Fond 53: Grossliebental (Mariinksy) Volost Office Guide

The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection is pleased to announce publication of Fond 53 prepared by Lilia Belousova of the Odessa State Archives, and by her son, Vlad Buga. Ms. Belousova is a well-known researcher, speaker and writer who specializes in the former German colonies of the Black Sea and Bessarabia. She continues work on completing publication of other Fonds of the Odessa State Archives.

In May 2001, Lilia Belousova discussed with Michael M. Miller, Bibliographer, Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, North Dakota State University Libraries, Fargo, North Dakota, USA, the possibility of publishing of Fond 53.

This publication includes inventory files; name index with lists of individuals; geographical index; "State Archives of Odessa Region: German Settlements in the south of Ukraine (Fond List)"; Odessa 1908 Volosts and Villages (Register); and color map of Khersonskaya Guberniya, 1905.

Mary Lynn Axtman, proofreader for Fond 53, shares this message:

This Fond 53 Guide relates mainly to the eleven Grossliebental Colonies and is special because those were the first established German Colonies in the Black Sea area. The value of this Fond 53 publication is that those files contain the earliest and most complete records for the years of 1815 to 1920. While the colonies and people's names mostly relate to the Grossliebental District, there are various other area colonies and villagers referenced also. Some file records of interest relate to: delivery of passports, guardianships, property inventories, recruit lists, village elections and migration to Siberia.

What makes this publication unique are the files and their content descriptions for the years of 1850 to 1920. In these can be found names and information about many of those Germans families who stayed in Russia and were caught up in the events of WW 1, the Russian Revolution and the Soviet collectivization changes. Here we can find names of numerous men who were in the Russian military, those who may have been killed and guardianship is being established for their dependent spouses and children, requests for food relief and initial changes in their property and agricultural practices under the collective system. Those years of 1914 to 1920 were of such change for those families who stayed in Russia while many of their families in North America lost contact with them. This Fond 53 publication provides file information relating to those eventful and difficult years that can be of further historic and family research value for many researchers.

We are very grateful to Lilia Belousova, Head of the Department of Information, Publication and External Relations at the State Archives of the Odessa Region (SOAR) for this important work towards making this guide available to interested researchers.

It is felt that this indexed guide will be of value to researchers and readers alike. Not only will it help interested persons locate files of interest to them but the detailed descriptions of the each of the file's contents will give the reader a better sense of the lives and events that concerned the German settlers in South Russia.