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Bibliography

Dictionaries and Word Lists

FamilySearch. “Russian Genealogical Word List.” FamilySearch Wiki. Last modified April 5, 2024. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Russian_Genealogical_Word_List.

  • The Family Search Russian Genealogical Word List provides basic grammar explanations, cardinal and ordinal numbers, and links to other word lists in addition to its general word list. The general word list contains common genealogical words as well as many occupations and medical conditions.

Gramota. "Библиотека - Словари." https://gramota.ru/biblioteka/slovari.

  • Gramota is a searchable online collection of dictionaries for the Russian language. The various dictionaries available focus on spelling, language difficulties, foreign words, proper names, synonyms, and more. Researchers may search individual dictionaries or the collection as a whole.

Wiktionary. "Заглавная страница." Викисловарь. Last modified October 4, 2024. https://ru.wiktionary.org/wiki/Викисловарь:Заглавная_страница.

  • Besides definitions, Wiktionary provides grammatical information (part of speech, gender, declension type), examples of pronunciation, singular and plural declensions, examples of usage, origin, and etymology.

Толковые Словари и Энциклопедии. "Home page." http://www.edudic.ru/.

  • This collection of Explanatory Dictionaries and Encyclopedias includes given name, surname, agricultural, and religious dictionaries in addition to others that researchers may find useful.

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Directories and Schematisms

Genealogical Society of Małopolska. "Digital Library."
https://www.mtg-malopolska.org.pl/bibliotekacyfrowa.html.

  • This digital library provides access to many directories and schematisms for the Małopolska region of Poland.

Genealogy Indexer. https://genealogyindexer.org/directories.

  • Genealogy Indexer provides access to millions of pages of directories, military records, and histories.

Hauster, Edgar. "Home page." http://czernowitz.blogspot.com/.

  • This blog includes links to a number of historical sources with particular focus on address books, directories, and school registers.

Lendület Görögkatolikus Örökség. "Schematizmusok." https://byzantinohungarica.com/collection/schematismus.

  • Schematisms of the Greek Catholic Church in Hungary.

Wikimedia Foundation. "Schematyzm Archidiecezji Lwowskiej." Wikipedia. Last modified September 15, 2024. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schematyzm_Archidiecezji_Lwowskiej.

  • This page includes a brief explanation and links to schematisms of the Lviv Archdiocese.

Wikimedia Foundation. "Schematyzm Archidiecezji Krakowskiej." Wikipedia. Last modified December 4, 2019. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schematyzm_Archidiecezji_Krakowskiej.

  • This page includes a brief explanation and links to schematisms of the Krakow Archdiocese.

Wikimedia Foundation. "Schematyzm Diecezji Przemyskiej." Wikipedia. Last modified July 27, 2024. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schematyzm_Diecezji_Przemyskiej.

  • This page includes a brief explanation and links to schematisms of the Prezemyśl Diocese.

Wikimedia Foundation. "Schematyzm Diecezji Tarnowskiej." Wikipedia. Last modified February 17, 2022. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schematyzm_Diecezji_Tarnowskiej.

  • This page includes a brief explanation and links to schematisms of the Tarnów Diocese.

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Forums and Communities

FamilySearch. "Russian Empire Research." FamilySearch Community. https://community.familysearch.org/s/group/0F93A000000Lj96SAC/russian-empiregenealogy-research.

  • The Family Search Russian Empire Research group covers topics relating to the Russian Empire and the modern-day countries that were formerly part of it. Group members may also post research inquiries and translation help requests.

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Gazetteers

Familio. "Места." https://familio.org/places.

  • On this site, you can search Russian place names. Search results yield directories and gazetteers in which the place is mentioned, sources such as archival funds, and lists of local places of worship.

FamilySearch. "Germans from Russia Gazetteers." FamilySearch Wiki. Last modified December 8, 2022. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Germans_from_Russia_Gazetteers.

  • Gazetteers are geographical indexes or dictionaries. They include information on cities, villages, churches, and geographical features. This page lists resources that can help you identify place-names from your research on Germans in Russia.

