Central State Audiovisual and Electronic Archive of Ukraine TsDAEA

Overview

The Central State Audiovisual and Electronic Archive of Ukraine (TsDAEA; Ukrainian: Центральний державний аудіовізуальний та електронний архів України) is the principal Ukrainian state repository for documentary audiovisual and electronic records. It was formed in 2022 by the merger of the Central State Archive of Film, Photo, and Phonographic Documents of Ukraine named after H. Pshenychnyi (TsDKFFA, founded 1932) and the Central State Electronic Archive of Ukraine (TsDEA). The archive operates under the State Archival Service of Ukraine and is located in Kyiv.

History and Founding

The principal predecessor institution, TsDKFFA, was established in 1932 in Kyiv as the All-Ukrainian Central Archive of Documentary Films and Photographs. It was not evacuated during the German invasion of 1941, and significant portions of its early holdings were lost or destroyed during the occupation. The archive was rebuilt in the postwar period and received its designation as the Central State Archive of Film, Photo, and Phonographic Documents in 1992. It was named in honor of Hryhorii Pshenychnyi, a prominent Ukrainian documentary filmmaker. In 2022, pursuant to a Cabinet of Ministers decree (No. 732), TsDKFFA and TsDEA were merged to form the current TsDAEA.

Collections and Holdings

TsDAEA is described as Ukraine's largest repository of retrospective documentary audiovisual information. The film collection numbers more than 12,000 film documents from 1896 to the present, including silent and sound documentaries, newsreels, feature films, and television episodes. Among the earliest holdings are fragmentary episodes from Tsar Nicholas II's 1896 coronation, footage from the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava (1909), and early aviation footage (1911). The archive holds newsreels and documentaries produced by VUFKU and Ukrakinokhronika of the 1920s–30s, and extensive materials from the Kyiv Feature Film Studio. The photographic collection contains over 350,000 individual items, and the sound archives hold over 21,000 tapes and phonographic records. A valuable segment of the collection is dedicated to Ukrainian diaspora communities abroad, including over 800 photographs from 1919–1938 documenting Ukrainian émigré life in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and France, and documentary films from the V. Avramenko collection reflecting community life in the United States and Canada.

Notable Materials for Media and Journalism Research

The archive's extensive holdings of Soviet-era Ukrainian newsreels, documentary films, and television materials, combined with diaspora documentary collections, make it an essential resource for researchers of Ukrainian media history. Its catalog is available online through the State Archival Service of Ukraine portal.

Access and Usage

The TsDAEA is located at 24 Solomyanska Street, Kyiv. Its online catalog is accessible at tsdaea.archives.gov.ua. Researchers may access holdings in person; access to the full holdings is open to researchers.