Russian Genealogy
Author: Ginny Audet
Publication: Website
Date:
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Summary: A comprehensive guide, with loads of links, for getting started searching for your family roots.
This research and resource guide was compiled and edited by Ginny Audet, of the Newton Free Library, in Newton, Massachusetts. It was last revised May 1, 2007.
BOOKS
Research
A Dictionary of Surnames. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. David L. Gold, special consultant for Jewish names. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. This reference work includes a large number of Jewish, Russian and German names. Especially useful is the index which links the variants, equivalents, derivatives and cognates of names to surnames cited in the text. The introduction includes information on Jewish family names, surnames in the Soviet Union, surnames of Eastern Europe outside Russia, and surnames in German-speaking countries.
International Vital Records Handbook. 4th ed. Kemp, Thomas J. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing, 2000. Russia, pp. 515-520. This work refers to The Russian-American Genealogical Archival Service as a source for vital records in Russia. It seems that this service went out of business about a year or so after the Handbook was published. The form provided may still prove useful for sorting the information you have on an individual and showing what you may still need to find.
The Library: A Guide to the LDS Family History Library. Edited by Johni Cerny and Wendy Elliott. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, 1988. Despite the publication date, this work is an excellent resource. The book has introductory information about each country, it's archival records and resources, and what the LDS Family History Library has available on microfilm (up to 1988). Chapter 20 covers the Soviet Union, as well as the Eastern European countries of Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Albania, and Poland. You may be able to update this material by going into LDS online catalog at http://www.familysearch.com and clicking on the tab labeled Library.
You can request that copies of relevant microfilms be sent to a local branch of the LDS Library. To find the branch nearest you, go to the above web address. Click on the box that says “Library” and scroll to the bottom of the page. In Massachusetts the New England Historic Genealogical Society on Newbury Street in Boston can order the LDS microfilms for patrons. The NEHGS has much longer hours than the local LDS Family History Library branches.
In Their Words: A Genealogist's Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents. Shea, Jonathan D. vol. 2. Russian. New Britain, CT: Language & Lineage Press, 2002. This book is a must when you are dealing with unfamiliar languages.
Archives of Russia: A Directory and Bibliographic Guide to the Holdings in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Edited by Patricia Kennedy Grimsted. 2 vols. M. E. Sharpe: Armonk, NY, 2000. Consulting Grimsted's work may prove useful for tracking the location of various types of records.
On Individual Families
Empire and Odyssey: The Brynners in Far East Russia and Beyond. Brynner, Rock. Hanover, NH: Steerforth Press, 2006. A four generation family history beginning in Switzerland, but centering on Vladivostok. Two generations of the Brynner family was born here and the author, the fourth generation, researched his family history here.
Echoes of a Native Land: Two Centuries of a Russian Village. Schmemann, Serge. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997. The author, a New York Times foreign correspondent, reconstructs a two hundred year history of his family and the village of Sergiyevskoye (now Koltsovo) in Russia where they lived. He uses unpublished family memoirs, interviews with villagers, materials from Soviet archives, and privately held memorabilia in the possession of other family members and residents of Koltsovo.
PERIODICAL ARTICLES
These two articles are critical if you are beginning the search for your Russian ancestors.
"Digging Up Your Russian Roots." Richardson, Paul E. Russian Life. June 1997. pp. 35+.
"Discovering Your Russian Roots." Krasner-Khait, Barbara. Russian Life. Year 44, No. 4. July/August 2001. pp. 57 - 61.
Many of the web sites that follow were originally listed in the above article by Barbara Krasner-Khait. Some of these web addresses have changed since 2001. The updated addresses are given below.
The two additional articles listed below deal specifically with Russian Archives.
Grimsted, Patricia Kennedy. “Increasing Reference Access to Post-1991 Russian Archives.” Slavic Review, vol. 56, no. 4 (Winter 1997), pp. 718-759.
Mehr, Kahlile. “Genealogical Sources in Soviet Archives.” Genealogical Journal, No. 2, June 1978, pp. 65-76.
Copies of these last two articles can be requested from Interlibrary Loan. The Grimsted article can also be found on the JStore database available at various libraries. Check the public and academic libraries closest to you to see if this database is available.
USEFUL INTERNET SITES
GETTING STARTED
ALL RUSSIA FAMILY DATABASE
This is a dual language website. The Russian language is on the left. The English language is on the right. The site is well worth browsing. A section explaining the Russian alphabet is a good beginning if you don't have any knowledge of the language. Click on “Reading Russian is very easy!” Also look at the book In Their Words by Jonathan D. Shea mentioned above.
RESEARCHING RUSSIAN ROOTS: THE GATEWAY TO GENEALOGY IN RUSSIA
Clickable options listed on the homepage include: Welcome, How-to, Russian Archives, Useful Links, Ukraine and Belarus, Message Boards, Emigre Search, Family Sites, My Family and Contact Me.
FEDERATION OF EAST EUROPEAN FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETIES
This is a key site that is well worth exploring. It includes locations in parts of the former Russian Empire and Soviet Union. Check the list of FEEFHS's member websites as well as other selections which include suggested databases; maps; the ethnic, religious, and national index; and the list of FEEFHS Journal back issues. Scroll to the bottom of their home page to check out
the new look for their site. (5/1/07)
AMERICAN FAMILY IMMIGRATION CENTER
If your ancestor came into the United States between 1892 and 1924, there is a good chance they came through Ellis Island. This website is worth checking. When using this site, don't forget to click on the headings Passenger Search, Ellis Island, and Genealogy on the top strip of their homepage and the FAQs on the strip at the bottom. Since there were a number of other ports of arrival, you should also check http://www.stevemorse.org. This is Stephen P. Morse's site. It's an extremely important website for information on immigrants who disembarked at Ellis Island, but also includes a number of other ports of entry. Browse other topics listed here as well. There is a large amount of genealogical data that can be discovered at these two sites.