FamilySearch. "Russia Gazetteers." FamilySearch Wiki. Last modified August 28, 2024. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Russia_Gazetteers.

  • Gazetteers are geographical indexes or dictionaries. They include information on cities, villages, churches, and geographical features. This page lists gazetteers from the Russian Empire.

FamilySearch. "Ukraine Gazetteers." FamilySearch Wiki. Last modified October 1, 2024. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Ukraine_Gazetteers

  • Gazetteers are geographical indexes or dictionaries. They include information on cities, villages, churches, and geographical features. This page lists gazetteers from territories that now make up modern-day Ukraine.

Famiry. "Справочники по церковно-приходскому делению епархий Российской империи." http://metrics.tilda.ws/kak_uznat_prihod.

  • This page from Famiry contains a list of reference publications from Orthodox dioceses. You can use them to identify which localities had churches, as well as which settlements were included in each parish. Using these resources, you can find the parish your ancestor attended.

Gesher Galicia. "Galician Town Locator." https://www.geshergalicia.org/galician-town-locator/.

  • A comprehensive list of towns in Galicia in 1900. Includes judicial and administrative districts as well as Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Greek Catholic religious centers for each entry.

JewishGen. "JewishGen Communities Database." https://www.jewishgen.org/Communities/Search.asp.

  • This database on JewishGen.org contains information on 6500 Jewish communities. This information includes modern place names in various languages, along with locality details from the prewar, interwar, and postwar periods.

JewishGen. "JewishGen Gazetteer."
https://www.jewishgen.org/Communities/LocTown.asp.

  • This database on JewishGen.org contains information on nearly 3 million localities across the globe.

Komitet Redakcyjny. Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z oznaczeniem terytorjalnie im właściwych władz i urzędów oraz urządzeń komunikacyjnych. (Prezemysl: Wydawnictwo Książnicy Naukowej, 1933). https://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/12786?id=12786&from=publication

  • This is an index to the places of the Republic of Poland.

Radzima. "Home page." http://radzima.net/

  • The gazetteer at Radzima.net provides information on the historical political jurisdictions of Belarus and Lithuania. A paid subscription to the service provides access to maps, parish information, and even attached records.

Spiski Naselennykh Mest Rossiiskoi Imperii [Lists of Populated Places in Imperial Russia]. S. Peterburg: Tsentralnyi Statisticheskii Komitet Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del. 1861-1885.

  • A comprehensive directory of Russian places in the mid-1800s. You can access these directories online or view them in a library. This page from FamilySearch provides tips for how to navigate this resource.

Sulimierski, Filip and Bronisław Chlebowski. Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and Other Slavic Countries, Vol 1-15. 1880-1902. http://dir.icm.edu.pl/Slownik_geograficzny/

  • These books include geographical, social, economic, and historical information on places in Eastern Europe in the period of 1880-1902.

The History of the Towns and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR. 1968-1974. https://ukrssr.com.ua

  • This site is the digital version of a 26-volume history of Ukrainian cities and villages. It was ordered by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine and was published in Ukrainian and Russian.

Vasmer, Max. Russisches Geographisches Namenbuch [Russian Geographical Namebook]. Wiesbadn: Harassowitz, 1964-1981.

  • A comprehensive gazetteer of localities in Imperial Russia. RGN is based on Spiski Naselennikh Mest and the two are intended to be used together. See this page at FamilySearch for more information on this resource.

Austro-Hungarian Gazetteers

K. K. Statistischen Central-Commission. Orts-Repertorium des Herzogthums Bukowina. (Czernowitz: Rudolf Eckhardt, 1872). http://hauster.de/data/censusbuk1869.pdf.

  • Each of the following gazetteers is printed in German and is based on a census of Bukovina taken by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This gazetteer is based on the 1869 census.

K. K. Statistischen Central-Commission. Special-Orts-Repertorien der im Oesterreichischen Reichsrathe Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. (Wien: Carl Gerold's Sohn, 1885). http://hauster.de/data/censusbuk1880.pdf.

  • This gazetteer is based on the 1880 census.

