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Center for Research on the Liberation Movement Policy of National Remembrance Group in the Reanimation Package of Reforms Initiative Open Archives Program Transition Promotion Program of the Czech Republic Open access to the KGB archives in Eastern Partnership Analytical Report Edited by Anna Oliinyk Kyiv 2017 2 Declassified: The Success of Ukraine’s Open Archives Andriy Kohut, Director of Archives of Security Service of Ukraine April 9, 2015 became a turning point in the to restore the violated rights, but also demon­ field of access to the KGB archives in Ukraine. strates that information about all crimes, sooner The law “On Access to the Repressive Bodies of or later, will become known to the public. the Communist Totalitarian Regime of 1917– In order not to repeat the totalitarian prac­ 1991 Archives” was passed by the Ukrainian tices of the past it is important to inform the so­ Parliament on that day. The bill, which was con­ ciety of how the repressive regimes are formed sidered by the Supreme Council, was submitted and the methods they use. by the Cabinet of Ministers together with three When in early 2014 the Ukrainian govern­ other “decommunization” laws. ment tried to recommence totalitarian go­ It is not a new practice to have a specific law vernmental methods (“dictatorial laws of Jan­ that regulates access to documents of the for­ uary 16”) in order to maintain its position, this mer secret services of totalitarian and autho­ led to human casualties and the occupation of ritarian regimes repressive bodies. Almost all part of the state territory by Russian troops. This former socialist camp Central and Eastern Euro­ is a vivid example of the fact that sometimes pean countries and some former Soviet repub­ the right to information prevails over the right lics have similar acts. Prior to that, access to all to privacy. The right to information ultimately archival documents in Ukraine was re gulated benefits for the right to life ensuring. by the general law “On the National Archival Fund and Archival Institutions”, adopted in Before the Archival late 1993. The law “On Access to the Repressive Bodies Law of 2015 Archives” is based on the understanding that When deciding whether to provide access democratic transit is impossible without re­ to the KGB archives or not the archivists have spect for human rights and freedoms. In order encountered many documents. In addition to for the totalitarian regime with its poli tical re­ the framework archival law “On the National Ar­ pressions and other persecutions not to repeat, chival Fund and Archival Institutions”, a number it must be analyzed and studied. In particular, of laws and other normative acts were taken it relates to archival documents, which often into account. These acts might be interpreted serve as the only source of information about ambiguously, so they were used both to grant the tragic events of the past. access and to limit it. Everything depended on Democratization of the special services the political situation and the desires of the ar­ and the police cannot properly be implement­ chives administration, the head of Ukrainian ed if they continue to guard archives contain­ National Archives and the relevant body in the ing information on massive violations of hu­ case of branch state archives (for example, the man rights and continue to use methods from voice of the Security Service or the Minister of their predecessors’ archives. Building up new Internal Affairs). force institutions is, among other things, pos­ The practice existed when archives inter­ sible through breaking the chain of succession preted the law too widely. For example, they which, de facto, existed until the spring of 2014. denied access to files of so­called “unrehabili­ Free access to the communist special ser­ tated” persons, while such a ban was not pro­ vices archives not only provides an opportunity vided by any normative legal act. Only the files 3 of rehabilitated persons were provided for ex­ cuments and attempts to prosecute for work­ amination, and the permission of relatives was ing with these documents revealed the neces­ required. Sometimes it was impossible to get sity for an integrated approach regarding the such permission as the direct relatives might issue of the communist special services ar­ not stay alive. chives openness. Work on New Legislation Digital Archive The necessity of applying the European It was a tactical decision to publish these countries experience in Ukraine was main­ documents in order to make sure the access streamed in 2010 when humanitarian policy to them would not be closed, as the law pro­ has undergone significant changes as a result of vides for the documents once published may the presidential election. The changes also cov­ not be re­classified. Before his dismissal, Volo­ ered the issue of access to the KGB documents. dymyr Viatrovych managed to transfer digitized The first signal of change was the director of the copies of documents, made in the archives at National Memorial Museum for the Memory