Genealogy research in the online archives
of Russia,
Ukraine, Belarus and Poland.
If your family came from the former Russian Empire or the USSR, there’s a good chance records about them survived, and a growing number are online. The problem is that they’re handwritten in old Cyrillic, spread across dozens of archives, and hard to search if you don’t read the language.
That part is my job. I find the records, read them, and explain what they say.
What I can do for you
Finding records
I search online archives and databases in Russian, Ukrainian and Polish, along with the English-language sites you may already know, like FamilySearch or JewishGen.
We figure out what exists for your surnames and places, and whether the matches are really about your family or just people with the same name.
Reading old documents
If you already have a document you can’t read, send it to me. Old metrical books were written in pre-revolutionary Russian handwriting, and even native speakers struggle with it.
I’ll tell you what the record says, what the names and dates are, and what details matter for further research.
Consultation
Sometimes you don’t need a researcher. You need an hour with someone who knows the territory. We go through what you have, where you’re stuck, and what’s realistically worth trying next.
After the call I send a short written plan so you can act on it later.
The Research Process
Research usually goes in stages.
Not every project needs all of them, and you can stop after any one.
Some projects end after the first stage.
Others go on for years, a little at a time. We usually start small and decide together whether more work is justified.
Research Packages
Consultation
$100
One session
- 30-minute call
- We go through your existing materials
- A plan for what to do next
- Short written summary afterward
Initial Research
MOST POPULAR
$450
Flat-fee
- Source scan for 2-3 surnames, spelling variants included
- Translation of up to 5 pages of documents
- Searches across the major online databases
- Written report: what exists, where, and whether deeper research is worth it
- Digital copies of everything
- Follow-up call included
Extended Project
From $3500
Custom scope, quoted after Initial Research
- Full research across available online archives
- Several family lines
- Manual page-by-page review where needed
- Translation of the records found
- Family tree built from the findings
- Archive monitoring available afterward ($100/month, optional)
Hello, my name is Alexander Polezhaev
(pronounced po-leh-ZHAY-ev)
You work directly with me
I do all the research myself. No outsourcing, no assistants.I start from what you already know
Family stories, half-remembered village names, an old photo with writing on the back. All of it counts as a starting point.I explain what I did and why
You’ll see where I searched, what I found, and how I reached each conclusion. I try to write my reports so that anyone in your family can follow them.Iām honest about dead ends
If the records don’t exist, or a trail runs out, or something is beyond what I can do, I’ll say so. I’d rather lose a sale than waste your money.You get work you can build on
Everything is documented and organized, so you can come back to it later or hand it to another researcher without starting over.
Independent Research Support
Doing the research yourself? I can still help without a full project: answer a specific question, read a document you found, or take a second look at something before you build a whole branch of the tree on it.
What clients say
Get in touch!
Write me a few lines about what you’re looking for.
Surnames, places, anything you already have. It doesn’t need to be organized or complete.
I’ll read it and reply with what I think is realistically possible, and we take it from there.