  of indifference to the          
inhabitants of ,moscow1 especially to   
those  unfortunates who constitute the  
most interesting subjects of the science
  of sociology4    ,the census-taker    
enters a night lodging-house2 in the    
basement he finds a  man dying of       
hunger1 and he politely inquires his    
profession1 his name1  his native place1
 the character of his occupation1 and   
after a little  hesitation as to whether

 he is to be entered in the list as     
alive1 he  writes him in and goes his   
way4    ,and thus will the two thousand 
young men proceed4  ,this is not as it  
should be4    ,science does its work1   
and the community1 summoned in the      
persons of  these two thousand young men
 to aid science1 must do its work4  ,a  
statistician drawing his deductions from
 figures may feel indifferent  towards  
people1 but we census-takers1 who see   
these people and who have  no scientific
 prepossessions1 cannot conduct         
ourselves towards them in an  inhuman   
manner4  ,science fulfils its task1 and 
its work is for its  objects and in the 
distant future1 both useful and         
necessary to us4  ,for  men of science1 
we can calmly say1 that in #ahhb there  
were so many  beggars1 so many          
prostitutes1 and so many uncared-for    
children4  ,science  may say this with  
composure and with pride1 because it    
knows that the  confirmation of this    
fact conduces to the elucidation of the 

laws of  sociology1 and that the        
elucidation of the laws of sociology    
leads to a  better constitution of      
society4  ,but what if we1 the          
unscientific people1  say3 ,you are     
perishing in vice1 you are dying of     
hunger1 you are pining  away1 and       
killing each other2 so do not grieve    
about this2 when you shall  have all    
perished1 and hundreds of thousands more
 like you1 then1  possibly1 science may 
be able to arrange everything in an     
excellent  manner4  ,for men of science1
 the census has its interest2 and for us
  also1 it possesses an interest of a   
wholly different significance4  ,the    
interest and significance of the census 
for the community lie in this1  that it 
furnishes it with a mirror into which1  
willy nilly1 the whole  community1 and  
each one of us1 gaze4    ,the figures   
and deductions will be the mirror4  ,it 
is possible to refrain  from reading    
them1 as it is possible to turn away    
from the looking-glass4  ,it is possible

 to glance cursorily at both figures and
 mirror1 and it is  also possible to    
scrutinize them narrowly4  ,to go about 
in connection  with the census as       
thousands of people are now about to do1
 is to  scrutinize one's self closely in
 the mirror4    ,what does this census1 
that is about to be made1 mean for us   
people of  ,moscow1 who are not men of  
science8  ,it means two things4  ,in the
 first  place1 this1 that we may learn  
with certainty1 that among us tens of   
thousands who live in ease1 there dwell 
tens of thousands of people who  lack   
bread1 clothing and shelter2 in the     
second place1 this1 that our  brothers  
and sons will go and view this and will 
calmly set down  according to the       
schedules1 how many have died of hunger 
and cold4    ,and both these things are 
very bad4    ,all cry out upon the      
instability of our social organization1 
about the  exceptional situation1 about 
revolutionary tendencies4  ,where lies  
the  root of all this8  ,to what do the 

revolutionists point8  ,to poverty1 to  
inequality in the distribution of       
wealth4  ,to what do the conservatives  
point8  ,to the decline in moral        
principle4  ,if the opinion of the      
revolutionists is correct1 what must be 
done8  ,poverty and the inequality  of  
wealth must be lessened4  ,how is this  
to be effected8  ,the rich must  share  
with the poor4  ,if the opinion of the  
conservatives is correct1  that the     
whole evil arises from the decline in   
moral principle1 what can  be more      
immoral and vicious than the consciously
 indifferent survey of  popular         
sufferings1 with the sole object of     
cataloguing them8  ,what must  be done8 
,to the census we must add the work of  
affectionate intercourse  of the idle   
and cultivated rich1 with the oppressed 
and unenlightened  poor4    ,science    
will do its work1 let us perform ours   
also4  ,let us do this4  ,in  the first 
place1 let all of us who are occupied   
with the census1  superintendents and   

