Belarusian Genealogy

Since we receive many genealogical inquiries about the family tree search in Belarus, the history of certain families, contacts and services we try to compile in this page some of the possible answers to give a first impulse into hopefully right direction to those seeking their roots in Belarus.

Anyone doing the family tree search in a distant and relatively isolated informationaly Belarus will probably need this at some point:

Maps	Where is Belarus? You want to find the place where your ancestors lived on the map, learn more about it, see its right spelling. You need current maps, historical maps, detailed maps, maps in English, on-line maps, on-line stores selling maps, etc.
Contacts	You want to ask a question, hire an agent, write to a regional archive or a Catholic church, find a Jewish community or contact Belarusian Tartars, find someone of your profession and so on. You need contacts in Belarus.
Documents	You want to find the lists of the names. What are the possible documents and the types of records? Oh no, these are not Social Security Numbers. So what are these numbers and papers that are issued to every Belarusian at birth, accompany them through life and eventually are issued after their death? Where are these documents stored?
Directories	Browse through the free on-line telephone directories. Find the lists of the participants of some on-line communities of Belarusians. Have you ever considered Belarusian directory assistance telephone calls? What other lists of names are available on the Net?
Services	Are there any on-line genealogical services that could solve my family tree search problems? Whom could you pay to do a search for you? So far, you can try these places: Family Tree Belarus, Anatoly Neverov, gaspadar.com. We would appreciate your references on the quality of their service.
Communities	You want to find other people searching their roots in the same area as yours. What is their progress in it? Can they offer you solutions that you haven't thought off?
Dictionaries	You need to write to Belarus. But can you use English/French/Russian/Polish? What is the Belarusian language?
Other sites	Perhaps someone else is giving out information related to genealogical search in Belarus and the neighboring countries? It would be wise to see what other guys have to say before adopting your search strategy.
Communications	You need to mail to Belarus. Is Belarusian mail reliable? Can you fax to Belarus? What are the area codes of Belarusian phones? What is the best way to exchange gifts with your relatives?
Travel	And, lastly, you want to see with your own eyes those little green hills, poor sandy fields, bright blue lakes, villages and people populating this country where your folks are from. Is it dangerous to go there? Can you use a credit card there? What's the best way to get there?

Well, perhaps these topics do not answer all of your questions. Genealogical search is after all a complex mix of adventure, learning, problem solving, deduction, communication, persistence and just simple luck. Still we hope that these pages would give you an impulse in the right direction and would help you to make the first steps of your family tree search. You may want to look through other pages of the Virtual Guide to Belarus to gain some understanding of Belarus, its culture and history.

This file is a part of the Virtual Guide to Belarus - a collaborative project of Belarusian scientists and professionals abroad. VG brings you the most extensive compilation of the information about Belarus on the Web.
Please send your comments to the authors of VG to Belarus

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