K. K. Statistischen Central-Commission. Special-Orts-Repertorien der im Oesterreichischen Reichsrathe Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. December 1890. (Wien: Alfred Hölder, 1894). http://hauster.de/data/censusbuk1890.pdf.

  • This gazetteer is based on the 1890 census.

K. K. Statistischen Zentralkommission. Gemeindelexikon der im Reichsrate Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. (Wien, K.K. Hof-Und Staatsdruckerel, 1907). http://hauster.de/data/censusgal1900.pdf.

  • This gazetteer is based on the 1900 census.

K. K. Statistischen Central-Commission. Orts-repertorium des Königreiches Galizien und Lodomerien mit dem Grossherzogthume Krakau. (Wien: Carl Gerold's Sohn, 1874). http://hauster.de/data/censusgal1869.pdf.

  • Each of the following gazetteers is printed in German and is based on a census of Galicia taken by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This gazetteer is based on the 1869 census.

K. K. Statistischen Central-Commission. Special Orts-Repertorien der im Oesterreichischen Reichsrathe Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. (Wien: Carl Gerold's Sohn, 1886). http://hauster.de/data/censusgal1880.pdf.

  • This gazetteer is based on the 1880 census.

K. K. Statistischen Central-Commission. Special Orts-Repertorien der im Osterreichischen Reichsrathe Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. (Wien: Alfred Hölder, 1893). http://hauster.de/data/censusgal1890.pdf.

  • This gazetteer is based on the 1890 census.

K. K. Statistischen Zentralkommission. Gemeindelexikon der im Reichsrate Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. (Wien: K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei,1907). http://hauster.de/data/censusbuk1900.pdf.

  • This gazetteer is based on the 1900 census.

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Maps

Arcanum. "Home Page." Arcanum Maps. https://maps.arcanum.com/en/.

  • The Arcanum Maps site provides historical maps of Europe, prominent European cities, individual countries, and a cadastral map of the Habsburg Empire.

Cartography Associates. "David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries." https://www.davidrumsey.com/.

  • The David Rumsey Map collection provides access to over 136,000 maps and images.

Dorosh Heritage Tours. "Cadastral maps of Galicia: 'behind the scene'." January 31, 2022. https://doroshheritagetours.com/cadastral-maps-of-galicia-behind-the-scene/

  • This article explains the history and process of making cadastral maps in Galicia.

EtoMesto. "Home Page." http://www.etomesto.com/.

  • On Etomesto you can compare historical maps to modern maps. This is especially useful for identifying place names that have changed or are too small to identify through an internet search.

Euratlas. "History of Europe." https://www.euratlas.net/history/europe/index.html.

  • Euratlas provides historical maps of Europe.

FamilySearch. "Places." FamilySearch Research. https://www.familysearch.org/research/places.

  • This site is a database of historical placenames connected to a modern map of the world. Users can either search the database by name or click on areas of the map to see nearby places. Entries include municipalities, churches, cemeteries, government buildings, and more.

From Shepherds and Shoemakers. "Using Cadastral Maps of Galicia." Last modified June 30, 2024. https://fromshepherdsandshoemakers.com/2018/09/26/using-cadastral-maps-of-galicia/.

  • This article provides and overview of cadastral maps for Galicia and how to use them to locate your ancestor's property on a modern map.

KBR. "Ukraine's geopolitical history in 10 old maps." https://www.kbr.be/en/ukraines-geopolitical-history-in-10-old-maps/.

  • This article contains various maps of the territory of Ukraine in different time periods by various mapmakers.

New York Public Library. "Maps and Atlases." Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/lane/maps-atlases.

  • This site provides access to historical maps of Europe.

Solovki Encyclopedia. "Карта русских епархий без... соловецкого монастыря." Карты соловецких островов.
http://www.solovki.ca/maps_04/solovki_on_dobriakov_map.php.

  • This page from Solovki Encyclopedia contains a 1905 map of the Russian Orthodox dioceses in the western Russian Empire. To read this map, you may need to save the image and zoom in using an image viewing program.

Topographic Maps of Eastern Europe. "Home Page." https://easteurotopo.org/.

  • A collection of historical maps that represent Europe from 500 AD to the 20th century.

