About eArchive

Founders and Participants of the Project

The project "Diplomatic eArchive" was implemented on the initiative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, with the efforts of the project team and employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, based on the concept developed by the Chairperson of the Scientific Society of the History of Diplomacy and International Relations, Prof. Iryna Matiash, with the support of international partners – UNDP in Ukraine and funding from the Government of Japan.

The project was directly supported by:

• Victoria Lyalina-Boiko, Director of the Department of Public Diplomacy and Communications of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
• Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Bulgaria, Olesya Ilashchuk, and the advisor of the Embassy of Ukraine to the Republic of Bulgaria, PhD in History, Anna Tertychna, who facilitated the inclusion of unique archival documents on Ukrainian-Bulgarian diplomatic relations in 1918-1919.

Founding State Bodies/Organizations:

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine,
• Scientific Society of the History of Diplomacy and International Relations,
• State Archival Service of Ukraine.

Archival Institutions:

• Sectoral State Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine,
• Central State Archive of Higher Authorities and Government of Ukraine,
• Central State Archive of Public Organizations and Ukrainica,
• Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art of Ukraine,
• Central State Archive of Audiovisual and Electronic Documents,
• Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine, Lviv,
• Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine, Kyiv,
• State Archives of Ukrainian Regions,
• State Archive of Kyiv.

The list of participating archival institutions is open and may be supplemented.

Project Goal

The portal aims to create a valuable digital resource that highlights the continuity of historical traditions in Ukrainian diplomacy, the contribution of Ukrainian diplomats to the development of international relations, and demonstrates Ukraine’s commitment to the principles of transparency and integrity in foreign relations.

The project’s objective is to form a digital array of archival documents (an open information portal) that will accumulate documents on the development of the Ukrainian diplomatic service, the activities of Ukrainian diplomatic missions and consular institutions, foreign missions accredited to the Ukrainian People's Republic/ Ukrainian State/ Ukrainian SSR/ Ukraine, reflecting the development of the Ukrainian diplomatic service, the activities of Ukrainian diplomatic missions and consular institutions, and foreign diplomatic missions in Ukraine, the formation of public diplomacy tools, and the work of Ukrainian diplomats who contributed to its establishment, including those who remained in emigration or were repressed. The project also covers the negotiation process and signing of international agreements, diplomatic consultations, bilateral and multilateral talks, and Ukraine’s participation in international organizations.

The documents include titles and archival legends, and they present paper-based documents, photos, audio, and video materials.

In addition to forming the resource base, the project envisions creating a list of institutions and organizations that preserve relevant documents, as well as accumulating information about Ukrainian diplomatic history documents found in foreign archives.

The creation of a comprehensive information resource dedicated to the history of the Ukrainian diplomatic service and the formation of bilateral relations between Ukraine and foreign countries, which will be regularly updated, has not only institutional but also scientific and state significance.

With the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, the Diplomatic eArchive gains additional importance as a means of preserving documents related to institutional history, expanding access to these materials from anywhere in the world.