Central State Archive of Public Organizations and Ukrainica TsDAHOU e-resource

Overview

The Central State Archive of Public Organizations and Ukrainica (TsDAHOU; Ukrainian: Центральний державний архів громадських об'єднань України та Украніки) is a Ukrainian state archival institution established in 2022 through the merger of two earlier bodies: the Central State Archive of Public Organizations of Ukraine (TsDAHO, founded 1929) and the Central State Archive of Foreign Ucrainica (TsDAZU). It is the only Ukrainian state archive dedicated exclusively to the documentary heritage of social and political organizations and to Ukrainian diaspora materials created or preserved abroad. The archive's e-resource portal provides online access to digitized finding aids and selected collections.

History and Founding

The institutional predecessor, TsDAHO, was founded in 1929 as the United Party Archives of the Party's History and October Revolution Institute in Ukraine, attached to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Over subsequent decades it underwent multiple name changes and jurisdictional shifts reflecting Soviet political reorganizations. In 1991, following Ukrainian independence, it was reorganized as the Archives of the Communist Party of Ukraine, and thereafter reconstituted as a state archive. In 2022, pursuant to a Cabinet of Ministers decree (No. 732, 28 June 2022) to optimize the central state archives system, TsDAHO and TsDAZU were merged to form TsDAHOU.

Collections and Holdings

TsDAHOU holds documents spanning the full range of Ukraine's modern social and political history. The core holdings include the records of the Communist Party of Ukraine — 24 collections of the CPU Central Committee — along with documentation of youth organizations (Komsomol), partisan movements of World War II, and post-war dissident activities. TsDAHOU is also home to the celebrated "Prague Archive" — materials of Ukrainian émigré scholarly and cultural institutions from the interwar period, including records of the Ukrainian People's Republic government-in-exile, military organizations, émigré student groups, publishers, and research institutes. The archive holds personal records of prominent Ukrainian figures including M. Hrushevsky, V. Vynnychenko, P. Tychyna, O. Dovzhenko, and many others. The diaspora materials from TsDAZU include documents of the World Congress of Free Ukrainians, the State Center of the Ukrainian People's Republic in exile, and numerous community and cultural organizations from Canada, France, the United States, and other countries.

Notable Materials for Media and Journalism Research

The archive preserves rare diaspora publications, including periodicals, newspapers, and bulletins produced by Ukrainian émigré communities worldwide. The collection of the Ukrainian Democratic Youth Association, the Ukrainian National Unity in France, and similar organizations contains significant press and media materials reflecting Ukrainian cultural life abroad across the twentieth century.

Access and Usage

The TsDAHOU e-resource portal at e.tsdahou.archives.gov.ua provides online access to finding aids and digitized document collections. In-person access to holdings is available at the archive's Kyiv facility. The archive operates under the State Archival Service of Ukraine.