Messages

166

Russian Imperial Medals, Orders, Uniforms & Militaria / The Order of St. Vladimir - What class could this be?

« on: June 23, 2009, 07:06:46 AM »

I have two St.Vladimir crosses and I would like to know what class they are. The owner of those has never served the Russian state or army so they cannot be the 3rd or 4th class. The tiny cross seems to be taken loose from some bigger entity. The ribbon is only a very tiny one, nothing to hang some medal on.

I have read (in the book ”Country of Memories” here) that those medals that were of higher class used to be very unique - there was probably not two similar ones. Men of high ranks had a lot of order crosses, but they didn’t carry them… and one reason was that it was  dangerous to carry medals of higher class. I have also understood that St. Georg was lower than St. Vladimir but this confusion might also be because of the same fact that it was dangerous to carry medals of higher ranks and the value of St. Georg might have changed some year. Then one comes to the question than what about if the more modest medal of  for example 2. class was in fact higher than the medal of the 1.st class, but that only a few people knew about that. What fantasy makes people to think!!!

I would like to put a picture here, but I don't know how to do it. Could somebody, please, help me? I thank you so much in advance.

167

Research Russian Roots / The "Citybank" in St.Petersburg until the times of about 1920. The history of...

« on: June 23, 2009, 06:52:03 AM »

Who could tell something about the history of the "Citybank" in St.Petersburg until the times of the Russian Revolution.

What I have heard the money of many people was confiscated and the emigrants were not allowed to take with them anything.

Is there somebody who can tell us more about the bank and happenings there...maybe the history of the bank...

168

The Hohenzollern / The archives (registers) in Germany of the noble people until II World War?

« on: June 23, 2009, 03:26:43 AM »

I would like to know where are today all those archives/registers kept that still had some noble people registered in times when the II World War ended.

There were noble people that were blamed to be Jews and had to show their origin and that is why I know the registers must be available. They might have come as refugees from Russia. In Russia there were a lot of Jewish people. 

If you want to "stay noble" the thing is not just that your name is in some register, but it is also up to you yourself and your family to see to it that your nobility stays "active". Some royal people, probably also of very high rank, have not been interested in this themselves, but have let the whole thing down. Now there seems to be a lot of people searching for their roots all over the world. Probably this is because the life is getting harder again and the feeling of knowing your roots gives you some security. I have now come to contact with such a name that is all the time getting more and more interest all over the world and people are suching that name, information of it and its origins in the Internet. But the archives stay closed. But to start opening graves might be unnecessary if the entry to some archives of noble people were allowed and for free!

169

Research Russian Roots / Re: Born in Russia about 1910

« on: June 23, 2009, 01:39:52 AM »

Try to build some Family Tree on ancestor.com - they have a lot of passanger lists etc that kind of material.

It might be very difficult to find anything about the roots in Russia. The life in St. Petersburg was a mess in those days before the Revolution. Then there was all kind of people coming into St.Petersburg - farmes, farm workers, former landslaves (free two years before the slaves in USA), noble people that had become poor. However, your grandmother looks very well off. I assume that she was a member and baptized by the Eastern Orthodox Church (that had the monasteries, too). So if such church archives have not been distroyed and will be open for public one day then that might be some possibility.

There is also the problem that many well of or noble or famous people were on some kind of killing lists and they feared for their lives. Then they changed their names and identities e.g. with their servants and might have given wrong information about their identities (e.g. birth dates and places, parents etc). Some people wanted to start a new life in foreign countries and they on the other hand took names and started to use names of some famous people they knew and that might have even already died in those days in St. Petersburg. (I am investigating a case as I have found a copy in America of my ancestors family that died 1918 in Russia. I know that they have really died, but there is some information that there might be a similar family in America...some death register gives this, but I am not quite sure yet...)

I would like to be in touch with you, but how could it be possible... How could we change e-mail adresses?

170

Research Russian Roots / Lists of persons singing in the operas in St. Petersburg before the Revolution?

« on: June 23, 2009, 01:15:44 AM »

Are there any lists of person who sang at the Opera in St. Petersburg before the times of the Revolution?

Is there any information about family names that had lodges of their own in the Opera House in St. Petersburg before the times of the Revolution?

What is the real name of the Opera House in St. Petersburg in times of the Revolution? Was there only one Opera House or maybe several?

171

Research Russian Roots / Polytechnic Institute of St. Petersburg - archives of the student lists,badges?

« on: June 23, 2009, 01:09:50 AM »

Are there any lists in archives about students (engineers) who had degreed from the Polytechnic Institute of St.Petersburg (1899-1909, 1910-1913 Emperor Peter I Polytechnic Institute of St.Petersburg, 1914-1917 Emperor Peter the Great Polytechnic Institute of Petrograd, 1918-1921 First Petrograd Polytechnic Institute, 1922 M.I.Kalinin ....etc according to the Internet information by unilib.neva.ru, year 2005).

What kind of uniforms did engineers degreed from that institute use to wear before the Revolution?

Is there any examples (pictures) to be seen about those badges (golden or silver) that those engineers degreed from that Institute carried on the right side of their uniforms jackets? 

172

Research Russian Roots / Documts kept by the churches in Russia before the Revolution?

« on: June 23, 2009, 12:42:44 AM »

What happened to documents kept by the Churches in e.g. St. Petersburg, Libau and Prussia in times of the Revolution? Were they all distroyed or have they been moved somewhere? In case they have been moved somewhere where are they now or has everything become distroyed? Are they available for the public? When will they be available?

The same questions about other churches than the Eastern Orthodox Church (in the whole area that became the Sovjet Union) in times of the Revolution?

173

Research Russian Roots / What meant to be a Citizen of Honour in Russia (before the Revolution)?

« on: June 23, 2009, 12:31:29 AM »

Does somebody know what did it mean to be a Citizen of Honour in Russia before the times of Revolution? Was it some kind of double citizenship for some kind of foreigners?

What foreigners could be called Diplomats in St. Petersburg and what did such status mean before the times of the Revolution?

Is it possible to get Russian citizenship today if two grandparents had been Russian citizens? This seems to be the case in many countries today, but how is it in Russia? Is a double citizenship today possible: EU and Russian?

174

Research Russian Roots / Was Nevsky some real family still in times of the Revolution?

« on: June 23, 2009, 12:21:14 AM »

I wonder if Nevsky was some living family (had descendants) still in times of the Revolution? If not, how and with which persons did the family die out? What is known about any of the last members of the Nevsky family if such excisted?

Does somebody know any variations of the family name Nevsky - people being decendants of the real family?

Tell anything you know about real persons with the roots in Nevsky family.