Русская память.Генеалог Виталий Семёнов.

Thank you to Mr.Lukasz Cholodecki www.cholodeccy.org

for editing the text.

Poles looking in ex-USSR countries.

My Polish clients generally fall into two primary groups – the first group searches for their szlachta (nobility) documents and history while the second searches for its miesczanin (townsfolk) history in the former eastern territories of Poland: namely Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania ( Kresy Wschodnie).

After Ukraine introduced visa free travel to Polish and EU citizens, a lot of people took advantage of the opportunity to look through Ukrainian archives firsthand, but this option is only available to a few individuals. For most researchers the barriers seem impregnable, because of stereotypes, language problems and the complicated system of local archival storage. It is doubly difficult for those who immigrated to the USA or Canada, and for those who do not speak Polish any more, not to mention Russian. Nevertheless Ukraine is still the best country to do research in of all the former USSR countries.

If you want to hire a specialist for genealogical research in Ukraine of course, it’s never a bad idea to look for a local specialist. Unfortunately most of my clients have had problems finding such specialists. Even though I am not on location in Ukraine I ordinarily visit the country every 2-3 months. In order to conduct this research for you most Ukrainian archives require a Pełnomocnictwo (power of attorney) from you to me, which ordinarily takes on the following form:

Ja, niżej podpisany (NAME).

The power of attorney would then be notarized.

Ukrainian archive searches can yield great results! Polish visitors are often really shocked about the number of Polish archival documents present in Ukrainian archives.

Looking for living relatives and other “on location” searches?

When I started this business I was absolutely sure that all Poles were deported out of the USSR in the time of Wisla operation. But I was shocked how many Poles still remain! Yes, the truth is that in western Ukrainian towns and villages there are a lot of Poles and their descendents. The Polish community still exists, mostly hidden until the 1990’s, it has been coming out of the woodwork after the USSR’s collapse.

Belarus

Archival work in Belarus can be a real researchers nightmare. At the beginning of Lukashenko’s presidency, Belarus collected all of the countries archival documents and collected them into two large archives in Grodno and Minsk. Each time you enter the archive you are only allowed to begin researching at these locations after paying for two lectures about the rules of the archival works, without regard for how long you have worked in the archives before.

As in Ukraine it’s possible to work for another person, but only with the power of attorney made by a modern representative of the name that is being researched. For example it’s ok to work for Pan Kowalskii and look for his relatives if the client also has the Kowalski last name, but if Pan Kowalwski prepares a power of attorney to research his maiden name the Belarusian archives will require documents proving his relationship to the name. Even with the requisite proof problems and unanticipated troubles are the norm.

The Belarusian archives allow for the possibility to send genealogical queries directly to them, but, at the same time, they admit that they do not have enough ma power to process the requests, that is why a 6-8 month wait for a response is the norm .

Russian archives are somewhere between that of Ukraine and Belarus.

70-75% of them 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.

Looking for GULAG prisoners and the fate of Siberian Poles.

Russian – Polish relations have been complicated for what seems like their entire histories. The Russian KGB archive still has the answers to mysterious fates of victims of GULAG, it is a great pity that during the Putin presidency it has become increasingly difficult to get archival documents from the FSB (Federal Service of Safety successor of NKVD- KGB).

In accordance with the last law about “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 Pełnomocnictwo? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It´s very uncertain.

The Russian genealogical community was shocked by the affair of Michail Suproun – the professor of 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.

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 (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
http://www.ssu.gov.ua/sbu/control/uk/publish/article?art_id=88763&cat_id=88762

Belarus

I do not know the situation with looking for GULAG prisoners in Belarus – because I have never had such a query.

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.