The moment that the name of a family village is uncovered the excitement builds. Then, searching for that village on a 21st century map can seem as challenging as if the village never existed.
Before rushing to find the village or town on a map, it’s time to do some more research. Maybe the village or town still exists but the name has changed over time. Or the village switched borders within the former USSR countries.
Here are some web pages (all in English) that will help uncover the locations of mystery family villages and towns.
Russia:
Ukraine:
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List of Ukrainian toponyms that were changed as part of decommunization in 2016
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List of villages and towns depopulated of Jews during the Holocaust
- JewishGen’s database on Ukrainian villages
Russia & Ukraine:
- List of ghost towns by country (Russia is listed under Asia.)
Galicia:
East Prussian towns now in Russia:
Ruthenian (Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth):
- List of villages now in Zakarpatska Oblast, Ukraine (formerly the Kingdom of Hungary)
Carpatho-Rusyn (also known as Dolinyans, Boykos, Hutsuls and Lemkos):
Root Seekers Guide To The Homeland
German settlements in Russia:
View this website on Germans from Russia for more information on these location.
If luck isn’t struck with these web pages, try posting for help on these Facebook genealogy groups. Those who had luck should search online for any additional information to help find the correct village or town on a 21st century map.
Feel free to post more useful web pages in the comments section.
Related posts:
Guide to interviewing relatives like a true detective
Break open the “I don’t know anything” relatives for some genealogy gems
Secrets of searching the Internet in Russian and Ukrainian like a native speaker
Find Lost Russian & Ukrainian Family 
12:50 PM — 10/13/2019 Thank you Vera for this Guide to finding the mystery family villages of Russia and Ukraine! I finally found the village where my mother was told that my grandmother Maria Loos died in 1943: Lozovatka in the Kherson Oblast and also the birth city/town of my grandmother’s birth: Konstantinovka near by AND on a “Public Domain” map which means I can use it safely for correspondence purposes! All this makes sense since my mother had once mentioned “Bessarabia” on the telephone before her passing. This region also corresponds to my g-grandfather’s doc. I received from the National Archives. Again, thank you. Stella Stella T. Smith
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I am so happy for you. I wish you well on your search!
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