Ves Petersburg
Encyclopedia
Ves Peterburg (Full name in cyrillic "Ves Petersburg; Adresnaja i spravočnaja kniga g. Petersburga") (often referred to as the Suvorin directories from the publisher's name) was the title of a series of city directories
of Saint Petersburg
, Russia
published on a yearly basis from 1894 to 1940 by Aleksei Sergeevich Suvorin. Each volume was anywhere between 500 to 1500 pages long. After changes in the name of the city the directories were called "Ves Petrograd" from 1914 to 1923 and "Ves Leningrad" from 1924 to 1940.
The directories contained detailed lists of private residents, names of streets and squares across the city with the details of their occupants and owners, government offices, public services and medium and large businesses present in the city. They are often used by genealogists for family research in pre-revolutionary Russia and the early soviet period when vital records are missing or prove difficult to find. Historian
s use them to research the social histories of the city.
The following information can be found:
and tens of thousands more were either arrested, shot, or sent to the gulag
by the Cheka
and the NKVD
after 1918 the section detailing residents names is especially useful in determining until when a certain person was still living in the city.
This was due to the events of the Russian revolution of 1917
and the subsequent Russian civil war
.
The edition of 1922 was very concise and only contained details of businesses in the city but not residents.
s and Moscow Trials
. The only further volumes were issued in 1939 and 1940, but these (like the edition in 1922) only contained details of state run businesses and public and governmental offices, but not residents.
(including The Baltic, Finland
the United Kingdom
and Germany
) however most only have an incomplete collection. The Russian National Library
in Saint Petersburg has a complete run of all volumes published available.
under the title "Vsia Moskva" (All Moscow) for the years 1875 to 1936 and for the whole country under the titles "Vsia Rossiia" (All Russia) continued under than name "Ves SSSR" (All USSR) from 1924 to 1931.
Since 1993 a telephone directory under the title "Ves Petersburg" has been published annually by the publishing House Presskom but this is vastly different in content then the original directories and does not list residents.
City directory
A city directory is a listing of residents, streets, businesses, organizations or institutions, giving their location in a city. Antedating telephone directories, they have been in use for centuries....
of Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
published on a yearly basis from 1894 to 1940 by Aleksei Sergeevich Suvorin. Each volume was anywhere between 500 to 1500 pages long. After changes in the name of the city the directories were called "Ves Petrograd" from 1914 to 1923 and "Ves Leningrad" from 1924 to 1940.
The directories contained detailed lists of private residents, names of streets and squares across the city with the details of their occupants and owners, government offices, public services and medium and large businesses present in the city. They are often used by genealogists for family research in pre-revolutionary Russia and the early soviet period when vital records are missing or prove difficult to find. Historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s use them to research the social histories of the city.
List of residents of St. Petersburg
Each directory was written exclusively in Russian Cyrillic only, and contains various sections among which was a alphabetical list of residents in the city. Those listed usually were the head of their respective household and so spouses and minors are not listed.The following information can be found:
- Person's surname and first name
- PatronymicPatronymicA patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
- Street address with apartment number
- ProfessionProfessionA profession is a vocation founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain....
- Telephone numbers (only appear sparingly as few private residents could afford a telephoneTelephoneThe telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
before 1918)
List of occupants of each building on every street and square
A section immediately preceding or following that listing residents in alphabetical order was a directory of all streets, houses and flats with the names of their owners and occupants. In this way readers could determine all those people who lived on a particular street of in a certain apartment block.Other sections
The following information can also be found in each directory- information on the royal family
- Maps of the city
- cultural establishments (with interior theatre hall layouts and seating plans)
- Lists of personnel in state, public and private institutions
- information on academic institutions of all ranks
- information on churches and monasteries of St. Petersburg
- Original commercial advertisements of Russian and foreign companies which had offices in St. Petersburg
Historical and Genealogical Value
Because numerous residents emigrated from Saint Petersburg after the Russian Revolution of 1917Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
and tens of thousands more were either arrested, shot, or sent to the gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
by the Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
and the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
after 1918 the section detailing residents names is especially useful in determining until when a certain person was still living in the city.
Interruption in the series
No volumes were published in the following years:- 1918
- 1919
- 1920
- 1921
This was due to the events of the Russian revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
and the subsequent Russian civil war
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
.
The edition of 1922 was very concise and only contained details of businesses in the city but not residents.
Termination of series
Publication came to a halt after the edition of 1935, coinciding with the time of Stalin's great purgeGreat Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
s and Moscow Trials
Moscow Trials
The Moscow Trials were a series of show trials conducted in the Soviet Union and orchestrated by Joseph Stalin during the Great Purge of the 1930s. The victims included most of the surviving Old Bolsheviks, as well as the leadership of the Soviet secret police...
. The only further volumes were issued in 1939 and 1940, but these (like the edition in 1922) only contained details of state run businesses and public and governmental offices, but not residents.
Availability
Many original directories in the series (or microfiche copies thereof) can be found in libraries across the U.S.A., EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(including The Baltic, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) however most only have an incomplete collection. The Russian National Library
Russian National Library
The National Library of Russia in St Petersburg, known as the State Public Saltykov-Shchedrin Library from 1932 to 1992 , is the oldest public library in Russia...
in Saint Petersburg has a complete run of all volumes published available.
Other City Directories
Suvorin also published city directories for MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
under the title "Vsia Moskva" (All Moscow) for the years 1875 to 1936 and for the whole country under the titles "Vsia Rossiia" (All Russia) continued under than name "Ves SSSR" (All USSR) from 1924 to 1931.
Since 1993 a telephone directory under the title "Ves Petersburg" has been published annually by the publishing House Presskom but this is vastly different in content then the original directories and does not list residents.