MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti) - A pilot census to prepare for a 2010 nationwide census will be held on October 1-24 in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg and the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk.
The test census will be carried out in the Petrovsky area of St Petersburg and the centre of Khabarovsk.
It has been designed to check data collection methods, software, and coordination issues before the 2010 nationwide census. The test census will also be held in the city of Balashikha, some 25 km (16 miles) east of Moscow on October 15 - November 3.
The results of the pilot census are expected by February 2009.
The first nationwide census in post-Soviet Russia was carried out on October 9-16, 2002.
