Vilna Gubernia Taxation

Introduction to Revision Lists
Taxation records, also known as ревизские сказки, or revision lists, are an important source in Russian genealogy. These records, similar to a US census, can be used to track a family across time.

Revision Lists
In 1718, under the rule of Peter the Great, a new taxation system was created. This new taxation system was nicknamed the "soul" tax, as it taxed individuals rather than land or households as was done under previous taxation systems. Keep in mind that revision lists enumerated only the taxable population which excluded individuals, which in some revisions, meant nobility and clergy.

The first revision, or enumeration of the taxable population, was taken in 1719. There were ten revisions taken sporadically over the next approximately 150 years as illustrated below:

** Incomplete due to the Napoleonic War, the revision also contained only males.

Revision lists are organized first by uyezd or district, and then by social class, so you should know which uyezd and social class your ancestor belonged to. The most common social class was that of the крестьянин, or peasant class.

For more information about revision list history please read The Imperial Russian Revision Lists of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries by Joseph B. Everett.

State Historical Archives of Belarus in Grodno
The State Historical Archives of Belarus in Grodno contains very few revision list records for areas once a part of the Vilna gubernia.


 * 1834 Odnovortsy (single-homesteaders social estate, descendants of Moscow servicemen who were given homesteads) Revision Lists are found in Fond 24, Opis 7, Delo 417. These records are not available online. See this page for more information.

State Historical Archives of Lithuania in Vilnius
The State Historical Archives of Lithuania in Vilnius contain revision list records for Vileĭka, Vilna, Disna, Lida, Oshmiany, Sventsiany, and Troki uyezds.