dumb question?
 

I was wondering if there is a way that I could go into a Russian messenger thingy and be able to type in English but have it automatically translated into Russian so I could ask a few questions to see if there is a way I could find out a bit about my Russian ancestors?...I just went into the Russian version of msn live messenger....but, strangely enough, it's all in Russian!...I've been trying to find any message boards for a region called Vitebsk in Belarus,but haven't been able to find any....anyone know if this would be possible?:huh:

Re: dumb question?
 

I think you should restrict your search to sites that use a language that you understand. You won't get the answers that you are looking for, but at the least, you'll know it.:p

Re: dumb question?
 

I have not heard of anything like that in messenger services however you could try something like

http://translation2.paralink.com/

English to Russian translation then copy & paste to and from IM.

Ash

Re: dumb question?
 

The Russian-English online translators exist, but they're not very good. Just google for them (I don't have any links).

Bear in mind that genealogical (sp) records in Russia/Soviet Union/Belarus are not very organized or complete, and generally not public record. Just like the US, then...

If you're really curious, you could try talking to these people: http://genealogypro.com/smortensen.html
http://genealogypro.com/etorontoe.html

Apparently the Mormons have got huge resources available. There's a lot on this stuff online in English, out of the US.

Re: dumb question?
 

Yes...very frustrating though!...I've always wondered if there are any living relatives there,although my dad did say,years ago,that the town his family were in had been bombed flat during the war....and I was reading a brief history on the particular town yesterday online and it said that before the Nazi's there were 177,000 people,after the Nazi's there were only 118 people left alive,Dad NEVER spoke about where he came from,or his family,all we ever knew was I was named for his mother,she was a teacher,and his father's name was Anton,and he was a pilot(on river boats maybe?)we didn't even know the town until we found it in his paperwork after he'd died,the other hurdle would be that I was told that a lot of Russians who joined the Polish Free Army during WW2 changed their names,and I've no idea if my dad did that as well....when anyone asked, he always said he came from Moscow,but the town he came from is much closer to Poland than Moscow....the one thing he did say,that has always stuck in my mind,was that he was 'a white Russian',and I only found out a few years ago what he meant by that...which makes it even more intriguing for me!:confused:

Re: dumb question?
 

why not try the google translate and copy and paste the text?