census-takers1 make it perfectly clear  
to ourselves  what we are to investigate
 and why4  ,it is the people1 and the   
object is  that they may be happy4      
,whatever may be one's view of life1    
every one  will agree that there is     
nothing more important than human life1 
and that  there is no more weighty task 
than to remove the obstacles to the     
development of this life1 and to assist 
it4    ,this idea1 that the relations of
 men to poverty are at the foundation of
  all popular suffering1 is expressed in
 the ,gospels with striking  harshness1 
but at the same time1 with decision and 
clearness for all4    ,he who has       
clothed the naked1 fed the hungry1      
visited the prisoner1 that  man has     
clothed ,me1 fed ,me1 visited ,me1 that 
is1 has done the deed for  that which is
 the most important thing in the world4 
,however a man may look upon things1    
every one knows that this is more       
important than all else on earth4       
,and this must not be forgotten1 and we 

must not permit any other  consideration
 to veil from us the most weighty fact  
of our existence4  ,let  us inscribe1   
and reckon1 but let us not forget that  
if we encounter a man  who is hungry and
 without clothes1 it is of more moment  
to succor him  than to make all possible
 investigations1 than to discover all   
possible  sciences4  ,perish the whole  
census if we may but feed an old woman4 
,the  census will be longer and more    
difficult1 but we cannot pass by people 
in  the poorer quarters and merely note 
them down without taking any heed of    
them and without endeavoring1 according 
to the measure of our strength  and     
moral sensitiveness1 to aid them4  ,this
 in the first place4  ,in the  second1  
this is what must be done3 ,all of us1  
who are to take part in the  census1    
must refrain from irritation because we 
are annoyed2 let us  understand that    
this census is very useful for us2 that 
if this is not  cure1 it is at least an 
effort to study the disease1 for which  

we should  be thankful2 that we must    
seize this occasion1 and1 in connection 
with  it1 we must seek to recover our   
health1 in some small degree4  ,let all 
of  us1 then1 who are connected with the
 census1 endeavor to take advantage  of 
this solitary opportunity in ten years  
to purify ourselves somewhat2  let us   
not strive against1 but assist the      
census1 and assist it  especially in    
this sense1 that it may not have merely 
the harsh character  of the             
investigation of a hopelessly sick      
person1 but may have the  character of  
healing and restoration to health4  ,for
 the occasion is  unique3 eighty        
energetic1 cultivated men1 having under 
their orders two  thousand young men of 
the same stamp1 are to make their way   
over the  whole of ,moscow1 and not     
leave a single man in ,moscow with whom 
they have  not entered into personal    
relations4  ,all the wounds of society1 
the  wounds of poverty1 of vice1 of     
ignorance--all will be laid bare4  ,is  

there not something re-assuring in this8
  ,the census-takers will go about      
,moscow1 they will set down in their    
lists1 without distinction1 those       
insolent with prosperity1 the satisfied1
 the calm1 those who are on the  way to 
ruin1 and those who are ruined1 and the 
curtain will fall4  ,the  census-takers1
 our sons and brothers1 these young men 
will behold all  this4  ,they will say3 
,yes1 our life is very terrible and     
incurable1 and  with this admission they
 will live on like the rest of us1      
awaiting a  remedy for the evil from    
this or that extraneous force4  ,but    
those who  are perishing will go on     
dying1 in their ruin1 and those on the  
road to  ruin will continue in their    
course4  ,no1 let us rather grasp the   
idea  that science has its task1 and    
that we1 on the occasion of this census1
  have our task1 and let us not allow   
the curtain once lifted to be  dropped1 
but let us profit by the opportunity in 
order to remove the  immense evil of the

 separation existing between us and the 
poor1 and to  establish intercourse and 
the work of redressing the evil of      
unhappiness  and ignorance1 and our     
still greater misfortune1--the          
indifference and  aimlessness of our    
life4    ,i already hear the customary  
remark3 ,all this is very fine1 these   
are  sounding phrases2 but do you tell  
us what to do and how to do it8  ,before
  ,i say what is to be done1 it is      
indispensable that ,i should say what is
  not to be done4  ,it is indispensable1
 first of all1 in my opinion1 in  order 
that something practical may come of    
this activity1 that no society  should  
be formed1 that there should be no      
publicity1 that there should be  no     
collection of money by balls1 bazaars or
 theatres2 that there should  be no     
announcement that ,prince ,a4 has       
contributed one thousand rubles1  and   
the honorable citizen ,b4 three         
thousand2 that there shall be no        
collection1 no calling to account1 no   

