A View on the Early History of Audiovisual Archiving in Ukraine

The purpose of the investigation is to look into the early history of national audiovisual archiving, which began with the founding in 1932 and the formation of the All-Ukrainian CinePhoto Archives in Kyiv (now the Central State Audiovisual and Electronic Archives), which in time coincided with the establishment of totalitarianism in the USSR, and to reveal the infl uence of the latter on the formation of relevant archival practices and methodologies. The research methodology is based on general scientifi c principles of the unity of theory and practice, complexity, historicism, comprehensiveness of knowledge, and the application of interdisciplinary and sociocultural approaches. The basic approaches are complemented by a complex of research methods, in particular, problem-chronological, historical-cultural, critical-comparative, structuralfunctional analysis, as well as source studies methods (archival and bibliographic heuristics, systematization and interpretation of sources). Scientifi c novelty. The article describes the prerequisites for the creation and initiation of activities of the All-Ukrainian CinePhoto Archives in Kyiv as the fi rst national center for collecting and storing audiovisual heritage. The content, specifi cs, principles and directions of activity of the audiovisual archive are defi ned, the interconnection and interdependence of the archival reality and the political regime are revealed. The conclusion is formulated that the problem retains research perspectives, in particular in terms of comparing the Ukrainian experience with foreign models of audiovisual archiving and their results in the pre-war period.