Keeping hope alive for family research during a terrible time

On By Vera MillerIn Discovering Documents

Just a month after I posted about the wonderful collection of Ukrainian and Russian archive records being posted online, Russia invaded Ukraine. My heart has not been the same since Feb. 24.

I have spent more than 10 years finding and connecting with my Ukrainian and Russian cousins. Many of my cousins live in Kyiv and Lviv so I obsessively have been watching the news on the war. I have plenty of cousins in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Smolensk, too. This war hurts me in so many ways because I have grown attached to my Ukrainian and Russian cousins.

How is it possible to even think about genealogy right now? I feel guilty but anything related to family is important to me.

Sparks of hope came when I heard about the activities of the Kyiv Regional State Archives. The archives employees have been scanning away their documents and posting them online. Their work was announced on March 1 and March 7. Their dedication in the worst of times deserves so much respect.

Sadly, FamilySearch had to stop scanning of Ukrainian archive records due to the war. The organization was going full steam ahead. However, the work FamilySearch had done up until the war has been posted online.

Now, Zaporizhzhia Church Books, 1774-1935; Cherkasy Church Books,1734-1930; Odessa Church Books, 1780-1898;  Mykolaiv Church Books, 1770-1930; Chernigov Church Records, 1717-1935; Kharkiv Church Records, 1710-1938  and Dnipro Church Books, 1780-1930 are available. Many of these records also have been indexed for searching abilities. (Links to other scanned records from FamilySearch are posted on the Scanned Russian and Ukrainian Archive Records page.)

Not only had FamilySearch been active in preserving Ukrainian archives, Alex Krakovsky has been scanning in archives for a few years. His scans can be found here. Krakovsky took on the Ukrainian court system to scan archive records for free access. He has managed to find many records that have never been seen by the public. Anyone with Ukrainian ancestry should know his name for what he has done for the Ukrainian community.

In Germany, Arolsen Archives-International Center on Nazi Persecution is showing its support for the Ukrainian people and seeking people to help transcribe its  WWII Nazi persecution records. Many Ukrainians faced Nazi persecution and the quicker these records can be transcribed, more families can have closure on their family’s stories. Learn more about the project here.

Out of curiosity, I searched for my Ukrainian and Russian family in the database and found many more records on them. It is well worth doing another search in this database. It is English, free of registration and very easy to use.

The big news in genealogy has been the upcoming release of the 1950 U.S. Census on April 1. Official information on its release is on the National Archives website. My hope is to post a guide on searching the census once indexing is completed to help those with ancestry from the former USSR.

May peace come very soon to Ukraine. God bless all the people fighting for Ukraine and those who have opened their homes to Ukrainian refugees and made donations to help the refugees!

Follow this blog with the top right button to catch the latest news and resources for Ukrainian and Russian genealogy.

Related posts:

Arolsen Archives updates its WWII database once again
New database documents fighters of independence of Ukraine from 1917-1924
The art of researching Ukrainian ancestors on Ancestry.com
Major German forced laborer database on Ostarbeiters goes online

17 thoughts on “Keeping hope alive for family research during a terrible time”

  3. As you say, it is a very difficult time. Thank heavens for all the work done by Alex Krakovsky and Family Search. It is awe inspiring to read about the Kyiv archive employees valiantly continuing their valuable work. I don’t have family in either Ukraine or Russia, but feel for those like yourself, who do. We pray for peace, for things to rapidly end in a positive manner. (My husband’s ancestors came from Prussia four generations ago, to escape.)
    You maintain an amazing blog for those researching these areas. My congratulations and may your heart soon be lighter.

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. lynnie neylan

    Once again thank you for all your hard work. I appreciate you greatly. Lynne

    On Sat, Mar 19, 2022 at 7:58 AM Find Lost Russian & Ukrainian Family wrote:

    > Vera Miller posted: “Just a month after I posted about the wonderful > collection of Ukrainian and Russian archive records being posted online, > Russia invaded Ukraine. My heart has not been the same since Feb. 24. I > have spent more than 10 years finding and connecting with m” >

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Pingback: Best of the Genea-Blogs - 13 to 19 March 2022 - Search My Tribe News

  7. Roy Batchelder

    It is just awful what Putin in doing to the people of Ukraine and he most likely won’t stop there either. My husband’s cousin has family over there and they haven’t heard anything from them lately. Just hope & pray that they are still safe.  Hope your relatives are safe too. We are all praying for an end to his madness.

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  8. Lori Grondin

    My Great Grandmothers family come from what is now known as Serpneve (on the border of Ukraine and Moldova). I know her village as Leipzig, but it was in Akkerman, Bessarabia , Russian Empire at the time. Would that be in the Odessa Oblast now? Or where so I can look for church records?

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    1. Yes, I believe Serpneve would be in the Odesa Region- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpneve,_Odessa_Oblast. FamilySearch has a tiny collection of records here- https://www.familysearch.org/records/images/search-results?page=1&place=7084414. But FamilySearch has Odesa Regional church books indexed with a search engine here- https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3754709. This group on Facebook could be helpful for your genealogy- https://www.facebook.com/groups/UkrainianGenealogy/. There are scanned records listed for the Odesa area here- https://lostrussianfamily.wordpress.com/scanned-russian-and-ukrainian-archive-records/. Hope this helps you on your search!

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  9. Simona massa

    Hello, I’ve just now stumbled upon your blog. I don’t have where to turn, so forgive me and ignore the question if it does not fall under your expertise. I have an uncle who was exiled from Lithuania as a kid, grew up in Siberia, went to soviet army and stayed in russia while his parents and siblings returned to Lithuania. He lives in Sachalin, he was born in 1937 and he uses land line telephone. Is there a way to look up his phone number in phone book? His name is vaidevutis Bernardas tamošiūnas- Russian spelling is different. Who could help me? Free or paid services? Thank you for any info.

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