Case Files of the Repressed

The International Genealogical Centre gives you the opportunity to find out whether your relatives were subjected to political repression. We provide only verified, reliable information.

Between 1917 and the early 1950s, mass repressions were carried out across the territory of the former USSR, affecting millions of families. Those events left their mark not only on the lives of people of that time, but on the lives of many of our contemporaries. Opening the case files and reconstructing the facts of the lives of the repressed helps every family learn about the events of those years and shed light on the fate of their grandparents and great-grandparents. That knowledge helps you learn more about your relatives and see that period of history in a new way.

How are the case files of the repressed opened?

Some time ago this information was classified, since the truth was not always convenient for the authorities. Today the International Genealogical Centre uses methods that help open even the most complex case files of the repressed, and the work consists of the following stages:

• professional interviews with relatives, which help obtain a great deal of valuable information;
• drawing up a working plan and dividing responsibilities according to the experience, knowledge and specialisation of our staff;
• the use of modern computer technology and the study of archival records in order to open the case files of the repressed in full;
• expeditions to the places that mattered most in the lives of your ancestors, for a more detailed gathering of information.

As a result you will receive guaranteed, verified historical facts about the lives of your relatives, which will help shed light on details previously unknown. If you wish, the results obtained can be presented in the form of a video film or an exclusive book with a literary account of the events.