writing up1--most of all1 no  writing   
up1 so that there may not be the least  
shadow of any institution1  either      
governmental or philanthropic4    ,but  
in my opinion1 this is what should be   
done instantly3 ,firstly1 ,all  those   
who agree with me should go to the      
directors1 and ask for their  shares the
 poorest sections1 the poorest          
dwellings2 and in company with  the     
census-takers1 twenty-three1 twenty-four
 or twenty-five in number1  they should 
go to these quarters1 enter into        
relations with the people  who are in   
need of assistance1 and labor for them4 
,secondly3 ,we should direct the        
attention of the superintendents and    
census-takers to the inhabitants in need
 of assistance1 and work for them       
personally1 and point them out to those 
who wish to work over them4  ,but  ,i am
 asked3 ,what do you mean by working    
over them8  ,i reply2 ,doing good  to   
people4  ,the words doing good are      
usually understood to mean1 giving      

money4  ,but1 in my opinion1 doing good 
and giving money are not only not  the  
same thing1 but two different and       
generally opposite things4  ,money1  in 
itself1 is evil4  ,and therefore he who 
gives money gives evil4  ,this  error of
 thinking that the giving of money means
 doing good1 arose from  the fact1 that 
generally1 when a man does good1 he     
frees himself from  evil1 and from money
 among other evils4  ,and therefore1 to 
give money is  only a sign that a man is
 beginning to rid himself of evil4  ,to 
do good1  signifies to do that which is 
good for man4  ,but1 in order to know   
what  is good for man1 it is necessary  
to be on humane1 i4e41 on friendly terms
  with him4  ,and therefore1 in order to
 do good1 it is not money that is       
necessary1 but1 first of all1 a capacity
 for detaching ourselves1 for a  time at
 least1 from the conditions of our own  
life4  ,it is necessary that  we should 
not be afraid to soil our boots and     
clothing1 that we should  not fear lice 

and bedbugs1 that we should not fear    
typhus fever1  diphtheria1 and          
small-pox4  ,it is necessary that we    
should be in a  condition to seat       
ourselves by the bunk of a              
tatterdemalion and converse  earnestly  
with him in such a manner1 that he may  
feel that the man who is  talking with  
him respects and loves him1 and is not  
putting on airs and  admiring himself4  
,and in order that this may be so1 it is
 necessary that  a man should find the  
meaning of life outside himself4  ,this 
is what is  requisite in order that good
 should be done1 and this is what it is 
difficult to find4    ,when the idea of 
assisting through the medium of the     
census occurred to  me1 ,i discussed the
 matter with divers of the wealthy1 and 
,i saw how glad  the rich were of this  
opportunity of decently getting rid of  
their money1  that extraneous sin which 
they cherish in their hearts4  ,take    
three  hundred--five hundred rubles1 if 
you like1 they said to me1 but ,i       

cannot go into those dens myself4       
,there was no lack of money4  ,remember 
,zaccheus1 the chief of the ,publicans  
in the ,gospel4  ,remember how he1      
because he was small of stature1 climbed
 into a tree to see ,christ1 and  how   
when ,christ announced that he was going
 to his house1 having  understood but   
one thing1 that the ,master did not     
approve of riches1 he  leaped headlong  
from the tree1 ran home and arranged his
 feast4  ,and how1  as soon as ,christ  
entered1 ,zaccheus instantly declared   
that he gave the  half of his goods to  
the poor1 and if he had wronged any man1
 to him he  would restore fourfold4     
,and remember how all of us1 when we    
read the  ,gospel1 set but little store 
on this ,zaccheus1 and involuntarily    
look  with scorn on this half of his    
goods1 and fourfold restitution4  ,and  
our  feeling is correct4  ,zaccheus1    
according to his lights1 performed a    
great  deed4  ,he had not even begun to 
do good4  ,he had only begun in some    

small  measure to purify himself from   
evil1 and so ,christ told him4    ,he   
merely said to him3 ,to-day is salvation
 come nigh unto this house4    ,what if 
the ,moscow ,zaccheuses were to do the  
same that he did8  ,assuredly1  more    
than one milliard could be collected4   
,well1 and what of that8  ,nothing4     
,there would be still greater sin if we 
were to think of  distributing this     
money among the poor4  ,money is not    
needed4  ,what is  needed is            
self-sacrificing action2 what is needed 
are people who would  like to do good1  
not by giving extraneous sin-money1 but 
by giving their  own labor1 themselves1 
their lives4  ,where are such people to 
be found8  ,here they are1 walking about
 ,moscow4  ,they are the student        
enumerators4  ,i  have seen how they    
write out their charts4  ,the student   
writes in the  night lodging-house1 by  
the bedside of a sick man4  ,what is    
your  disease8--,small-pox4  ,and the   
student does not make a wry face1 but   