of that time, to two universities — Ivan Franko Lviv Victims Occupational Regimes “Prison on Lonts­ National University and the Kyiv­Mohyla Acade­ kiy” Ruslan Zabily detention. On September 8, my. The idea of creating a digital archive for the 2010 SBU officers came across him at the cen­ publication of a large number of archival docu­ tral railway station in Kyiv. ments arose. He was charged with attempting to divulge In 2011, the Research Center for the Libera­ the state secret. His computer was seized as well tion Movement (Scientific Public Organization) as the hard disks containing electronic copies of together with the Ivan Franko Lviv National Uni­ the NKVD­KGB documents, which were made versity and the National Memorial Museum for both in the SBU Archives and in the archives the Memory of Victims Occupational Regimes of the Baltic countries. The SBU explained that “Prison on Lontsky” (headed by Ruslan Zabi­ “state secret” refers to the NKVD­KGB docu­ lyi) star ted a project to set up an electronic ar­ ments, archival materials about the repressions chive of the Ukrainian liberation movement. In of the Bolshevik regime and the struggle of the March 2013, the E­archive was launched and so communist special services against the libera­ far it has published more than 24,000 copies of tion movement. documents. De jure, according to Ukrainian legislation, A long­term and strategic decision was to such documents were not secret as they did not work on legislative changes. There was a need contain state secret and did not have stamps of for a document that would clearly regulate ac­ restrictions on access to information. The first cess to the archives of the communist special time these documents were given the equal services in Ukraine. and unhindered access was after Volodymyr Viatrovych became the SBU archives head in 2008, and the Special Presidential Decree was International Programs issued. But things changed after Yanukovych The Research Center for the Liberation came to power. Information about repressions Movement has developed and began imple­ and murders, the struggle against the Ukrainian mentation of the international program “Open liberation movement and massive violations of Archives”. It started in 2010: during the following human rights in the twentieth century was con­ years the experts have studied the experience sidered as secret again. of other Central and Eastern European coun­ Due to public reaction, actions of civil so­ tries, have organized conferences, academic ciety and scientists all over the world, Zabily and practical seminars, focus­groups, sociolog­ was defended. But the precedent of an abrupt ical researches, explained how to work with the change in the policy of access to the KGB do­ archives and where to apply for the information 4 about people’s relatives. Several digests about Today, the law provides open access to the European and Ukrainian archives and algo­ Soviet Union repressive bodies documents or rithms for their usage have been issued, profes­ the KGB archives for all comers. The next stage sional network Facebook community was creat­ in the implementation of the law should be ed (10 000 users), those who have just started the creation of the Ukrainian National Memo­ the research work could gain the consultation. ry Institute archive. One of the key challenges The Revolution of Dignity has made its own is finding the resources for arranging the new adjustments and brought new opportunities. archive premises. The experts created a working group “The Natio­ In comparison with the legislation of other nal Memory Policy” in the public coalition “The Central and Eastern European countries, the Reanimation Package of Reforms”, to which they Ukrainian law on access to special services ar­ were also co­founders. The coalition has had a chives gives more opportunities both for scien­ great potential to advocate for reforms at the tific research and for finding relatives who legislative level, and the working group brought have been victims of totalitarian regimes. It is together many experts from different fields. the most liberal among the specific European The bill resulted from lengthy consultations, legislation. improvements, focus groups, parliamentary Access to archives is an opportunity to bet­ round tables in cooperation with the relevant ter explore and understand the events of the Verkhovna Rada Committee of Spirituality and 20th century, to reinterpret and analyze the Culture etc. On April 9, 2015, on a shortened re­ causes and consequences of different process­ view procedure the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme es, and also to deconstruct those myths that Council) by 261 votes adopted the bill as a basis continue to affect modernity. and, as a whole. On May 15, the law was signed The Ukrainian reform experience can be use­ by the President and came into force on May ful for colleagues from the Eastern Partnership 21, five years after the Open Archives program states who still cannot fully access the commu­ started.

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