Archival Heritage as a Vehicle for Historical Policy in Modern Ukraine: 2014–early 2019

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УДК 94(47)

DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2019-3-751-766

Efim I. Pivovar, Alxander V. Gushchin, Alexander S. Levchenkov

Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russian Federation

Archival Heritage as a Vehicle for Historical Policy in Modern Ukraine: 2014–early 2019

Abstract

This article is devoted to the role of archival heritage in the work of Ukrainian archives, while forming historical policy in Ukraine in the period from 2014 to 2019. Having studied official information resources of the archival service of Ukraine and its subordinate Ukrainian archival institutions, the authors analyze the features of the historical policy realized with the archives’ help. This allows to better understand an attempt to create a new concept of the Ukrainian history, one that denies positive experience of common historical and cultural heritage of the peoples of Ukraine and Russia. Archival heritage and archival school of Ukraine are among largest and most important in the post-Soviet space. However, the period from 2014 to 2019 is characterized by a radical change in the vector of development of Ukraine, which affected not just foreign policy and economy, but humanitarian sphere as well. In particular, this turn has manifested itself in a purposeful escalation of confrontation with Russia and in anti-Russian narrative. This policy has also affected the activities of the Ukrainian archives and the Ukrainian archival service, as they have become an important element in its development. There is a series of documents publications, archival exhibitions, and archivists’ and archive managers’ interviews to prove this. Although the recent developments have hindered the cooperation of Russian and Ukrainian historians and archivists, the Russian specialists and the Rosarkhiv continue to study the history of Ukraine, to introduce new sources into scientific use, to counter falsification of history and disjunction of historical memory of the peoples of Russia and Ukraine. The authors note that a deep and objective understanding of the historical past of Ukraine is impossible without cooperation with Russian historians and archivists and express their hope that scientific approaches and methods will prevail over the short-term political conjuncture.

Keywords

Archives, historical policy, historical and archival heritage of Russia and Ukraine, National Archival Foundation, Rosarchiv, Ukrainian State Archive, Ukraine.

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References

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Ukrainskie natsionalisticheskie organizatsii v gody Vtoroi mirovoi vojny. 1939-1945. Dokumenty v 2 tomakh [Ukrainian nationalist organizations in the days of the Second World War: 1939-1945. Documents in 2 volumes. In Russ.]. Vol. 2. Moscow, ROSSPEN publ., 2012, 1167 p.

About authors

Pivovar Efim Iosifovich, PhD in History, professor, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN), Russian State University for Humanities, President, director of the Institute for post-soviet and interregional studies, Moscow, Russian Federation, +7-495-250-69-10, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Guschin Alexander Vladimirovich, PhD in History, associate professor, department of post-Soviet countries, Russian State University for, assistant professor, Moscow, Russian Federation, +7-926-010-94-94, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Levchenkov Alexander Stanislavovich, PhD in History, associate professor, department of post-Soviet countries, Russian State University for, assistant professor, Moscow, Russian Federation, +7-926-153-30-11, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Grant information

The article has been prepared within the framework of execution of the state task on the project “Russia and Eurasia: Foreign policy, economic and humanitarian cooperation in early 21st century” (publication no. 33.9610.2017/8.9).

Submitted 10.03.2019, published (for citation):

PIVOVAR, E. I., GUSHCHIN, A. V., LEVCHENKOV, A. S. Arkhivnoe nasledie sovremennoi Ukrainy kak instrumentarii istoricheskoi politiki. 2014-i - nachalo 2019 g. [Archival Heritage as a Vehicle for Historical Policy in Modern Ukraine: 2014–early 2019. In Russ.]. IN: Vestnik arhivista / Herald of an Archivist, 2019, no. 3, pp. 751-766. doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2019-3-751-766

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