Russia Archives and Libraries

Genealogy/Family History in Russian Archives

 * Neither the Federal Archival Agency nor many Russian archives are staffed or equipped to answer extensive genealogical inquires of a "family history" nature.
 * Unless the exact archive involved has already been identified, family-history inquiries should normally be addressed directly to more specialized genealogical services.

BLITZ
The Russian Ancestry Research Services: BLITZ Information Center works with the historic archives in St. Petersburg and Moscow and provides genealogy research, document retrieval and translations. BLITZ is located in St. Petersburg and also maintains an office in California. BLITZ provides a preliminary genealogy search for US$80.00.

At the conclusion of this preliminary search, they give you our assessment as to the existence of records of your family and the direction of further research. They will also tell you if there are some documents which you should order. On the other hand, if they believe that further research will be unproductive, they will let you know along with the reasons.
 * Russian Ancestry Research Services: BLITZ Information Center 907 Mission Ave, San Rafael, California, 94901-2910, USA Telephone: 415-453-3579 FAX: 415-453-0343 E-mail address: enute@igc.org Russian Ancestry Research Services RUSSIA Elena Tsvetkova rublitz@gmail.com Telephone: 7(812) 436-9405  Postal Address: Pereulok Grivtsova, 10 Russkoe Geographicheskoe Obschestvo Sankt Petersburg, Russia 190000

Types of Records
Some of the types of records that can be accessed in the archives of the former Soviet Union are listed below:

Civilian service records - Civilian service records are very detailed records of a person's government work record and usually list the spouse, children, vital dates, places of work and types of civilian service. Military Service records - Military service records are similar in detail to civilian service records and are found in the Military Historic Archive in Moscow and in the Naval Historic Archives in St. Petersburg. A military service record is more likely to exist if the person was an officer. It is useful to know which branch of service the person served in. Protestant Church Registers - In pre-revolutionary Russia, each year the non-Russian orthodox churches were required to make a copy of their register and send it to St. Petersburg. These records are kept in the Russian State Historic Archives in some 300 large volumes called "Metrical" books. These books are very time consuming to search because they are not indexed and are organized by year and parish. It is therefore essential to first know the parish name, which can have both a German and a Russian name. Parish boundaries often changed as the population increased or as colonists established new settlements. Sometimes parishes disappeared as they were absorbed into adjoining parishes. Business Records - The St. Petersburg archives often have records of Foreign companies which did business in Russia. These records can include lists of local workers, letters from individuals, contracts, etc. Heraldry and coats of arms of noble families - Genealogy charts and coats of arms for noble families are kept in the main archives. Members of each generation of noble families were required to confirm their noble origin (their right to be attached to the nobility of their family) according to the Russian Law of that time. These files can contain valuable information on each noble family extending back many generations. In conquered lands, such as Poland and Lithuania, local families often applied to the Russian authorities and provided detailed genealogy information to try to become registered as nobility in Russia. Adoption records - Records of adoption proceedings may be in the Russian archives. In some cases, couples would apply to adopt their children born out of wedlock. Land ownership records - In some cases, land ownership records are available. These records may indicate the number of serfs owned by the landowner. Apartment records - Some cities have local archives with the listing of apartment residents, the date they moved in, the date they left for an extended period of time, where they went, when they returned, where they returned from and when they moved out for good. KGB records - During the Lenin and Stalin era many people were arrested, tried and executed as traitors. Sometimes those not executed were later rehabilitated. The records of the trial and rehabilitation proceedings are in the archives of the FSB (former KGB) offices located in the same city (or region) in which the person was arrested. These files can only be accessed by members of the immediate family. Library Sources - A large number of published sources for genealogy information are available in libraries including many directories compiled according to the rank or institutions where people served, schools, addresses, and other information published in Pre-Revolutionary Russia as well as, old newspapers.

