How do I pay for records from Russia please?
Hi. I'm Australian and recently discovered my great grandfather who was from Karelia. I emailed the Russian National Archives to ask if they have any information about him and they replied yes, they do! They can send me copies of documents but payment must be from within Russia.
Has anyone here ordered documents from Russia from overseas and if so, how did you arrange to pay for them? I don't know anyone in Russia.
Here are the details of my great grandfather:
Name: Andrei Saveljeff/Savelyev/Saveliev
Birth date: 15 December 1901
Birth place: Ostrech'ye, Karelia
Father: Pjotr Savelyev
Mother: Alexandra Sokolov
Siblings: Olga, Maria, Jaako, Pentti (there were other siblings who died young but I do not know their names)
Andrei went to Murmansk about 1918 to join the military and by 1924 he was living in Ruskeala where my grandfather Erkki Antti Soininen was born 7 March 1925.
Any information about his family would be very appreciated.
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Hi Rebecca!
FamilySearch microfilmed records from the State Archives in Karelia back in the late nineties and early 2000s. Many of these records are now digitized, but have not yet been indexed. Before you try paying the archive, you might want to start with what is digitized (and free!) on FamilySearch.
Here's some information to help you with that. Some of these websites are in Russian, but if you are using the Google Chrome browser, you can right click anywhere on the page and choose the translate to English option.
Ostrechye is now in Karelia, but it used to be part of the Olonets gubernia (like a state or a region). One of its prior names was Rutok Navolok. You can read more about it here: http://олонецкая-губерния.рф/w/snmone/3647
Using that information, I located the town in the Spiski, a Russian Empire gazetteer to find more information about it and see where the nearest church was located (prior to the time of the Russian revolution, you'll need to rely on church records). Here's a link to an online version, and the entry for Ostrechye/Rutok Navolok is found on image 269, entry 3647. http://elib.shpl.ru/ru/nodes/16869-vyp-27-olonetskaya-guberniya-po-svedeniyam-1873-goda-1879#mode/inspect/page/269/zoom/6
Using that gazetteer, it looks like the closest church was in Maselga Korelskiya. We have records for that church available through FamilySearch. They are not indexed, but there are digital images available that you can browse through. Here's the link to them: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&placeId=138973&query=%2Bplace%3A%22Russia%2C%20Olonet︠s︡%2C%20Povenet︠s︡%2C%20Masel′ga%20Korel′skai︠a︡%22&subjectsOpen=800294-50. They go from 1831-1915!!
As far as other available records for this location go, there are revision lists (taxation records that look like a census) from 1834: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1317777?availability=Family%20History%20Library; Military Conscription records 1813-1874: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1299477?availability=Family%20History%20Library or these Military conscription records that cover the whole gubernia (state/region) 1802-1917.
Sounds like he may have fought in WWI? If so, try this Russian WWI website: https://gwar.mil.ru. This is also a good one for WWI https://1914.svrt.ru. Did you have any ancestors that fought for Russia in WWII? If so, https://pamyat-naroda.ru is an excellent source for that.
As far as more recent records go (post 1917/18), it looks like we don't have those on FamilySearch. In that case, you would need to deal with the Russian archives. As far as payment goes, I'd check with the Karelia genealogical society. You can find their website here: http://genokarelia.ru/. You might find a member of that society that you could send money to and they could send it to the archive. You could also ask the archive if they accept Yoo Money (you can pay for that with a credit card), or any other forms of payment since you are not in Russia.
Sorry that was so much information all at once! If you have questions or need help navigating any of these websites, let me know. I'm also happy to chat in an online consultation if face to face is easier (I work for FamilySearch at the Family History Library :)) You can schedule a Russia consultation here: https://go.oncehub.com/ResearchStrategySession
Hope this helps!
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Hi Rebecca!
FamilySearch microfilmed many records from the Archives in Karelia back in the late 90s and early 2000s. I would recommend searching the FamilySearch records (free!) before paying the archive for any records.
Here are a few links that will help you with that. Many of the webpages are in Russian, but you can use Google Translate to help you with that. When using the Google Chrome browser, right click anywhere on the page and select the option Translate to English.
Ostrechye is in modern-day Karelia, but it used to be part of the Olonets gubernia (kind of like a state/province). An alternate name for Ostrechye is Rutok Navalok (see http://олонецкая-губерния.рф/w/snmone/3647 for more details). Using this information, I found in the Spiski, a gazetteer for Russian Empire research, in order to locate the nearest church. Prior to 1917/1918 metrical records (church records) are going to be one of your primary sources. Ostrechye can be found on image 269, entry number 3647. http://elib.shpl.ru/ru/nodes/16869-vyp-27-olonetskaya-guberniya-po-svedeniyam-1873-goda-1879#mode/inspect/page/269/zoom/6
From the spiski, it looks like the nearest church is located in Maselga Korelskaya, and we do have records for that location on FamilySearch! They range from 1831-1915 and can be found here: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&placeId=138973&query=%2Bplace%3A%22Russia%2C%20Olonet︠s︡%2C%20Povenet︠s︡%2C%20Masel′ga%20Korel′skai︠a︡%22&subjectsOpen=1077574-50,795951-50,800294-50 Note that they are not indexed, but the images are browse-able.
Additional records for this area include 1834 revision lists (taxation records that look like a census) https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1317777?availability=Family%20History%20Library, military conscription lists (1813-1874) as well as these military conscription lists that cover the whole gubernia (state/province): https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1299354?availability=Family%20History%20Library.
If he was involved with WWI at all, you might try https://gwar.mil.ru or https://1914.svrt.ru. If any fought for Russian in WWII, this is an excellent site: https://pamyat-naroda.ru.
It looks like records post 1915 are not online, and so they are likely at the archive. As far as payment goes, you could try the Karelia genealogy society (http://genokarelia.ru/). You might be able to connect with a society member who you could send money to and have them send the money to the archive. I would also ask the archive if there are any alternative forms of payment that they offer as you are not located in Russia. You could also ask if they accept Yoo Money, it's kind of like the Russian version of PayPal. I've used that with the Tobolsk archive and it worked well.
Hope that helps! Sorry that was a lot of information at once, but if you need help searching the records at FamilySearch or have any questions about any of the websites, just let me know!
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Amazing! Thank you so much Ellie for all that information.
There is so much there that it will take me a while to look through it, but I'm sure I will have more questions.
A nice lady that I met in a Facebook group has been helping me look through the Ostrech'ye parish records and I have found about 10 siblings for my great grandfather there and his parents and grandfather. So I am gradually learning how to search the Metric books.
I found out Andrey's father was Pjotr/Petr Alekseyev Savelyev, and his father was Aleksei Paramonov Savelyev. Andrey's mother was Aleksandra Josefva (family says last name is Sokolov).
Pjotr was born in Moselga, near Ostrech'ye, so that is where I plan to look next for a marriage record about 1895.
Thank you again for your wonderful reply to my question and I will message again when I have had a look through all your links.
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Hi Ellie. I want to search the FamilySearch images for Pjotr Alekseevich Savelyev's birth record about 1870 in Moselga which I believe was called Selga Malaya. Here is the website I found:
№3799. Village of Selga Malaya (xn----7sbehhevkhuhcb0b4b4bzki.xn--p1ai)
Do you know which parish Moselga/Selga Malaya was in? Would it be any of these parishes?
Метрические книги; ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9CH-8GLF?i=350&cat=785399 (familysearch.org)
Thanks
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