The Ministry of Internal Affairs cancels the “For official use” collar from archival documents concerning the repressive organs of the communist totalitarian regime of 1917 — 1991
The Commission on work with official information in the apparatus of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine canceled the title “For official use” from the files of the sectoral state archive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which relate to mass deportations of the population from the territory of Western Ukraine in the 1940s and 1950s.
The Law of Ukraine “On Access to the Archives of the Repressive Organs of the Communist Totalitarian Regime of 1917 — 1991” obliges the managers of archival information to provide and publish archival information on repressive bodies, and it is forbidden to attribute archival information of repressive bodies to official information.
“The purpose of this law is to ensure the openness of archival information of repressive bodies and to prohibit the restriction of access to it. Therefore, the documents of repressive bodies should be available to the public, including by posting on official websites,” said Ivan Sophiga.
The funds of the Branch State Archive contain documents relating to mass deportations of the population from the territory of Western Ukraine in the 1940s and 1950s, echelon lists of citizens of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Lviv regions.
The Commission also decided to recommend that the Sectoral State Archive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs continue its work on reviewing archival cases in order to identify such information and make it known to the public.
