The ceremonial cancellation of the series of postage stamps dedicated to the 2010 National Census took place today in the Government House. Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of the Government Staff Sergei Sobyanin, who marked the stamps, said he was confident that all constituent entities, local government and federal bodies and the large number of census takers are completely prepared.

The deputy prime minister signed envelopes and used a cancellation machine on several postage stamps, telling reporters, "How well the census is performed will influence how well we are able to plan our future, the location of kindergartens, schools and hospitals, how this information is used in business development and in the location of service sector businesses, communications companies and the like." Sergei Sobyanin also said that it will have an impact on Russia's development and the well-being of all who live in the country.

Minister of Communications and Mass Media Igor Shchegolev, who also took part in the ceremony, said that the issuing of ceremonial postage stamps had become a traditional way of marking important national events.

Head of the Federal Service for State Statistics Alexander Surinov said that 420,000 census takers had started work across the country. He promised to monitor the situation and report back on it to the government every two to three days.