Germans from Russia Archives and Libraries

Archives collect and preserve original documents of organizations such as churches or governments. Libraries generally collect published sources such as books, maps, and microfilm. This section describes the major repositories of genealogical and historical records and sources for researching German-speaking people from Russia.

Although, the records you need may be in a foreign archive or library, the Family History Library may have a microfilm copy of them. Check the Family History Library Catalog before writing to or visiting archives in the Commonwealth of Independent States (hereafter CIS) or Germany.

If you plan to visit one of these repositories, contact the organization and ask for information about their collection, hours, services, fees, and whether they allow visitors. For further information about the collection try looking in the Family History Library Catalog Author/Title Search under the archive name for inventories and registers. You could also try the Family History Library Catalog Place Search under the place where the archive is located and the topic “Archives and Libraries.”

There are six major types of genealogical repositories for records about Germans from Russia:

State and National Archives (Commonwealth of Independent States [CIS])
Special German Archives
Other Archives Outside of the CIS
Historical and Genealogical Societies
Internet Sites
Village Coordinators

Many large collections of Germans from Russia records exist in Central Europe as well as the Commonwealth of Independent States. Soviet archives centralized vast holdings of church and vital records dating from 1722 to 1917. By so doing they have assisted in preserving records that might otherwise have been lost or destroyed.