Открытый картографический архив. "Карта Православных епархий азиатской России." https://q-map.ru/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/MapPravoslEp-1914-2618.jpg.

  • This 1914 map shows the Russian Orthodox dioceses in the eastern part of the Russian Empire.

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Names

Campbell, Michael D. "Behind the Name: the Etymology and History of First Names." 2024. https://www.behindthename.com/.

  • Behind the Name is an online list of names, their etymology, and their history. You can search individual names or browse name lists based on country, gender, or cultural influence.

Толковые Словари и Энциклопедии. "Словарь Русских фамилий." http://www.edudic.ru/fam/.

  • This site lists over 15,000 Russian surnames. Each entry includes similar surnames and some etymological and historical context.

Doctor, Ronald D. "Female Given Names: Hebrew and Russian and their Transliterations from the Kremenets Vital Records." JewishGen. October 10, 2005.
https://www.jewishgen.org/ukraine/files/infosheets/_L_Handwritten_Samples_of_feMale_Given_Names.pdf.

  • This list from JewishGen includes female Hebrew Given names, their Russian equivalents, and handwritten examples of each.

Doctor, Ronald D. "Male Given Names: Hebrew and Russian and their Transliterations from the Kremenets Vital Records." JewishGen. October 10, 2005.
https://www.jewishgen.org/ukraine/files/infosheets/_L_Handwritten_Samples_of_Male_Given_Names.pdf.

  • This list from JewishGen includes male Hebrew Given names, their Russian equivalents, and handwritten examples of each.

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Newspapers

Arcanum Newpapers. "The Eastern European Newpaper Archive." https://adt.arcanum.com/en/.

  • This online collection of newspapers includes many from the former Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and Soviet satellite states. Some newspapers are available for free. Many are made available with a subscription.

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Russian Language Practice and Resources

Bialawa, Matthew. "Old Church Slavonic: Numbers, Dates, and Months." East European Genealogist 8б no. 2 (Winter 1999): 7-14. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/6/66/Old_Church_Slavonic_Numbers,_Dates,_and_Months_by_Matthew_Bialawa.pdf.

  • You will likely encounter records written in Old Church Slavonic, the first Slavic literary language. This article includes the basics of the Old Church Slavonic alphabet, number, and date systems.

FamilySearch. "Russian Handwriting Practice." Feburary, 2010. http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/FHD/Community/en/FamilySearch/Handwriting/Russian/lesson1/Russian_handwriting_practice.pdf.

  • Download and print this PDF to practice writing Russian letters in cursive.

FamilySearch. “Russia 'How to' Guides.” FamilySearch Wiki. Last modified October 19, 2024.
https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Russia_%22How_to%22_Guides.

  • Under the following link, you can find a Russian Alphabet "How to" Guide. This guide provides a brief history of the Cyrillic alphabet, an alphabet chart with examples and pronunciation, a practice activity, and answer key.

FamilySearch. “Russian Paleography Seminar April 2020.” FamilySearch Wiki. Last modified December 9, 2022.
https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Russian_Paleography_Seminar_April_2020#15_April_2020:_Dates_and_Numbers_2.

  • This page on the Family Search Wiki contains activities to help you practice identifying names, dates, numbers, ages, and locations in Russian-language documents.

FamilySearch. “The Russian Alphabet (with English, Polish, and German Equivalents)." FamilySearch Wiki.
https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/7/75/Russian_Alphabet_Key.pdf.

  • This Russian alphabet chart includes printed and handwritten variants as well as English, Polish, and German equivalents. Some letters include notes about irregularities or historical usage.

Lingualift. "Russian Cursive (+ writing practice sheet)." https://www.lingualift.com/blog/russian-cursive-writing-practice-sheet/.

  • Download the PDF found at the following link to practice your Russian cursive handwriting.

Morse, Stephen P. “Converting between Russian Print and Cursive in One Step.” https://stevemorse.org/russian/cyrprintcurs.html.

  • This tool converts typed Russian into a cursive script.

MrsRussianLanguage. "Russian cursive letters (part1)." September 24, 2010. Video, 8:15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCdHAMN1kPA&t=489s.

