In order to find and use specific types of Russian records, researchers need to be able to identify and understand some key terms in the Russian language. The following index contains terms relating to nationality, religion and class in Imperial Russia transliterated from Russian (left column) and their English translations (right column). The terms included here are those that you are likely to find in Russian genealogical sources. If the term you are looking for is not on this list, please consult a Russian-English dictionary. Compiled by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff.
Index — Nationality – Religion – Class – Other Terms
Nationality
Anglichanin / Anglichanka |
English (m/f) |
Armyanin / Armyanka |
Armenian (m/f) |
Azerbaidzhanets / Azerbaidzhanka |
Azerbaijani (m/f) |
Bashkir / Bashkirka |
Bashkir (m/f) |
Belorus / Beloruska |
Belorussian (m/f) |
Bolgarin / Bolgarka |
Bulgarian (m/f) |
Chuvash / Chuvashka |
Chuvash (m/f) |
Estonets / Estonka |
Estonian (m/f) |
Gruzin / Gruzinka |
Georgian (m/f) |
Grek / Grechanka |
Greek (m/f) |
Kazak / Kazashka |
Kazakh (m/f) |
Khokhol / Khokholka |
(vulgar) Ukrainian (m/f) |
Kirgiz / Kirgizka |
Kirghiz (m/f) |
Latviets / Latviika |
Latvian (m/f) |
Litovets / Litovka |
Lithuanian (m/f) |
Maloross / Malorosska |
(archaic) Little Russian; Ukrainian (m/f) |
Moldavanin / Moldavanka |
Moldavian (m/f) |
Mongol / Mongolka |
Mongol (m/f) |
Mordvin / Mordvinka |
Mordvin (m/f) |
Nemets / Nemka |
German (m/f) |
Polyak / Pol’ka |
Pole (m/f) |
Rumyn / Rumynka |
Romanian (m/f) |
Russkii / Russkaya |
Russian (m/f) |
Shved / Shvedka |
Swede (m/f) |
Tatarin / Tatarka |
Tatar (m/f) |
Tsygan / Tsyganka |
Gypsy (m/f) |
Turkmen / Turkmenka |
Turkmen (m/f) |
Turok / Turchanka |
Turk (m/f) |
Ukrainets / Ukrainka |
Ukrainian (m/f) |
Uzbek / Uzbechka |
Uzbek (m/f) |
Vengerets / Vengerka |
Hungarian (m/f) |
Religion
Baptist / Baptistka |
Baptist (m/f) |
Besermenin / Besermenka |
Moslem (m/f) |
Buddist |
Buddhist (m/f) |
Dukhoborets / Dukhoborka |
Doukhobor (m/f) |
Edinoverets / Edinoverka |
Religious dissenter (m/f) |
Evrei / Evreika |
Jew (m/f) |
Inoverets / Inoverka |
dissenter; non-Christian (m/f) |
Iudei / Iudeika |
Judaic (m/f) |
Katolik / Katolichka |
Catholic (m/f) |
Khlyst |
Khlyst; Flagellant (m/f) |
Khristianin / Khristianka |
Christian (m/f) |
Lyuteranin / Lyuteranka |
Lutheran (m/f) |
Menonit / Menonitka |
Mennonite (m/f) |
Molokan / Molokanka |
Molokan (m/f) |
Musul’manin / Musul’manka |
Moslem (m/f) |
Pravoslavnii / Pravoslavnaya |
Russian Orthodox (m/f) |
Protestant / Protestantka |
Protestant (m/f) |
Raskol’nik / Raskol’nitsa |
Schismatic / Old Believer (m/f) |
Sektant / Sektantka |
Sectarian (m/f) |
Shtundist / Shtundistka |
Stundist (m/f) |
Staroobryadets / Staroobryadka |
Old Ritualist / Old Believer (m/f) |
Starover / Staroverka |
Old Believer (m/f) |
Subbotnik / Subbotnitsa |
Sabbatarian (m/f) |
Uniat / Uniatka |
Uniate (m/f) |
Zhid / Zhidovka |
(vulgar) Jew (m/f) |
Class
Dvoryanin / Dvoryanka |
member of the nobility (dvoryanstvo) in Imperial Russia (m/f); persons of this class were entitled, through inheritance or earned through state service noble status, either inherited or earned through state service, entitled the holder to own land and serfs, enter civil service, freedom from military service and other privileges |
Svyashchennik |
member of the clergy (dukhovenstvo) in Imperial Russia |
Kupets / Kupchikha |
member of the merchant class (kupechestvo) in Imperial Russia (m/f); persons of this class were divided into three guilds by wealth and status |
Meshchanin / Meshchanka |
member of the citizen class (meshchane) in Imperial Russia (m/f); urban dweller of lower social status; petty bourgeois townsman |
Krest’yanin / Krest’yanka |
member of the peasant class (krest’yane) in Imperial Russia (m/f); persons of this class possessed their own household and held a small plot of land (owned by themselves or others) with appurtenances and owed an obligation to perform military service and pay taxes; persons of this class were divided into numerous sub-classes of free and bonded peasants |
Odnodvorets / Odnodvorka |
one-homesteader (m/f); persons of the one-homesteader (odnodvortsy) class descended from military servitors settled on the southern and eastern frontiers of the Empire and had the right to own their own lands and serfs and the obligation to perform military service and pay taxes; this class, which stood between the nobility and peasantry, eventually was transferred to the state peasant class |
Kazak / Kazachka |
Cossack (m/f); the Cossack class (kazaki) were an elite military force in Imperial Russia made up of free-spirited adventurers, employed by the Tsars as an auxiliary to its regular troops in the more remote southern areas of the Empire; a person of this category owed an obligation to perform military service but not to pay taxes |
Inorodets / Inorodka |
native tribesman (m/f); members of native tribes and ethnic groups (inorodtsy) in Siberia and the Far East held special legal status and privileges |
Other Russian Terms
Bibliography
Dal, V.I. Tolkovyi Slovar Zhivogo Velikorusskago Iazyka. (Moscow, 1999).
Kroutikhin, Mikhail I. Correspondence to the author re: Russian genealogical terms. September, 2006.
Mueller, V.K. English-Russian Dictionary. 24th Ed. (Moscow, 1995).
Pushkarev, Sergei G. Dictionary of Russian Historical Terms from the Eleventh Century to 1917 (Yale, 1970).