Record Atlas
16 FamilySearch collections · 2 archives · 353 places · 1226–2005

Belarus

Where the records of Belarus are, who holds them, and what it costs to look. 36,222,769 indexed records reachable through FamilySearch alone.

Where to start in Belarus

1 of the 2 checked sources here can be opened tonight. 1is free images with no account. 1is a catalogue card or paper in a building — a letter, not a click. On top of that, 9 worldwide services reach Belarus without a subscription.

Write to Нацыянальны гістарычны архіў Беларусі (NIAB), Szukaj w Archiwach for what is not online. FamilySearch has 16 collections covering it, running 1226–2005, 36,222,769 indexed records. 2 pieces of this ground are mapped for jurisdiction, so the atlas can say whose archive held it in a given year.

353 places placed, 0 volumes walked. Not one of them has had its paper counted yet, so treat the shelf here as a list of somewhere to look rather than a list of what survives. Open Belarus on the map, or tell us what is missing.

Whose archive this ground was

Record regions mapped in Belarus — which empire held the ground, and therefore which archive holds its paper.

The archives

  • Нацыянальны гістарычны архіў Беларусі (NIAB) onsite Minsk, Belarus

    The National Historical Archives of Belarus, Minsk — the holder of the pre-Soviet Belarusian record. OPENED 2026-09-29, and the front page carries a fact worth more than any catalogue entry: BIOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH REQUESTS FROM PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS WERE SUSPENDED ON 17.09.2026 because of the backlog, and the reading room requires an appointment booked in advance. A letter sent now is not being taken. Check whether that has lifted before planning around it. Until today Belarus's only source in this atlas was POLAND's archive portal, correct for the old Kresy Wschodnie and silent on Minsk and everything east.

  • Szukaj w Archiwach free Warsaw, Poland

    The Polish state archives' scans, free and without an account. Covers ground now in Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania as well as Poland.

And 12 worldwide providers reach Belarus too — the full list.

16 FamilySearch collections

Grouped by the ground each one covers, nationwide. A free account opens the images; some are restricted to a Family History Centre.

Belarus — nationwide 16

1 more collections, contributed

A directory David assembled, sorted by what kind of record each one is. Read this differently from the rest of the page. The descriptions are his, not an archive's catalogue, and nobody here has opened the volumes behind them. Every link was tried on 2026-09-20 and answered; the ones that did not are not listed.

Civil registration and vital records 1
Probate, land and notarial 1
Jewish and minority 1

353 places, 0 volumes

The 250 carrying the most collections are listed; 103 more are in Belarus and on the map. Every place lists them all.

Every country · The map