  • This video shows a demonstration of Russian cursive handwriting for the letters А-Й.

MrsRussianLanguage. "Russian cursive letters (part2)." September 26, 2010. Video, 7:23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkQdwwaylAI.

  • This video shows a demonstration of Russian cursive handwriting for the letters К-Я.

Pen4Pals. "Handwritten Russian Letters."

Pen4Pals. "Russian Cursive Training Sheets." https://pen4pals.com/sites/default/files/russain-cursive-training-sheets.pdf.

  • Download these training sheets to practice writing cursive letters, common Russian words, and idioms.

Russian For Everyone. "Russian Alphabet." https://www.russianforeveryone.com/RufeA/Lessons/Introduction/Alphabet/Alphabet.htm.

  • This site includes audio of Russian letters, both isolated and in words. It also includes a brief history of the Cyrillic alphabet.

Vance, Ellie. “Reading Russian Documents: The Russian Alphabet.” FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/lessons/reading-russian-documents-the-russian-alphabet

  • This video provides an overview of the Russian alphabet, covering a brief history of the Cyrillic script, the reforms of the Russian alphabet, and the basics of each letter. The presenter explains each letter's pronunciation and includes both typed and handwritten examples. This video is part one of a four-part paleography seminar. You can find links to the other parts to the right of the video.

Wikimedia Foundation. "Romanization of Russian." Wikipedia. Last modified November 11, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanization_of_Russian

  • This page lists the various ways that Russian words can be represented in the Latin alphabet. The BYU Script Tutorial site uses the Wikipedia Romanization of Russian in transcriptions.

Wikimedia Foundation. "Russian Alphabet." Wikipedia. Last modified November 12, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_alphabet.

  • The Wikipedia article on the Russian alphabet provides a broad overview of the Russian alphabet, including notes on history, pronunciation, and usage.

Wikimedia Foundation. "Russian Cursive." Wikipedia. Last modified November 11, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_cursive.

  • This Wikipedia article on the Russian alphabet provides a brief history of Russian cursive, a discussion of some of its ambiguities, and the differences between it and other Cyrillic cursive scripts.

Wikimedia foundation. "Russian grammar." Wikipedia. Last modified October 24, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_grammar.

  • The Wikipedia article on Russian grammar provides a summary of key grammatical aspects of the Russian language.

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Resources for Reading Russian and Polish-Language Documents

Bussgang, Fay Vogel. “Rules of Polish Grammar Useful for Genealogists.” http://jgsgb.org/conf2013/bussgang/pronungrammartalks/PolishGrammarTextTalk.pdf

  • This document provides an overview of essential Polish grammar principles for genealogists.

FamilySearch. "Reading Russian Documents: Birth Records." FamilySearch Wiki. October 2019. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/9/95/Reading_Russian_Documents_Birth_Records_Instruction_E_Vance_Oct_2019_JMR.pdf.

  • This guide includes a vocabulary list and tips for reading Russian birth records.

FamilySearch. "Reading Russian Documents: Death Records." FamilySearch Wiki. October 2019. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/a/ac/Reading_Russian_Documents_Death_Records_Instruction_E_Vance_Oct_2019_JMR.pdf.

  • This guide includes a vocabulary list and tips for reading Russian death records.

FamilySearch. "Reading Russian Documents: Marriage Records." FamilySearch Wiki. October 2019. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/img_auth.php/6/6a/Reading_Russian_Documents_Marriage_Records_Instruction_E_Vance_Oct_2019_JMR.pdf.

  • This guide includes a vocabulary list and tips for reading Russian marriage records.

FamilySearch. "Russian Poland Civil Registration." FamilySearch Wiki. Last modified October 27, 2024. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Russian_Poland_Civil_Registration#Howto_Guides.

  • This "how-to" page explains Polish civil registration, the information that the records contain, and where/how to find them.

FamilySearch. "Russian Poland Civil Registration Reading Aid." FamilySearch wiki. Last modified June 24, 2022. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Russian_Poland_Civil_Registration_Reading_Aid

  • This aid includes the formats of paragraph-style civil records used in Poland. It includes common vocabulary and examples of records in Russian and Polish.

