An interest in our roots, in the history of a kind, arises more and more often among our compatriots. People return to their past and try to recreate the life path of their ancestors. However, the social and political upheavals of the twentieth century made it extremely problematic for many residents of Russia to search for their origins. Wars, revolutions, mass repressions and migrations of peoples - all this has so mixed the fate that sometimes it seems impossible to restore any family history. In reality, this is not the case, you can restore your ancestry, even if there is practically no reliable information about the ancestors.
Instructions
Step 1
You need to start looking for your roots with all the information at your disposal. Even if there are no longer living relatives of the older generation - grandparents, at least there are certificates of their death, birth certificates of your parents and their marriage. And this is already a sufficient starting point from which to start.
Step 2
It is important to remember that all genealogical research is based on three basic principles: names of people, dates and location (that is, the names of settlements and institutions). Only all in aggregate, they allow you to recreate the exact history of the genus. Therefore, you should always start your research with a detailed survey of all living relatives, even distant ones. Their stories and testimonies should be recorded in detail, paying particular attention to the three listed characteristics (exact names, dates, titles). You also need to collect all available family documents, including even the most insignificant at first glance, such as school diaries, hospital tests, or private letters and telegrams. The fact is that even such "highly specialized" documents may contain indications of certain places of residence of a person, the dates of his life events.
Step 3
Documentary certificates of births, deaths, marriages of close relatives can be obtained from the registry office. According to Russian law, these documents have been stored in the archives of the registry office for 70 years, after which they are transferred to the State Archives. Currently, any citizen of the Russian Federation can obtain the necessary information on a private request.
Step 4
To collect information dating back to 1918, you need to refer to such documents as Metric books, Confessionals, Revision tales. Metric or parish books were kept in every parish of Russia before the revolution of 1917. They contained three main sections: birth and baptism of parishioners, their deaths and marriage. After 1919 Metric books were transferred to the registry office for storage. Confession statements have existed since 1718. and contained information about all the parishioners who attended the confession and those who were absent from it. Revision tales are periodic censuses of the taxable population of the Russian Empire, which were carried out every few years. They contained information not only about a specific representative of a particular class, but also information about his occupation and his family. These three sources are the main ones for recreating the history of any Russian kind.
Step 5
The First All-Russian Population Census of 1897 can also be of great importance for research. It contained detailed information on the age composition of all its members, including children and infants, information on the occupation of adult family members, their household and property. The data of this census can be found today in the state archives.
Step 6
In addition to the main named data sources, it is possible to use the archives of those institutions in which your relatives worked throughout their lives. Information about servicemen can be obtained from the Military Historical Archives in Moscow. This will require knowledge of the names and numbers of military units in which the ancestors served, as well as the approximate dates of service.
