This article is reproduced on the Belarus SIG website from "RAGAS Report", Volume III, Number 3, Fall 1997, with the permission of Vladislav Y. Soshnikov, RAGAS Director, Genealogy & Family History Society, Moscow, Russia. Reproduction of this copyright article is prohibited without the express permission of Vladislav Soshnikov.
SOURCES FROM THE NATIONAL HISTORICAL ARCHIVES OF BELARUS IN MINSK
I. Important sources of genealogical information about Minsk residents
Record Group #1 of the "Minsk Town Government". 9391 files. 1880-1920. Civil town governments were established in the Russian Empire in 1870 as the executive institution of the town legislature. The town government maintained the city budget and monitored public welfare, building construction, health care, education, and the levy of taxes in town. The town government gathered different information about town dwellers. For example, there were annual lists of merchants/traders and other specially licensed groups of people. The Jewish Department covered all matters of the Jewish community (records have survived for the years 1881-1918). Among the most important sources of information from records of the Minsk town government are:
Among records of Jewish Department there are "Lists of male Jews" for the following settlements (mostly of Minsk guberniya), 1874:
David-Gorodok, Elskin Karobin, i•gumeu, Khalui., Konatkevichi, Lahvy, Lapichi, Lemchitzy, Lyachovichi (file in bad condition), Lyanina, Lyna (Igumen district), Makavno, Mozyr (agricultural Jews of Mozyr district), Petrikovo (Mozyr district), Pogostnya, Pogosty (Igumen district), Puhovichi, Romanovo, Shatzk, Sinyavka, Skrygalov, Slutsk, Smilovichi, Starobino, Timkovichi, Turovl Uzmyany
Another important record group is RG #330 "Minsk Town Dwellers" Administration. 2028 files, 1876-1918. There are:
Delyatytskoye, Eremitskoye, Gorodyshskoye, Korelitskoye, Kroshinskoye, Lubchanskoye, Mirskoye, Nezhevitskoye, Novomyshskoye, Polonkovskoye, Snovskoye, Stvolovitskoye, Turzhetskoye, Tzyrinskoye, Vselubskoye.
RG #333 "Minskava kazennava palata" ("The Minsk State Chamber/Treasurv")
There are many revision lists (Poll tax lists: 1109 files. 1795-1884) compiled according to the class structure of taxable population. For example, Jews were considered as persons of foreign origin ("inorodtsy" as defined in the Regulations for Jews, 1835).
Synagogue in Minsk
The following lists are for Jews (town dwellers, craftsmen, traders, farmers):
Please note that many of the "additional revision lists" were compiled for those persons who were not registered in the main lists due to absence at the time of the main revision. Therefore, dates of these additional revisions are broader than the official dates of the revision censuses (1795, 1806, 1811, 1816-I818, IS34, 1850, 1S57/8); these additional revisions were continued until the end of 19th century (the 1 890s) in order to maintain records of taxpayers.
The Novogrudok revision Lists for 1795, 1806, 1811 and 1818 as well as for some other districts already have been microfilmed in Minsk by the Genealogical Society of Utah and are available at the (LDS) Family History Centers.
II. The Minsk archive holds old maps and plans of the Minsk guberniya (province) in Record Group, #1477: 3131 items, 1827-1911.
Note: The remainder of Mr. Soshnikov’s article deals with non-Jewish records and is not included.