Vasilii Nikolaevich Grigorev

Born 1852 in Moscow; died there in 1925. Russian statistician, economist, and publicist of a Narodnik (Populist) orientation.

Grigor’ev repeatedly suffered administrative persecution and exile for revolutionary propaganda. In 1882 he took part in the establishment and activities of the statistical bureau of the zemstvo (elected administration) of Riazan’ Province: he was exiled, however, and the four volumes of his Compilation of Statistics on Riazan’ Province were destroyed by the authorities. From 1886 through 1917 he worked in the statistics department of the Moscow City Council. He published in the journals Iuridicheskii vestnik (Law Bulletin). Russkaia mysl’ (Russian Thought), and Russkie vedomosti (Russian Record). Grigor’ev’s principal works were his Subject Index of Materials in Zemstvo Statistical Works from the 1860’s Through 1917 (vols. 1–2, 1926–27) and Handicraft Lock and Cutlery Production of the Pavlovo Raion (1881). Although Lenin used statistical material from Grigor’ev’s works in his book The Development of Capitalism in Russia, he criticized Grigor’ev for idealizing small-scale production.