Let’s help the family of Dmitry Drozd!

The archivist has been charged with "organizing mass disorder". Buy his book in order to support the family of Dmitry financially.

Having read the “Nashe Niva” article “Archivist in Prison,” I recalled my short meeting with Dmitry Drozdov. We met on the basis of a common pastime – creating genealogies.

Initially I noticed him on a genealogical forum on the internet. He was giving very sensible advice to newcomers. Then one day, having seen him in the reading room of the archive, I was unable to avoid the temptation and came to get acquainted for the first time.

When you work on drawing up a family tree on your own, you very much want to share your findings with someone, and even more when you get to a standstill, to seek a way out of it together. Dmitri never refused to help. He is a very intelligent person, with a lucid mind, and I always heard an answer to my question, before I even had time to properly formulate it. And in addition – a dozen different ideas, contributing to further search. Sometimes the most valuable ideas fell into the “piggy bank,” of a person with whom Dmitry had met half a minute previously.

He is bright, talented (apart from his admiration of history and genealogy, he writes poetry and is an enthusiastic photographer), with an open heart, and loves his native land; the state should be proud of such a citizen. In a nice way, I envy his mother, who managed to raise such a son.

When I heard about that Dmitry has issued a guide called “Landowners of Minsk Province 1861 – 1900”, I was glad for him, but I didn’t intend to buy the guide. It seemed to me that if my ancestors were not big landowners, then it was unlikely that I would need the book. But on opening the book and seeing the incredible amount of information placed there, it was clear that I could not do without it. Since there was no unowned land at that time – all of it belonged to someone – one way or another the fate of my ancestors was connected with the history of the estates and the destinies of their respective owners. Dmitry’s book did not deceive my hopes; it has become an essential reference guide for establishing ancestry: my hand stretches daily to the ledge with the “Guide”, where there are waiting the ready-made answers to my questions.

Dmitry published the book at his own expense and had time to implement only a small portion of the circulation (only 300 copies). Now his mother has to deal with it; the family, with a modest income, is in a dire financial situation after the arrest of Dmitry.

Here is information for those interested in the book by Dmitry Drozd or who want to help his mother: You can get the “Directory” in the store called “Akademkniga”, at 72, Independence Avenue.

It is also possible to contact the family of Dmitry Drozd via the website VGD.RU and the personal website of Dmitry .

In this case, the book will cost less than the normal retail price.

Svetlana Mikhalovskaya, retired