Russian Empire Maps

Overview
Maps are important for locating the places where your ancestors lived. They help you see the neighboring towns and geographic features of the area your ancestor came from. In some cases, they can help you determine where the parish was located. They also show nearby places, geographical features, transportation routes, and proximity to other towns and locations. Historical maps are especially useful for understanding boundary changes.

Russian Empire Online Maps
The following websites contain maps for various locations, regions, gubernia, uyezds cities, etc. throughout the Russian Empire:

EtoMesto
EtoMesto.ru allows you to view various maps of a particular location throughout time. For example, you can view current maps of a certain village, and then travel through time and view maps of the same location throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. There are a variety of maps available - gubernia, uyezd, or city maps, maps highlighting parishes, etc. To search for maps, be sure to use the Cyrillic spelling of the town name, rather than searching using the Latin Version.

RetroMap
RetroMap.ru has a large collection of Russian Empire era maps which are organized by location. There are a variety of maps available, gubernia, uyezd, or city maps, maps highlighting parishes, etc. To search for maps, click on the Map Selection tab and then search by region in the folders on the left hand side. It also allows you to view maps throughout time. Some of the city maps have historic photos of streets and locations associated with the map.

David Rumsey Map Collection
The David Rumsey Map Collection has many Russian Empire era maps. There are a variety of maps available from maps of the whole empire to maps of cities. There are also many Soviet era maps of available.

City Maps
Larger cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, etc. may have city maps. City maps can be useful in determining where in the city your ancestor lived and what parish they may have belonged to. The following sites contain maps for larger cities in the Russian Empire.

Library of Texas Maps
The Library of Texas has digital maps of Moscow, Sevastopol, and St. Petersburg for various time periods.

RetroMap
RetroMap.ru has many city maps. To search for maps, click on the Map Selection tab and then search by region in the folders on the left hand side. You can also search for city maps by choosing the Cities and Tags tab at the top of the page. Some of the city maps have historic photos of streets and locations associated with the map. It also allows you to view maps throughout time.

Family History Library
Check the FamilySearch Catalog or map availability for your location. Search using the town/city, uyezd, or gubernia. Maps are cataloged under Maps in the FamilySearch Catalog. Some may be available online, while others may only be available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.