WHO AM I?
Semionoff Vitaly (Cемёнов Виталий), a professional Russian genealogist who was born in 1978 in Moscow. I am a specialist in genealogy and family history research in Russia and Ex-USSR countries.
Were your ancestors from Russia or ex-USSR countries? Are you looking for a genealogy specialist in Russia? You have found him! That's me!
I can provide a wide variety of services:
- Archive Research
- Document Translations from modern (old) Russian, Ukranian, Belorussian, Old Slavic (Handwritten text)
- Genealogical Tailor-Made Tours
- Live Relative Search
- Military Genealogy
- Village Photography and Video
I conduct international, incl. Jewish heritage genealogical research across the entire territories of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Armenia (and Rebublic of Montaneous Karabakh), Azerbajdzhan, Kirgizstan and Tadjikistan. I can work in the Baltic Lands but this is more complicated because of visa and bureaucratic formalities. I also work in EU countries as Poland, Germany, Austria, France.
Before my Army service as a draftee GI I backpacked in more than 30 countries. In 2003 I graduated Moscow State Lomonosov University Department of History, Sub-Department of Ethnology. In 2002 I accomplished an internship in the Moscow Office of The United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR 2002) and an internship in Dushanbe in the Office of The International Organization for Migration (IOM-MOM Tajikistan 2002).
From 1999 till 2002 I was working for Russia’s most popular TV show “Zhdi Menya” (Wait for Me) poisk.vid.ru, which reunites families and people who were broken apart by finding the missing people. Over 3 years of my work I have found more than 200 people. For our work “Wait For Me” was nominated by “TEFFI” – the highest Russian TV award.
I have worked as a genealogist since 2008. I am registered in the Moscow Tax Service as an independent businessman.
You can contact me by e-mail:
dombaisaglara@yandex.ru
dombaisaglara@gmail.com
Skype name dombaisaglara
My cell phone +7-916-6324084
I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR RUSSIAN RESEARCH FOR THe FACES OF AMERICA ON PBS
The author of more than 40 articles in top Russian newspapers, magazines and web-sites, have been broadcasting on the #1 Russian Radio Mayak
MAIN THINGS FOR UNDERSTANDING BEFORE YOU WILL DECIDE TO MAKE GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH IN CIS COUNTRIES.
Russia
65-70% of all Russian archives are quite ok, but there are places that absolutely “block” every researchers work. Usually it is not connected with ill tempered archive workers, but because of the terrible conditions at some of these archives. It’s almost impossible to do any research in Saratov – since the local reading hall has just 6 places, people wait from 6 am just to get a spot and, even if you are in, a lot of documents are claimed to be in “bad condition” and there is no way to work with them.
The Saratov archive usually responds to queries after 3-4 months, but the quality of the answers leave a lot to be desired, (Belarus, where the wait time is longer, generally has more precise responses to requests). The situation is similar in Smolensk where the reading room is closed, because it is under the threat of collapse. The new archive building is expected in 2013.
Looking for GULAG prisoners
In accordance with the last law about “ The Safety of Private Information” (The law number 152) in order to see an NKVD file one has to be the VICTIM HIMSELF (!!), or his representative “on legal grounds”- who is this representative “on legal grounds”-is absolutely unclear. Can it be a relative? Maybe. Can it be the researcher with the Power of attorney ? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It´s very uncertain.
The Russian genealogical community was shocked by the affair of Michail Suproun – the professor of The Pomor University in Archangelsk who has been accused of “gathering private information” without people’s permission. Some genealogists understand that this affair is a sign that every GULAG history researcher can be arrested on the basis of the 152nd law. Therefore it is not possible to visit the FSB – but you can send the snail mail there. So, if you want to find some information– it’s better to write first (and only in Russian) to the local FSB archive or to the MVD center (The Ministry of Internal Affairs) and if the answer is positive – you can get your copies by the post via Russian embassy at your country.
Addresses
Central Archive of FSB
101000, г.Москва, ул. Б.Лубянка, д.2
101000 Moscow Russia, ulica Bolshaia Lubianka, 2
The Archive of FSB
Главный информационный центр МВД РФ
117418, г. Москва, НОВОЧЕРЕМУШКИНСКАЯ УЛ., 67
117418 Moscow Russia, Novocheremushkinskaia street 67
The Informational Service of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
UKRAINE
Ukraine is much more open and went much more farther in giving access to these types of documents – in the center of SBU (The Service of Security of Ukraine) you can find out if your relatives case is in the archives of Ukraine, and, if it is, if you show your ancestral connection you will be able to get and read the case. It is still an open question as to whether is it possible to get access to these documents with a power of attorney, and if you are the hired researcher, sometimes the answer is yes – sometimes it is no. SBU information centre Kyiv, Ukraine Irinenskaya Street, 4 +380-44- 255-82-24
BELARUS
Belarus I do not know the situation with looking for GULAG prisoners in Belarus – because I have never had such a query.
KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakhstan is somewhat like Russia in this situation, except that the Kazakh Government does not have so much USSR nostalgia, and that’s why sometimes it’s simpler to make a deal there, than in Russia where a lot of people still feel an unexplainable nostalgia toward the GULAG times. Whatever researches can be made in Russia, Ukraine or Kazakhstan – I will make it for you.
UZBEKISTAN
Is still blocked for the research. To make it here is very hard, to work at The State Central Archive of Uzbekistan you have to apply local International Affair Ministry via the Consulate of your country. Now I am in the process of obtaining such permit.
HOW TO PAY
Russia is just starting with e-money: PayPal still doesn’t work in Russia, you can not withdraw money here and MoneyBookers are still too conservative. So not a lot of people know about them in Russia.
I have a bank account that works very well for clients from USA and Asia, with more problem for EU countries, because Russian banks do not have IBAN (Identification Bank Account Number) system. The account still works in the SWIFT banking system.
You could also transfer money at my VISA or MasterCard
FOR $ TRANSFERS
Correspondent Bank
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK N.A.
New York NY USA
SWIFT CODE: CHASUS33
OR
OJSC PROMSVYAZBANK
MOSCOW, RUSSIA
SWIFT CODE PRMSRUMM
OR
VTB BANK (DEUTSCHLAND) AG
FRANKFURT-AM-MAIN, GERMANY
SWIFT CODE OWHBDEFF
OR
RAIFFEISEN ZENTRALBANK
OESTERREICH AG, VIENNA, AUSTRIA
SWIFT CODE RZBAATWW
Choose just one!
Beneficiary bank
SMP Bank Moscow Russia
Swift code SMBKRUMM
for Semenov Vitaly Viktorovich Private Researcher
Account # 40802840200281000124
FOR EURO Correspondent bank
VTB Bank (DEUTSCHLAND) AG
Frankfurt-Am-Main, Germany
SWIFT CODE OWHBDEFF
OR
RAIFFEISEN ZENTRALBANK OESTERREICH AG
VIENNA AUSTRIA
SWIFT CODE, RZBAATWW
OR
COMMERZBANK AG
FRANKFURT-AM-MAIN GERMANY
SWIFT CODE: COBADEFF
Beneficiary bank:
SMP Bank
Moscow Russia
Swift code SMBKRUMM
Semenov Vitaly Viktorovich Private Researcher Cчет 40802978800281000124
For people from EU good and reasonable tax money transfer system is still number #1 problem. (France is the worst case). Only Western Union works here. For all other countries “Сontaсt” or “MoneyGram” works very well.
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