Guide to Using the Best & Largest Russian Language Genealogy Forum

So where are all the Russians and Ukrainians excited to find their long-lost family and discover the stories of their ancestors? There are lots of forums online but only one forum can claim to be the best and most popular in the Russian-speaking world- All Russia Family Tree.

For the English-speaking world, the fact that the forum is in Russian doesn’t mean it is impossible to use. I’ve posted a video here on how to use this forum with Google Translate.

I highly encourage everyone at least to visit All Russia Family Tree in English. Thanks to this forum, I have found cousins on four different lines. Two cousins sought ME out.

So if you are brave enough to challenge yourself to register as a user on this forum, here’s my top 10 tips to make this forum the jackhammer for your Russian and Ukrainian genealogy brickwalls.

1. Use very simple English and translate it into Russian, using Google Translate, when posting to the forum.
2. Bookmark all your posts and check daily for responses to your posts. The forum doesn’t send update messages when someone responds to your posts.
3. Look for forum members searching for family here. The English translation is provided for each name. The newer listings can be found here. Both lists are translated into English and are very useful.
4. Provide links to genealogy blogs and photo albums at the bottom of each post.
5. Be cautious if you get a private message from a researcher. Check out their profile and posts to see whether they are legit.
6. Look through the forum to find all the areas where you can get help and find useful resources.
7. Do not post the same message on various areas of the forums to increase your chances of getting responses. It will only increase your chances of being removed as a spammer.
8. Thank anyone who responds to your posts, even when the responses don’t provide the information or help you were seeking.
9. Take advantage of the search engine for the forum. It is a great resource for finding forum members researching the same surname or villages.
10. Make sure to have your profile as friendly and complete as possible.

Any questions? Post them below or join the Facebook group for this blog.

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New Russian cousins found again!
The priceless value of a sixth cousin