How to work with regional archives in Ukraine?

Regional archives play an important role in the preservation of archival documents, because they contain a very large array of diverse materials. In particular, important genealogical sources (metric books, confessional registers, census records), documents of enterprises, filtration cases and cases of citizens repressed during the Soviet era are kept there. A great amount of reference information is contained on the websites of archives, namely: guidebooks, consolidated catalogs of metric books and confessional registers, name lists, etc.

Each regional archive has its own specifics and nuances. One of the main problems for visitors is the difficulty of accessing individual reading rooms due to long queues for recording and, in some places, unpredictably long time to complete requests. Under quarantine restrictions, the situation has become even more difficult, as the number of visitors is often limited to 3-5 people per day, depending on the reading room area. It is also mandatory to wear a mask and gloves. With the martial law in effect, the reading rooms of all the archives were closed to the public.

It’s easier to order cases by e-mail or by phone. The traditional rule, valid in all archival institutions of Ukraine – the maximum number of cases ordered for one visit may not exceed 10 pieces with a total volume of not more than 1000 sheets. The problem is that in certain cases, one archive case can be more than 1,000 sheets, if, for example, we are talking about a case in which the metric books of many settlements are bound.

The archives allow free copying by visitors’ own technical means. You can also place an order to copy archival documents by the archive’s technical means. This is a paid service, the cost varies from archive to archive.