Russian Ancestry Search Resources
For Russian émigré families across the world, there has never been a better time to come back to Russia. Our ancestral homeland is eager to embrace émigré families. If you want to undergo a Russian Ancestry Search, or simply reconnect with your Russian heritage the resources in Russia are extensive. It may surprise you just what you uncover.
My White Emigre Family Story
I began to find my family, one Friday night in 2011. Firstly, I began my Russian ancestry search with something concrete I knew about the Labzins. In the 1980s, a secret room was found in a once noble estate in St Petersburg. This room contained a horde of treasure, hidden in a great hurry. The owners of this mysterious treasure were my great uncles, Vladimir and Nikolai Labzin.
The Labzins had made a hasty exit from St Petersburg in 1917 just before the Revolution. I called the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. They directed me to the St Petersburg Museum, across the river. Therein lies the treasure of the Labzin family.
Not everyone has ‘family treasure’ to uncover. But many Russian emigres were from the nobility classes. Your own Russian ancestry search may prove to be quite interesting.
St Petersburg
What I also knew about my father’s life in Russia, was that he had been a White Officer. He had graduated from the Naval Academy in St Petersburg in 1918. He had sailed out of Russia from Vladivostok in 1922 with the last of his kind. These details proved invaluable, as Russia has kept fine naval records, right in St Petersburg.
Fortunately, I am still fluent in Russian. This meant I was able to converse with historians, researchers, and archivists. This, coupled with my knowledge of my father and his immediate family, opened up further doors in my Russian ancestry search.
Below are some of the resources which helped me find my Russian heritage and get the full story of my father. I used this information to write his biography Russia and Revolution: My Father, The Officer, The Man.
Learn More about Igor's Story
This book, Russia and Revolution: My Father, the Officer, the Man, is the product of Igor’s extensive Russian ancestry search. If you are descended from a Russian emigre, it could inspire you to find your own Russian family. Open a window into an emigre’s difficult life in exile from Russia. This is a biography of Boris Labzin, White Officer, and Russian emigre. A survivor of three fierce battles in 20th Century history, including WWII. An amazing man, and an amazing tale of strength and endurance in the face of displacement.
Russian Ancestry Search Resources I Utilised
St Petersburg
Russian State Naval Archives
If your Russian family had any involvement with the navy, there would probably be records in this central maritime archive. The Russian State Naval archives divide into Imperial Russian Navy archives and Soviet archives. Your Russian ancestry search can be by port, institution (like the St Petersburg naval academy), commission, or person’s name.
For further historical research, you can also find the Central Naval Library in St Petersburg.
Prince Galitzine Memorial Library
The Prince Galitzine library is the only Anglo-Russian library in St Petersburg. It contains books about Russia published in Russian and English. In addition, it has publications by Russian emigres. The library aims to fill the gap of literature about ‘White Russians’ which was not freely distributed during Soviet rule. It contains my English-translated version of Faraway Days by Sergei Mintslov. In addition, I launched my subsequent work Russia and Revolution there in late 2015. The library also contains hundreds of other books about Russia published in English (and Russian of course).
The State Museum of the History of St.Petersburg
The State Museum of the History of St Peterburg is located in the Peter and Paul Fortress. This was built by Peter the Great and used as a prison by the Tsars. It contains over 1 million artefacts, including the Labzin treasure.
Moscow
The Dom Russkovo Zarubezhya (Foundation of Russians Abroad)
This foundation is completely devoted to the history of Russians abroad. ‘The Dom‘ describes itself as “in its essence, a museum archive of orthodox Russia.” It contains information about the history and life of Russian emigration; pre-revolutionary Russia; as well as the Soviet period. Displayed items include:
- Everyday objects
- Art
- Written documents, Manuscripts and book collections.
- Photography
- Film
In 2012, I was incredibly humbled to get an invitation to a very special event. The Dom asked me to be a guest in Moscow at the 90th anniversary of the 1922 departure of the Russian Siberian Flotilla. My father was on one of the ships of the Flotilla, along with other White Army officers and their families in addition to prominent political and civic leaders. The passengers were sailing to exile.
Vyborg
Vyborg Castle Museum
(MУЗЕЙ ВЫБОРГСКИЙ ЗАМОК”)
The Vyborg Museum’s location is a 700-year-old medieval castle. The military administration also used it for a period during the Russian Empire. It contains collections of weaponry, as well as maritime archaeology. Vyborg was the place Sergei Mintslov wrote the book Faraway Days. I was honoured to present my English-translation of this book to the people of Vyborg in this Castle and to give a speech at a special evening.
Sergei Mintslov
On my personal journey, I would also like to thank Richard Kessler for being an invaluable resource to me. Richard is also a descendant of Sergei Mintslov. Unravelling Sergei Mintslov’s life is a work in progress as I read through all the fascinating material on him when Richard and I met recently in Bonn, Germany.