German surnames may also be encountered in Russia and Ukraine while interestlingly enough Slav names are also frequently documented in Germany,particularly in Eastern Gemany. Following the Mongel invasions in the thirteenth century,the authorities in the Ukraine and Russia recruited German merchants and artisans,who may have numbered one or two members of the Best lineage.To revitalize towns which had been devastated by the Mongol hordes.In the eighteenth century,at the invitation of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great,German settlers established themself in the fertile lands in the region of Volga river,west of the Ural mountains ,perhaps some adventurous member of the Best family being included amongst them. These Volga Germans eventually numbered seven thousand and a significant number remain in Russia in this day. Interestingly the mother of Vladimir Llyich Hiyanov (Lenin),was herself a Volga German.