Genealogy research in Irkutsk
We research family histories across the Irkutsk region. 16 in-house specialists. 340+ completed studies. All document types covered, from parish registers to military service files.
Rebuilding family history from the archives of the Irkutsk region
Irkutsk is the key to Eastern Siberian family lines. Generations of settlers and exiles, Cossacks and gold-mining merchants passed through the city. The records on them sit first of all in the State Archive of the Irkutsk Region.
Siberian genealogy has its own texture: alongside ordinary metric books and revision lists you meet settler household lists, files on exiles and convicts, mine-office ledgers and the registers of Old Believer communities.
The archives we work with
GAIO — metric books, revision and household lists
GANIIO — 20th century
ZAGS Archive — civil registry records of the Irkutsk Region
Local History Museum — holdings on the region’s history
Records for families of the Irkutsk region
Parish registers
Parishes of Irkutsk and the governorate, Old Believer communities included.
Revision & household lists
Population censuses with family composition — the base of a Siberian line.
Resettlement records
Files on peasant families arriving in Siberia, including under the Stolypin reform.
Exile files
Political and criminal exile — a distinct layer of Eastern Siberian lines.
Cossack service records
Service in the Irkutsk and Siberian Cossack Hosts.
Mine-office ledgers
Records of the Lena gold fields — workers and clerks of the offices.
Working in Irkutsk
Eastern Siberia is a land of settlers and exile. The Decembrists, Poles after the uprisings, and political exiles were all sent here, while peasant resettlement under the Stolypin reform and the Lena gold fields drew others. Siberian lines are marked by settler household lists, mine-office records and Old Believer registers.
Across all of the former Irkutsk Governorate
We research families across the uezds and okrugs of the former Irkutsk Governorate, and trace settler lines back to the governorate the family left for Siberia.
From first call to the bound book
- N° 01
Briefing
About half an hour with a genealogist. We sketch what is already known and where the research can reach.
- N° 02
Expertise
A two-generation pilot in the regional archive shows whether the lineage is traceable before a long project starts.
- N° 03
Full research
Parish registers, revision lists, service files. Reports arrive each month with scans and transcriptions.
Research in Irkutsk
My ancestors were exiled to Siberia. Can we find why?
Often, yes. Separate files survive on political and criminal exiles — they can hold the sentence, the place of settlement and the family. It is one of the most rewarding layers of Eastern Siberian genealogy.
The family resettled to Siberia from European Russia. Where to look?
First in the Irkutsk household and resettlement lists, which record where the family came from. Then we continue in the archive of the home governorate, so the line does not break at the move.
Can the work be done remotely from Irkutsk or elsewhere?
Yes. Online consultation, reports with digital copies by post — no presence in Irkutsk is needed. We work with clients across Russia and abroad.
About half an hour with someone who knows Irkutsk archives
Leave your name and phone. We will call back in working hours (Mon–Fri 09:00–20:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–19:00 MSK) and discuss what the archives in Irkutsk can give you.