The mission of the State Archive of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance is to provide free access to the original files of all Soviet Ukraine repressive agencies and to store them in one place. It should be a modern archival building that uses the latest technologies for the most convenient work of archivists and users with documents.

The State Archive of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance should become the only point of entry for all who wish to investigate the formation and collapse of totalitarian regimes, collect evidence of communist crimes, identify perpetrators, restore unknown pages of history about families and significant historical events.

The Archive will provide access to information through the digitization of files and the creation of various online databases. The preparatory work of the researcher will begin with the website, where the maximum array of information will be posted so that everyone can work with electronic files and documents. In the reading room of the archive it will be possible to get acquainted directly with the original documents.

What information will be stored in our Archive? This is not just data on repressed citizens. Though this is a large and important amount of materials, but not the only one. It is important to collect evidence in the archives of the crimes of the communist totalitarian regime, how the special services acted, violating the rights and freedoms of man and citizen.

Therefore, our archive will store absolutely all information on any media that was created, received or was in the repressive authorities. Such information can be contained in different types of documents: already mentioned criminal (investigative) cases, cases on personnel issues (personnel), on issues of financial support of employees (cash support cards), personal, working cases of freelance employees of repressive bodies, operational and investigative (counterintelligence) and other operational cases, internal, incoming and outgoing correspondence, etc. 

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Why should historical archives not be stored in modern secret services?

Archival documents should not be stored in the archives of modern special services and law enforcement agencies. Preservation of historical documents and study of the history of Ukraine are not functions of law enforcement agencies. 

The continued presence of documents of repressive bodies makes these law enforcement agencies certain successors of the shameful practice that existed in the USSR. Therefore, it is important to get rid of this legacy of the Soviet totalitarian past.

In addition, in law enforcement agencies, historical documents for 1917-1991 are kept in non-specialized archives, often in places with limited or regime-secret access. 

This is inconvenient for both - the archive staff and visitors.

These archives do not have the ability to digitize documents by involving people and equipment from outside. Visitors such as scholars or journalists need to spend extra time every day to get passes and to schedule the appointment a long time before.

The State Archive of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance. Building and reconstruction.

In June 2019, we took a step closer to our goal of building a modern Archive in Ukraine. After all, on June 5, the Archive of National Remembrance received from the National Bank of Ukraine a building of 11 thousand square meters on the Pukhivska St, 7, Kyiv. And on June 25, the Archive appeared as a separate legal entity.

We have already done all the bureaucratic procedures for the reconstruction of the building, and collected the necessary documentation in order to begin reconstruction. The Archive received a positive expert report on the already developed project documentation. Moreover, thanks to the joint work of archivists and architects, it was possible to increase the total usable area of the future Archive by two thirds – from 11,000 square meters to almost 17,500 square meters.

However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ukrainian Parliament amended the State Budget for 2020, and in April the Archive of National Remembrance withdrew all funds for the reconstruction of the building in the amount of UAH 57.6 million.

This case forced the Archive to cancel the already announced tender for the search for a general contractor. Unfortunately, the war unleashed by Russia was a blow in the back for all of Ukraine, and for us as well. Therefore, today we have suspended the reconstruction of the building until Ukraine wins a full-scale war.

What is the current situation?

Our team does not take the pause for reconstruction as a verdict. 

In 2020 the Archive established a Consultation Center for the search of information about the repressed. We have already helped hundreds of Ukrainians to find information about their family's past.

We strive to create more than just an institution where millions of documents will be stored. We want to implement the best European archival practices in Ukraine. The team of the Archive of National Remembrance wants to unite around themselves historians, scientists, journalists and, of course, all those who want to know the truth about the history of Ukraine and their repressed relatives - freely, without exhausting and long bureaucracy.

Only by organizing and speaking about our past will we be able to move towards a conscious and successful future.