Russian Empire Gazetteers

A gazetteer is a dictionary of place names. It describes towns and villages; townships and counties; provinces; sizes and population; and rivers, mountains, and other geographical features. Gazetteers usually include only the names of places that existed at the time the gazetteer was published. You can use a gazetteer to find the places where your family lived and to determine both the civil and religious jurisdictions over those places.

List of Populated Places in Imperial Russia: Spiski Naselennykh Mest Rossiiskoi Imperii (Списки населенных мест Российской Имперіи)
The Spiski Naselennykh Mest Rossiiskoi Imperii, often referred to as simply the Spiski, is the foundational gazetteer for the Russian Empire. The gazetteer is organized by locality - first by gubernia (province), then by uyezd (county), and finally by the city, village, colony, or town. Each volume contains a locality index at the back of the book. In order to use this gazetteer effectively, you'll need to know which gubernia your ancestor's hometown was located in. Note that the Kingdom of Poland (Russian Poland) was not included in the Spiski.

There are nearly 100 gazetteers for various gubernia included in the Spiski. Many are available at the Family History Library on microfiche (Fiche 6,002,224 /420 microfiche, click here to see the catalog entry page), and in recent years, many have been digitized and are available online. Use this Wiki page to help you find an online copy of the Spiski for your gubernia.

How to Use the Spiski
For help learning how to use and read the Spiski, please refer to the Spiski Gazetteer Online Russia How to Guide.

Accessing the Spiski: Online Availability
To access the gazetteer, locate your gubernia from the list below, and click on the Cyrillic form of the name. In some cases, an online version of the Spiski is currently unavailable. In that case, an alternate gazetteer has been suggested.

European Russia (Европейская Россия)

 * Arkhangel'sk - Архангельская г.
 * Astrakhan - Астраханская г.
 * Bessarabia - Бессарабская г.
 * Chernigov - Черниговская г.
 * Courland - Курляндская г.
 * Grodno - Гродненская г.
 * Kaluga - Калужская г.
 * Kazan - Казанская г.
 * Khar'kov - Харьковская г.
 * Kherson - Херсонская г.
 * Kiev - Киевская г.
 * Kostroma - Костромская г.
 * Kovno - Ковенская г.
 * Kursk - Курская г.
 * Livonia - Лифляндская г.
 * Minsk - Минская г.
 * Mogilev - Могилевская г. *additional gazetteer here*
 * Moscow - Московская г.
 * Nizhni Novgorod - Нижегородская г.
 * Novgorod - Новгородская г.
 * Olonets - Олонецкая г.
 * Orel - Орловская г.
 * Orenburg - Оренбургская г.
 * Penza - Пензенская г.
 * Perm - Пермская г.
 * Podolsk - Подольская г.
 * Poltava - Полтавская г.
 * Pskov - Псковская г.
 * Ryazan - Рязанская г.
 * Samara - Самарская г.
 * Saratov - Саратовская г.
 * Simbirsk - Симбирская г.
 * Smolensk - Смоленская г.
 * St. Petersburg - Санкт петербургская г.
 * Tambov - Тамбовская г.
 * Tavrida - Таврическая г.
 * Tula - Тульская г.
 * Tver - Тверская г.
 * Ufa - Уфимская г.
 * Vilenski - Виленская г. *this is an alternate gazetteer*
 * Vitebsk - Витебская г.
 * Vladimir - Владимирская г.
 * Vologda - Вологодская г.
 * Volhynia - Вологодская г.
 * Voronezh - Воронежская г.
 * Vyatka - Вятская г.
 * Yekaterinoslav - Екатеринославская г.
 * Zemlya Voyska Donskago - Земля Донского войска г.

Caucasus (Кавказ)

 * Baku - Бакинская г.
 * Additional alphabetical list of places in Baku province
 * Black Sea (Chernomorskaya) - Черноморская г.
 * Alternate list of places for this province--based upon information from 1886 family lists.
 * Dagestan - Дагестан обл.
 * Alternative list of places for this province --based upon information from 1886 family lists.
 * Elisavetpol - Елисаветпольская г.
 * Erivan - Эриванская г
 * Additional alphabetical list of places in Erivan province
 * Alternate list of places for this province--based upon information from 1886 family lists.
 * Kars - Карская обл.
 * Alternate list of places for this province--based upon information from 1886 family lists.
 * Kuban - Кубанская обл.
 * Kutaisi - Кутаисская г.
 * Additional alphabetical list of places in Kutaisi
 * Stavropol - Ставропольская г.
 * Additional alphabetical list of places in Stavropol
 * Terek - Терская обл.
 * Tiflis - Тифлисская г.
 * Alternate list of places for this province--based upon information from 1886 family lists.

Siberia (Сибирь)

 * Amur - Амурская обл.
 * Zabaykalsky - Забайкальская обл.
 * Irkutsk - Иркутская г.
 * Primorskaya - Приморская обл.
 * Sakhalin - Сахалин
 * Tobolsk - Тобольская г.
 * Tomsk - Томская г.
 * Yakutskaya - Якутская г.

Central Asia (Средняя Азия)

 * Akmola - Акмолинская обл.
 * Transcapian - Закаспийская обл.
 * Samarkand - Самаркандская обл.
 * Semipalatinsk - Семипалатинская обл.
 * Semirechye - Семиреченская обл.
 * Syr-Darya - Сырдарьинская область
 * Turgay - Тургайская обл.
 * Ural - Уральская обл.
 * Fergana - Ферганская обл.

Russisches Geographische Namenbuch
The most comprehensive gazetteer of all localities in Imperial Russia is the Russisches Geographisches Namenbuch (Russian Geographical Namebook) by Max Vasmer [Russisches Geographisches Namenbuch. Wiesbaden: Harassowitz, 1964-1981. Nachtrag (Supplement), 1988. 11 vols. (FHL INTL Book 947 E5r)].

The Spiski naselennykh Mest Rossiiski Imperii were the primary source for much of the data. The RGN includes eleven volumes plus the Kartenband (maps). The gazetteer is organized alphabetically, according to the Cyrillic alphabet; however, descriptions were written in German. The pre-1917 administrative districts of gubernia (G.) and uyezd (Kr.) are given. If there are several localities in the same gubernia, the gubernia is indicated only after the first locality within that gubernia. It is not repeated for each subsequent locality listed. See the example and explanation below.

How to Use the RGN
For instructions on how to use the Russisches Geographisches Namenbuch (RGN), please see the RGN Gazetteer Russia How to Guide. The RGN is not available online, but it is available in the Family History Library reference collection. If you are unable to visit Salt Lake City, try checking WorldCat for availability in a library near you.