Good call.
I tracked it down: [37] is from a popsci book called “The Lady Tasting Tea” by retired statistician David Salsburg, pages 147-149. While I’m sure he’s knowledgeable about statistics, he doesn’t seem to have any special qualifications regarding history.
I also went to the trouble of tracking down a pdf:
The claims about the government of the USSR seeing statistics as “an insult” seem to be partially his own speculation and partially the speculation of a statistics journal from the 50’s, rather than being drawn from any kind of official statements. The only claims that seem to have something to do with material reality are:
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The parts about the Vestnik Statistiki, which was not shut down but rather used as an official publication of the Central Statistics Administration (TsSU)
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A couple researchers leaving the field of statistics
I see absolutely nothing that suggests the study of statistics was banned or sidelined in any way.
Every society has ideology, you just don’t notice the dominant one for the same reason a fish doesn’t notice water. Ideology is just a framework for understanding the world, everyone has some such framework and if you think you don’t it’s only because you haven’t examined it or considered other perspectives.
Western countries have had anti-communist purges, and as for treating ideology as religion, well…
As for this idea that “you don’t have to read or understand anything” that’s patently untrue. Literacy is consistently one of the top priorities of communists, and if you look at actual data as opposed to just saying whatever thought happens to enter your head, it backs that up.
Or as one anti-communist put it: