Baku Gubernia, Russian Empire Genealogy

Guide to Baku Gubernia, Russian Empire ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, and tax records.

Historical Background
Baku Gubernia [province] was created in 1846 and was known as Shemakha Gubernia until 1859. It was established as a gubernia in 1846, and abolished in 1917. This gubernia roughly covers central and southeastern Georgia, the partially recognised state of South Ossetia, most of the Lori Province of Armenia, small parts of northwestern Azerbaijan, and a minuscule southern part of Ingushetia within Russia.

Getting Started
Before jumping into records for this province, you MUST know the name of the village in which your ancestor lived.

Once you have the name of a village you believe was located in this province, take the following steps:

1. Identify the standard spelling of the town using a gazetteer. (See the Baku Gubernia Gazetteers page.) 2. Use the gazetteer and maps to determine the approximate location of the village. (See the Ėrivan Gubernia Maps page.) 3. Check to see if there are tax lists available for the village of interest for a relevant time period. If so, follow the family through the tax lists starting with the most recent relevant list and work backwards. 4. Determine if there are religious records available for the village. Use religious records to supplement and verify information found in the tax lists. Keep in mind that the closest religious center (i.e. churches, mosques, etc.) may be in a nearby village.

If you have specific questions about research in the former Baku province, post your questions to the FamilySearch Community - Russian Empire Genealogy Research group.

More Research Strategies and Tools

 * Armenia Handwriting

Online Classes
Records and Record Access

Russian Handwriting
 * Reading Russian Documents: The Russian Alphabet - Ellie Vance
 * Deciphering the Handwriting and Understanding the Grammar - Ellie Vance
 * Russian Alphabet, Language and Handwriting Part 1 - Heather Stewart, BA
 * Russian Alphabet, Language and Handwriting Part 2 - Heather Stewart, BA