Inventories and Guides
'A Directory and Bibliographic Guide to Holdings in Moscow and St Petersburg
 * 'Annotated Register, Russian State Historic Archives, St. Petersburg' Call number: 947.2 A3 1994, FamilySearch Library
 * 'Arkhivnye dokumenty poistorii evreev v Rosii v xix - nachale XX vv'' Which is a Research guide to materials on the history of Russian Jewry (19th and 20th centuries) in selected archives of the former Soviet Union'. Call number: 947 J57d, FamilySearch Library
 * A basic reference work for those using traditional state and CPSU records, medieval manuscripts, and personal papers, this volume also provides a starting place for those trying to locate manuscript maps, folk songs, motion pictures, genealogical data, technical documentation, and architectural drawings, among other sources.
 * Entries for individual repositories include names (and all previous names) in Russian and English, addresses (including e-mail and fax), transportation, major staff, institutional history, surveys of holdings, access, working conditions, reference facilities, and a bibliography of related finding aids. In addition to indexes of authors, personal names, and an index-correlation table linking previous and present acronyms with current names of repositories, the English edition has an extensive subject index.
 * All of the archives listed are described in more detail with a full bibliography of their published guides and finding aids in the ABB printed directory, Archives of Russia: A Directory and Bibliography Guide to Holdings in Moscow and St Petersburg. (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2000). The English edition is considerably expanded from the Russian-language edition, Arkhivy Rossii (Moscow, 1997).

Visiting an Archive
In some cases, it may be necessary to visit an archive personally to obtain the desired record. Visiting an archive is not something that you can plan at the drop of a hat - it takes planning and preparation. Before you purchase airfare and plan your trip, be sure to contact the archive to see if they will be open during the time you plan to visit.

Getting the most out of your archival research trip takes careful planning and preparation. Below you will find some tips to help you as you prepare to visit an archive.


 * Contact the Archive: Inform the archive of the dates you plan to visit the archive and what materials you would be interested in viewing. You may need to set up an appointment with the archive or the Читальный зал, or the reading room. Archivists will generally bring documents and archival manuscripts to the reading room for visitors to use. Be sure to know what the reading room hours are so that you can maximize your research time.
 * Apply to Visit the Archive: In some cases, you must submit an application to obtain a reading card and access to the archive. This can take anywhere from a few days to a few months, so be sure to ask the archive about the process well in advance. Applicants are typically asked to provide contact information, forms of identification, reasons for visiting the archive etc.
 * Plan Ahead: Planning ahead will help you get the most out of your experience. Examine putevoditeli and opisi before your visit so you know the fond and delo number. Knowing these "call numbers" will allow the archivist to quickly retrieve your desired records and you won't have to waste your or the archivist's precious time looking for its location within the archive.
 * Schedule Time for the Unexpected: Give yourself some buffer time in case of travel complications, unexpected archival closures, or for new discoveries that lead you in a different direction than you had originally anticipated.
 * Review Guidelines: Be sure you understand the archive's policies regarding their materials. Inquire if there any limits to the number of documents you can view each day, or if materials can only be requested as specific times. Also ask what kind of fees are necessary for photocopies, scans, or photography. You may also wish to ask if there are charging stations or internet access available. Knowing the policies in advance also helps you know what to pack for your visit. Commonly restricted items include pens, food/drink, coats and large bags. In some archives, electronic devices may not be permitted, so be sure to remember to pack pencils and a notebook.
 * Create a Template to Organize your Notes: Keeping a research log is an important step in research and helps you stay organized. Prepare a template ahead of time to help you keep track of what you have looked at (fond, delo, information found on record etc.). Be sure to save a spot to cite your sources.
 * Travel: Before booking your airfare or travel arrangements, be sure you are aware of any visa requirements. Be sure your passport is up to date.
 * Transportation: plan out in advance how you will get to the archive. You can use services like Google Maps or 2ГИС (for Russia) to help you navigate public transportation. If you plan on driving to the archive, be sure to find out if there is parking available at or near the archive.

Other Helpful Links

 * Find Lost Russian & Ukrainian Family Uncovering the secrets of finding family and records in the former USSR

Россия Архивы и библиотеки