proceeds with his writing4  ,and this he
 does for the sake of some  doubtful    
science4  ,what would he do if he were  
doing it for the sake of  his own       
undoubted good and the good of others8  
,when children1 in merry mood1 feel a   
desire to laugh1 they never think of    
devising some reason for laughter1 but  
they laugh without any reason1  because 
they are gay2 and thus these charming   
youths sacrifice  themselves4  ,they    
have not1 as yet1 contrived to devise   
any means of  sacrificing themselves1   
but they devote their attention1 their  
labor1  their lives1 in order to write  
out a chart1 from which something does  
or  does not appear4  ,what would it be 
if this labor were something really     
worth their while8  ,there is and there 
always will be labor of this sort1      
which is worthy of the devotion of a    
whole life1 whatever the man's life  may
 be4  ,this labor is the loving         
intercourse of man with man1 and the    
breaking-down of the barriers which men 

have erected between themselves1  so    
that the enjoyment of the rich man may  
not be disturbed by the wild  howls of  
the men who are reverting to beasts1 and
 by the groans of  helpless hunger1 cold
 and disease4    ,this census will place
 before the eyes of us well-to-do and   
so-called  cultivated people1 all the   
poverty and oppression which is lurking 
in  every corner of ,moscow4  ,two      
thousand of our brothers1 who stand on  
the  highest rung of the ladder1 will   
come face to face with thousands of     
people who stand on the lowest round of 
society4  ,let us not miss this         
opportunity of communion4  ,let us1     
through these two thousand men1         
preserve this communion1 and let us make
 use of it to free ourselves from  the  
aimlessness and the deformity of our    
lives1 and to free the condemned  from  
that indigence and misery which do not  
allow the sensitive people in  our ranks
 to enjoy our good fortune in peace4    
,this is what ,i propose3 7#a7 ,that all

 our directors and enumerators should   
join to their business of the census a  
task of assistance1--of work in  the    
interest of the good of these people1   
who1 in our opinion1 are in  need of    
assistance1 and with whom we shall come 
in contact2 7#b7 ,that all  of us1      
directors and enumerators1 not by       
appointment of the committee of  the    
,city ,council1 but by the appointment  
of our own hearts1 shall remain  in our 
posts1--that is1 in our relations to the
 inhabitants of the town  who are in    
need of assistance1--and that1 at the   
conclusion of the work  of the census1  
we shall continue our work of aid4  ,if 
,i have succeeded in  any degree in     
expressing what ,i feel1 ,i am sure that
 the only  impossibility will be getting
 the directors and enumerators to       
abandon  this1 and that others will     
present themselves in the places of     
those who  leave2 7#c7 ,that we should  
collect all those inhabitants of        
,moscow1 who  feel themselves fit to    

work for the needy1 into sections1 and  
begin our  activity now1 in accordance  
with the hints of the census-takers and 
directors1 and afterwards carry it on2  
7#d7 ,that all who1 on account of  age1 
weakness1 or other causes1 cannot give  
their personal labor among  the needy1  
shall intrust the task to their young1  
strong1 and willing  relatives4  7,good 
consists not in the giving of money1 it 
consists in the  loving intercourse of  
men4  ,this alone is needed47           
,whatever may be the outcome of this1   
any thing will be better than the       
present state of things4    ,then let   
the final act of our enumerators and    
directors be to distribute  a hundred   
twenty-kopek pieces to those who have no
 food2 and this will be  not a little1  
not so much because the hungry will have
 food1 but because  the directors and   
enumerators will conduct themselves in a
 humane manner  towards a hundred poor  
people4  ,how are we to compute the     
possible  results which will accrue to  

the balance of public morality from the 
fact  that1 instead of the sentiments of
 irritation1 anger1 and envy which we   
arouse by reckoning the hungry1 we shall
 awaken in a hundred instances a        
sentiment of good1 which will be        
communicated to a second and a third1   
and an endless wave which will thus be  
set in motion and flow between  men8    
,and this is a great deal4  ,let those  
of the two thousand  enumerators who    
have never comprehended this before1    
come to understand  that1 when going    
about among the poor1 it is impossible  
to say1 ,this is  very interesting2 that
 a man should not express himself with  
regard to  another man's wretchedness by
 interest only2 and this will be a good 
thing4  ,then let assistance be rendered
 to all those unfortunates1 of  whom    
there are not so many as ,i at first    
supposed in ,moscow1 who can  easily be 
helped by money alone to a great extent4
  ,then let those  laborers who have    
come to ,moscow and have eaten their    

