Genealogy Guide: Ukraine

In the Russian Empire, records were kept by the Jewish community and were mandatory starting in 1835. They were in a tabular format in Russian and Hebrew. There were also numerous censuses (also called “Revision Lists”) in the 18th and 19th centuries and an all-Empire census in 1897. The censuses are held by the regional archives but are not available for all areas. Specific information may be found in the following:

Kronick, Aleksander, and Sallyann Amdur Sack. Some Archival Sources for Ukrainian-Jewish Genealogy (Teaneck, NJ: Avotaynu, 1997). This book inventories the records of 300 towns in 12 archives, mainly the archives in Kiev, Lviv, Warsaw, and Zhitomir. Genealogy Institute   DS 135 .U4 K76

Weiner, Miriam. Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova (Secaucus, NJ: Routes to Roots Foundation and NY: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research,1999). This book covers towns in present-day Ukraine and Moldova. The archival inventories, in alphabetical order by town, list what records are available from which archives. It should be noted, however, that these archives do not always respond fully to requests. Many individuals choose, instead, to hire outside researchers. A referral to a professional researcher can be obtained by writing to the JewishGen discussion list or to the Special Interest Group discussion lists (see addresses below). Genealogy Institute   DS 135 .U4 W37

You can identify what records from your town have survived, and where they are located, at the website of the Routes to Roots Foundation, which offers a database of genealogical records for towns in Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine.

The LDS Family History Library has microfilmed some Ukrainian records of Jewish interest, particularly from towns in western Ukraine (formerly eastern Galicia).