Central State Archives of Supreme Bodies of Power and Government of Ukraine TsDAVO

Overview

The Central State Archives of Supreme Bodies of Power and Government of Ukraine (TsDAVO; Ukrainian: Центральний державний архів вищих органів влади та управління України) is a Kyiv-based national state archive that serves as the main repository for the records of Ukraine's supreme governmental and legislative bodies from 1917 to the present. It holds 3,396 fonds comprising more than 2.15 million storage units and operates under the State Archival Service of Ukraine.

History and Founding

The archive's origins date to 1921, when the Central Archives of Revolution was established to preserve documents of the revolutionary movement and early institutions of 1917. The Central Employment Archives (1926) and the All-Ukrainian Central State Archives (1930) were subsequently incorporated. Plans for a consolidated central archive were disrupted by World War II: in July 1941, collections were evacuated to Zlatoust in the Urals, where they remained until late 1943. The archive began operating in Kyiv in December 1943, passed through Kharkiv in 1945–1969, and was transferred back to Kyiv in December 1969. In 1992, following Ukrainian independence, it assumed its current name — TsDAVO of Ukraine.

Collections and Holdings

TsDAVO's collections span Ukraine's governmental and political history from 1917 through the post-independence period. Key holdings include records of the supreme legislative and executive bodies of the Ukrainian SSR and independent Ukraine; documents of national institutions, enterprises, trade unions, public associations, and religious organizations; the extensive 'Prague Archive' of Ukrainian émigré governmental and cultural institutions active between the world wars; records of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA); and materials documenting the Nazi occupation regime, including funds of the Reich Commissariat of Ukraine and related bodies. The archive also holds original acts of Ukraine's Declaration of Independence and materials related to the preparation of its constitution.

Notable Materials for Media and Research

The 'Prague Archive' subset includes publications, records of émigré educational institutions and research institutes, archives of museums and libraries active in the Ukrainian diaspora, and cultural organizational records from the interwar period — making it an invaluable source for scholars of Ukrainian journalism and cultural publishing abroad. Documents from the post-independence period are updated annually.

Access and Usage

The archive is accessible to researchers and provides online finding aids through the State Archival Service of Ukraine portal. In-person visits to the reading room are available in Kyiv. More information is available at tsdavo.gov.ua.