very clothing from  their backs1 and who
 cannot return to the country1 be       
despatched to their  homes2 let the     
abandoned orphans receive supervision2  
let feeble old men  and indigent old    
women1 who subsist on the charity of    
their companions1  be released from     
their half-famished and dying condition4
  7,and this is  very possible4  ,there 
are not very many of them47  ,and this  
will also be  a very1 very great deal   
accomplished4  ,but why not think and   
hope that  more and yet more will be    
done8  ,why not expect that that real   
task will  be partially carried out1 or 
at least begun1 which is effected1 not  
by  money1 but by labor2 that weak      
drunkards who have lost their health1   
unlucky thieves1 and prostitutes who are
 still capable of reformation1  should  
be saved8  ,all evil may not be         
exterminated1 but there will arise  some
 understanding of it1 and the contest   
with it will not be police  methods1 but
 by inward modes1--by the brotherly     

intercourse of the men  who perceive the
 evil1 with the men who do not perceive 
it because they  are a part of it4      
,no matter what may be accomplished1 it 
will be a great deal4  ,but why not     
hope that every thing will be           
accomplished8  ,why not hope that we    
shall  accomplish thus much1 that there 
shall not exist in ,moscow a single     
person in want of clothing1 a single    
hungry person1 a single human being     
sold for money1 nor a single individual 
oppressed by the judgment of man1  who  
shall not know that there is fraternal  
aid for him8  ,it is not  surprising    
that this should not be so1 but it is   
surprising that this  should exist side 
by side with our superfluous leisure and
 wealth1 and  that we can live on       
composedly1 knowing that these things   
are so4  ,let us  forget that in great  
cities and in ,london1 there is a       
proletariat1 and  let us not say that so
 it must needs be4  ,it need not be     
this1 and it  should not1 for this is   

contrary to our reason and our heart1   
and it  cannot be if we are living      
people4  ,why not hope that we shall    
come to  understand that there is not a 
single duty incumbent upon us1 not to   
mention personal duty1 for ourselves1   
nor our family1 nor social1 nor         
governmental1 nor scientific1 which is  
more weighty than this8  ,why not  think
 that we shall at last come to apprehend
 this8  ,only because to do  so would be
 too great a happiness4  ,why not hope  
that some the people  will wake up1 and 
will comprehend that every thing else is
 a delusion1  but that this is the only 
work in life8  ,and why should not this 
some  time be now1 and in ,moscow8  ,why
 not hope that the same thing may happen
  in society and humanity which suddenly
 takes place in a diseased  organism1   
when the moment of convalescence        
suddenly sets in8  ,the  organism is    
diseased this means1 that the cells     
cease to perform their  mysterious      
functions2 some die1 others become      

infected1 others still  remain in       
perfect condition1 and work on by       
themselves4  ,but all of a  sudden the  
moment comes when every living cell     
enters upon an independent  and healthy 
activity3 it crowds out the dead cells1 
encloses the infected  ones in a living 
wall1 it communicates life to that which
 was lifeless2  and the body is         
restored1 and lives with new life4      
,why should we not think and expect that
 the cells of our society will  acquire 
fresh life and re-invigorate the        
organism8  ,we know not in what  the    
power of the cells consists1 but we do  
know that our life is in our  own power4
  ,we can show forth the light that is  
in us1 or we may  extinguish it4    ,let
 one man approach the ,lyapinsky house  
in the dusk1 when a thousand  persons1  
naked and hungry1 are waiting in the    
bitter cold for admission1  and let that
 one man attempt to help1 and his heart 
will ache till it  bleeds1 and he will  
flee thence with despair and anger      

against men2 but  let a thousand men    
approach that other thousand with a     
desire to help1  and the task will prove
 easy and delightful4  ,let the         
mechanicians invent  a machine for      
lifting the weight that is crushing     
us--that is a good  thing2 but until    
they shall have invented it1 let us bear
 down upon the  people1 like fools1 like
 muzhiki1 like peasants1 like           
,christians1 and  see whether we cannot 
raise them4    ,and now1 brothers1 all  
together1 and away it goes6