The archival materials stored in the SSU Sectoral State Archive contain data that allow foreign researchers to study modus operandi of russian special services.

This was stated by the Director of the SSU Archive, Andrii Kohut, in an interview for the Glavkom online media outlet.

‘Of course, foreigners apply often. They are interested in how a typical FSB officer works. And the KGB documents tell about the methodology of a current FSB officer, how they work. Putin is a KGBist himself. And in russia’s FSB, they still work according to KGB templates. For our partners today, it is important to understand their methods of work,’ said Andrii Kohut.

This is of interest not only to those researching the Soviet past, but also to the intelligence agencies of partner states with which Ukraine is cooperating closely.

For example, a researcher from Japan is using the SSU Archive to study disinformation campaigns conducted by the USSR, comparing them to the current info- and psyops of the aggressor state.

‘Although russians are now using modern tools, such as social media, the patterns remain the same,’ explains the SSU Archive’s Chief.

Today, the SSU Archive is one of the most open. Last year alone, almost 5 terabytes of information were provided at the request of citizens, including information about their repressed relatives.

According to Andrii Kohut, the most researched topics are the Holodomor [man-made famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933] and the ‘Executed Renaissance’ period, while relatively fewer studies have been published on Ukrainian dissidents. The SSU Archive has a lot of such material, yet to be studied and processed.

After Ukraine gained independence, archival cooperation with the russians lasted until 2004, but then was suspended. During that period, the SSU Archive managed to obtain copies of some files, including those related to Les Kurbas and his execution in the Sandarmokh tract.

Now, the researchers are planning to publish, in cooperation with the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, the 11^th volume of documents on deportation of citizens from the Western Ukraine in 1940-1941 as a result of Soviet occupation, as well as books on the Ukrainian People’s Republic in 1919-1920.

‘Today, the openness of the SSU Archive shows that the Ukrainian Security Service is modern and transparent. It has nothing in common with the soviet KGB. On the contrary, the current SSU has cleared itself of the old legacy, leaving it only for study and analysis,’ Andrii Kohut summed up.