Frazin, Judith R. A Translation Guide to 19th-Century Polish-Language Civil-Registration Documents. (Northbrook, Ill.: Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois, 2007).

  • This book includes sample documents, word lists, and a step-by-step genealogy guide.

Shea, Jonathan D. and William F. Hoffman. In Their Words: A Genealogist’s Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents, Volumes 1-4. (New Britain, Conn. and Houston, Tex.: Language & Lineage Press, 2000-2017).

  • This book contains examples of Polish-language documents, maps, and vocabulary lists.

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WWII and Holocaust Records

Arolsen Archives. https://arolsen-archives.org/en/.

  • An online archive containing records pertaining to victims of Nazi persecution.

Fold3. https://www.fold3.com/.

  • An online collection of military records from the American Revolution to the present day. This collection also includes documents from the Holocaust.

International Memorial. "Кадровый состав органов государственной безопасности СССР. 1935-1939." https://nkvd.memo.ru/index.php/%D0%9D%D0%9A%D0%92%D0%94:%D0%93%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0.

  • This site lists some personnel of state security agencies (NKVD) in the USSR in the late 1930s, including some who were repressed.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. "Database of Holocaust Survivor and Victim Names." https://www.ushmm.org/remember/resources-holocaust-survivors-victims/database-of-holocaust-survivor-and-victim-names.

  • Search for records of people persecuted under the Nazi regime, including Poles and other Slavic peoples and Soviet prisoners of war.

Yad Vashem. "Digital Collections." https://www.yadvashem.org/collections.html.

  • These digital collections of records pertaining to Holocaust victims include names and biographical details, photos, film, and artifacts.

Память Народа. https://pamyat-naroda.ru/.

  • Pamyat Naroda (Memory of the People) is an online archive of WWII documents. You can find records for units as well as for individual soldiers.

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Online Archives and Repositories

General Databases

Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com/.

  • Ancestry provides users with numerous resources and access to records to help trace their ancestors.

FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org.

  • FamilySearch provides users with numerous resources and access to records to help trace their ancestors.

Famiry. http://metrics.tilda.ws/archives.

  • This page lists inventories of archives in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. It includes a brief description of each archive and indicates whether records from each archive can be viewed online.

JewishGen. https://www.jewishgen.org/.

  • JewishGen is a rich database of records for those researching their Jewish ancestors in Eastern Europe. See this blog post for tips on how to find relatives on Jewish Gen.

Weiner, Miriam. "A Genealogical and Family History guide to Jewish and civil records in Eastern Europe." The Miriam Weiner Routes to roots Foundation. https://www.rtrfoundation.org/index.shtml

  • This site hosts a number of articles, insights, maps, databases, and links to archives that are useful for anyone researching within the countries of Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, or Moldova.

Алтайский Государственный Универистет. "Архивные фонды Первой всеобщей переписи населения Российской империи 1897 года."
https://arch1897.histcensus.asu.ru/

  • This site, created by the history faculty of Altai State University, lists locations of local copies of the 1897 Russian Empire census, as well as general descriptions of what information can be found in each archive.

НашиПредки. https://nashipredki.com/.

  • This site is a collection of metrical books, revision lists, and confession lists by locality.

Austria

Austrian State Archives. "Home page." https://www.statearchives.gv.at/family-research/kriegsarchiv.html

  • Some regions that you study may have been controlled by both Russia and Austria at different times. Especially for your ancestors from Poland and western Ukraine, you may find records in Austrian archives.

Belarus

Archives of Belarus. https://archives.gov.by/en/.

Germans from Russia

American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. https://ahsgr.org.

  • This society based in Lincoln, NE is dedicated to preserving German Russian culture and history. Some records are available for free online, while others are only available to members or at the society's physical library.

Germans from Russia Historical Society. "Home Page". https://www.grhs.org/pages/home.

  • This society based in Bismarck, ND aims to preserve German Russian heritage. Some records are available for free online, while others are only available to members or at the society's physical library.

Hungary

Hungaricana. https://www.hungaricana.hu/en/.

