David Duchovny

You turn to HuffPost for news you trust. That trust is only possible because readers like you fund it. Become a member and keep independent journalism strong. Ad-free access on the HuffPost website OR HuffPost apps Say goodbye to annoying video interruptions while you read. No more autoplay videos. Great entertainment journalism goes deeper than gossip. Become a member and help support reporting that explores the people, trends and moments shaping culture. There's been quite a fuss about a nationalistic, Russian beer commercial David Duchovny made not long ago -- especially given that he recently discovered that his roots are actually in Ukraine. For obvious reasons, this is less than ideal timing. As a genealogist who also has Ukrainian roots, but grew up being told she was Russian (Smolenyak -- we must be from Smolensk, of course!), I decided to take a look into the specifics of Duchovny's case. Using additional details provided in his declaration of intent -- specifically, that he arrived on the Constantine from Piraeus, Greece on March 7, 1916 -- it's possible to back into his passenger arrival record despite the distortion of his name. He and his son, Moise, are both listed as "Douharmi," but this is definitely the same Duchovny fellow in the declaration, and if you read the rest of the details, you'll learn that his wife, Dobe, was back at home in "Beardichef, Russia" -- what's now known as Berdychiv, Ukraine . Lest there be any lingering doubt that this is the correct fellow, David's grandparents married twice (immigrants sometimes did this, usually starting with a civil ceremony and following with a religious one), and in both instances, Moshe's parents were noted as Abraham and Dora, just as expected. His birth place on both records? "Russia." The bottom line is that David's Duchovny grandfather and great-grandparents were originally from Berdychiv, which by today's borders, is clearly in Ukraine, but Ukraine as an independent country was a distant dream when the family left in 1916. The immigrants themselves repeatedly identified themselves as Russian, and upon applying for American citizenship, Abraham renounced his allegiance to "Russia, or any independent state within the bounds of the former Russian Empire." So it's easy to see why David would have been raised with the impression that he was of Russian heritage, and short of a deep dive into his ancestry, it would have been difficult for him to learn otherwise. Admittedly the commercial could have been better timed, but you can't fault the timing of his immigrant ancestors whose 1916 departure was just shy of the 1917 Russian Revolution, a 1919 pogram in Berdychiv, and widespread destruction of the city by Soviet troops in 1920. Was That A Baseball Team Or A Fever Dream? Meet The Savannah Bananas. Will Ferrell Names The 1 Movie He Thought Would Ruin His Career: ‘What Have You Done?’ Megan Rapinoe Explains Why U.S. Women’s Team Was Better Prepared For Trump World Cup Drama Prankster Exposes The Wild Explanation 1 Trump Supporter Has For 'Hottest' July 4th In D.C.