The Archival Ucrainica: institutionalization of research

Abstract

The article shows the development and nature of the concept “Archival Ucrainicaˮ, the process of its introduction into scholarly and public circulation, and maps the process of institutionalization of archival Ukrainian studies as a field of archival and source studies. The history of the development of the concept is related to the period of state formation during the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921. The presence of the term “Ucrainicaˮ in the library sphere, as opposed to the archival sphere, is pointed out, as well as the beginning of practical activities of archivists in the return of documents of Ukrainian origin forcibly removed from Russia. The article also presents the formation of the legal basis for the identification, registration and return of archival Ukrainian literature after the restoration of Ukraine's state independence. The text outlines the factors that led to the emergence of Ukrainian archival research: connected with worldview, which guided Ukrainian society toward a non-binding understanding of history and created the need to expand the source base of Ukrainian studies; connected with research, which, against the backdrop of overcoming the artificial limitations of certain fields of archaeology, archival science, sources, historical research and the active formation of the information society, stimulated the development of the concept of creating an information system that would collect information on Ukrainian archival documents; cultural, which realized the need for the spiritual revival of Ukrainians, who had long remained inthe shadow of ideological restrictions, and the establishment of effective scientific and creative contacts with Ukrainians abroad. Attention was paid to the activities of the Main Archival Board of Ukraine, the Central State Archives of Foreign Ucrainica, the Ukrainian Research Institute of Archival and Documentary Studies, and the role of Hennadiy Boriak in the development of Ukrainian archival science was shown. The article also highlights the problems of practical implementation of the tasks of identifying, registering and returning to Ukraine documents of Ukrainian origin.