Researching Asiatic Russia

Overview The earliest German colonies in Asiatic Russia were founded in 1882 by Mennonites from Molotschna and the Volga area. However beginning in the 1890s, a more substantial migration of German colonists (from both the Black Sea region and Volga area) headed east toward the Ural Mountains and Siberia to find new lands to colonize.
The German population of this region increased from 15,000 in 1897 to 100,000 in 1914. (Source: From Catherine to Khrushchev by Adam Giesinger, p. 136-138)

In later years (1920s-1940s), the Soviet government deported people to Siberia as a punishment for those accused of anti-Soviet activity. However, at the end of the 19^th century, this area was considered a desirable source of new, unoccupied land to colonize.

Key areas of settlement:

Siberia/Ural Colonies	Colonies of Origin	Years Founded
Neu Samara colonies/Pleschanowo	Molotschna Mennonites	1890-1891
Orenburg Mennonite colonies/Djejewka	Chortitza & Molotschna Mennonites	1894-1903
Orenburg Lutheran colonies	Odessa and Bessarabia	1890-1895
Ufa colonies near Dawlekanowo	Mennonites & Lutherans, various areas	1894+
Ufa colonies W and NW of Ufa	Molotschna, Lutherans & Catholics	1906
Aktyubinsk	Black Sea and Volga Germans	1907-1912
Chelyabinsk and Kustanay regions
Petropavlovsk and Koktshetav regions		1889+
Akmolinsk/Zelonograd region
Omsk region		1893+
Slavgorod region on the Kulunda steppes		1890+
Pavlodar area
Semipalatinsk		1898+
Dzahambul-Tashkent	Molotschna and Volga Mennonites	1882

Church Records Some church records for German settlements in Asiatic Russia are available here. Also check the Family History Library. Search on the town (or country) to find if microfilm is available for the area you are researching.