  • Areas of Ukraine have been under both the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Soviet Union. Because of this, those researching their Ukrainian ancestry might benefit from looking into Hungarian sources.

National Archives of Hungary. https://mnl.gov.hu/angol.

Latvia

Raduraksti. https://www.raduraksti.arhivi.lv/.

  • On this site, you can find metrical books, census records, and more for your Latvian ancestors. You may need a membership to view some materials.

Ciltskoki. http://ciltskoki.lv/.

  • On this site, you can find records of your Latvian ancestors. You may need a membership to view most materials.

Lithuania

ePaveldas. https://www.epaveldas.lt/main.

  • This site is a collection of Lithuanian cultural artifacts. It includes manuscripts, books, artwork, music, and more.

Poland

Archidiecezja Krakowska. https://archiwum.diecezja.pl/kopie-ksiag-metrykalnych/.

  • Archives of the Archdiocese of Krakow.

Archiwum Diecezjalne w Tarnowie. http://archiwum.diecezja.tarnow.pl/o-archiwum.html.

  • Archives of the Diocese of Tarnow.

Geneteka. https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php.

Gesher Galicia. https://www.geshergalicia.org/.

JRI Poland. https://www.jri-poland.org.

Polish Roots. https://polishroots.org/Home/Index.

Polish State Archives. https://archiwa.gov.pl/en/.

Szukaj w Archiwach. https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/strona_glowna.

Russia

Archival Fund of the Astrakhan Region. "Твоя родословная." https://rodoslovnaya.astrobl.ru/archive.

Archive of Baskortostan. http://www.gasrb.ru/shegere1149.html.*

Archives of St. Petersburg. https://spbarchives.ru/.*

Central State Archive of the Samara Oblast. http://regsamarh.ru/cgaso/el_read/16889/.*

Digital Reading Room of the Kostrom Archive. http://chitalnyj-zal.kosarchive.ru/.

Electronic Archive of the Novgorod Oblast. http://gano.altsoft.spb.ru/documents.

Electronic Archive of the State Archive of Tobolsk. http://archiv.72to.ru/index.php/ga-tobolsk/tobolsk-ob-material.

Electronic Archive of the Tumen Oblast. https://gato.72to.ru/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f.

Generations of the Perm Krai. https://pokolenia.permkrai.ru/revisions/.*

State Archive of the Khabarovsk Krai. https://gakhk.khabkrai.ru/services/chitalnyy-zal-esia/.*

State Archive of the Tula Oblast. https://gato.tularegion.ru/documents.*

State Archives of the Chelyabinsk Oblast. https://archive74.ru/elektronnyy-arhiv.

State Archives of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. http://catalog.krasarh.ru:9090/archkrasnoyarsk.*

State Archives of the Vologda Region. https://gosarchive.gov35.ru/archive1/funds/47225.*

State Archives of the Yaroslav Oblast. https://www.yararchive.ru/.

Ukraine

Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine. https://cdiak.archives.gov.ua/baza_geog_pok/.

Gesher Galicia. https://www.geshergalicia.org/.

Ridni. "Database of the Ukrainian residentsborn between 1650 and 1920." Pra.in.ua. https://pra.in.ua/en.

State Archive of the Dnipropetrovsk Region. https://dp.archives.gov.ua/.

State Archive of the Mykolaiv Region. http://mk.archives.gov.ua/tsifrovyi-arhiv-metrychni-knygy/m-alfabet.html.

State Archive of the Volyn Region. https://volyn.archives.gov.ua/elekt_archives/.

State Archival Service of Ukraine. "Interarchival Search Portal. https://searcharchives.net.ua/.

State Archival Service of Ukraine. https://archives.gov.ua/en/.
https://uk.wikisource.org/wiki/Архіви.

* Some links may be temporarily unavailable to users in certain regions.
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The Russian Tutorial
Introduction
Paleography Introduction
Practical Suggestions Language & Grammar Word Endings & Spelling Numbers & Ages Dates & Times Calendars Names Genealogical Glossary
Alphabet Overview Individual Letters Describing the Letters
Record Types Document Gallery
Bibliography