GERMANS FROM RUSSIA
In 1763 Catherine the Great invited Germans to settle around the Volga and the Black Sea. According to a census taken in Russia in 1897, there were approximately 1.7 million Germans living in Russia. The number of Germans had risen to only 1.9 million by 1979. This suggests that there were a large number of Germans who emigrated from Russia to other countries.* The following sites should prove useful if you are descended from Germans from Russia.
GERMANS FROM RUSSIA HERITAGE SOCIETY
The Society website is beautifully set up with access by topic (on the top strip) to a great deal of genealogical material. Make certain you follow the link towards the bottom of the homepage for a full explanation of this website.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERISTY GERMANS FROM RUSSIA HERITAGE COLLECTION
This is not just a listing of the holdings at State University. There is a good deal more here that is worth looking through. It has been estimated that more than half of the people who live in North Dakota are either from Russia or are of Russian descent.
ODESSA: A GERMAN-RUSSIAN GENEALOGICAL LIBRARY
The Collections section is especially rich in information, but click on the other sections as well.
ONLINE DISCUSSION GROUPS
North Dakota State University provides a compilation of Listserves, Electronic Discusssion Groups, and Special Links.
ST. PETERSBURG ARCHIVES
Next click on Collections. Scroll down. Then click on St. Petersburg Archives.
EINWANDERUNGSZENTRALSTELLE (EWZ) ANTRAGE
(Naturalized German Citizenship Applications) The Einwanderungszentralstelle (EWZ) Anträge is a collection of the records for people applying for naturalized German citizenship between 1939 and 1945. This is an extremely important set of records for descendants of Germans from Russia.
Two websites that explain these records are:
Genealogienetz.de
Odessa3.org
The National Archives has microfilmed a number of these applications. To view a surname index to this set of microfilms go to http://www.odessa3.org. Click on Collections. Choose Document Index at the very top of the page. Be patient. This is a long file and may take a couple of minutes to download. Look for the heading u2/Odessa/War/EWZ towards the end of the list.
JEWS FROM RUSSIAN (AND SOVIET) LANDS
It is estimated that over 3.5 million people emigrated from Russian between 1820 and 1992 (about 2.5 of this number around the turn of the last century from 1897 to World War I) and that approximately half of these were Jews. If you have ancestors who are Russian Jews, the following books and sites should prove extremely useful.
BOOKS
Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire. Teaneck, NJ: Avotaynu, 1993.
Cohen, Chester G. Shtetl Finder: Jewish Communities in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries in the Pale of Settlement of Russia and Poland, and in Lithuania, Latvia, Galicia, and Bukovina, with the Names of Residents. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1989. 929.1 COHEN
Feldblyum, Boris. Russian-Jewish Given Names. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 1998.
USEFUL INTERNET SITES
JEWISHGEN This site is the starting point for all Jewish genealogy.
JEWISHGEN FAMILY FINDER This site not only lets you enter both surnames and locations, but helps you locate others who may be working on some of the same people or places. It also helps others locate you.
FAMILY TREE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE
VSIA ROSSIIA DATABASE Russian business directories published between 1895 and 1911.
YIZKOR BOOK NECROLOGY DATABASE Lists of Holocaust martyrs.
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS Must register to use.
NOBILITY
ASSOCIATION OF THE BELARUSIAN NOBILITY
BELARUS
ADDITIONAL WEBSITES
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG Doing a keyword search here can turn up additional books. If you find something of interest, you may be able to obtain a copy of the book through your local library's Interlibrary Loan Department.
LOCAL HISTORY AND GENEALOGY READING ROOM AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (Federal Records including Immigration, Naturalization, Military, and Census) Washington, DC | Waltham, MA Look for and click on links to genealogical topics on the archives home pages.
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN This site has a great deal of general information that may be useful to the genealogist. Of special interest are the three sections on History, Language, and Libraries and Archives. Most entries list websites.
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY Click on CATNYP (Research Libraries) in the first column on the left. Enter "Russia Genealogy" as a subject heading. If you read Russian that is transliterated into the Roman alphabet, you will find a number of items.
FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY, SALT LAKE CITY Use their online catalog to find a wealth of resources, both printed material and microfilmed records. You can request that microfilm can be sent to the Family History Center branch closest to you. To find branch, click on Library on the homepage given above. Then click on Family History Library and scroll to the bottom.
GETTING PROFESSIONAL HELP
INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHERS
Website for the Association of Professional Genealogists In Moscow. If you do not read Russian, click on the Association name in English. It will bring you to a list of professional genealogists.
A list of individual researchers at the website Researching Russian Roots: The Gateway to Genealogy in Russia.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FIRMS
Blitz Information Center. This is a small part of the larger website sponsored by the Federation of Eastern European Family History Societies.
Miriam Weiner's Routes to Roots: Tracing Jewish Roots in Poland, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus. Routes to Roots is located in Seacaucus, New Jersey. The e-mail address is mweiner@routestoroots.com. Weiner offers both archival research and tours to the areas listed above.
