The Estonian delegation headed by Liisa-Ly Pakosta, Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs of the Republic of Estonia, visited the State Archival Service of Ukraine. Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Ukraine, and Anatolii Khromov, Head of the State Archival Service of Ukraine, briefed the guests on the work of Ukrainian archives, in particular, the process of digitisation of documents.

One of the main areas of work of archives today is digitisation, which is being actively implemented and ensures preservation and access to documents.

“Digitisation of archives is an important step not only to preserve our historical heritage, but also to ensure openness and access to this information for everyone, including our international partners. We count on the support and cooperation of our foreign partners to preserve the National Archival Fund of Ukraine in the face of russia’s constant shelling of Ukrainian cities. It is about protecting our national memory and identity,” said Olha Stefanishyna.

She thanked the archivists for their work on preserving priceless documents on the history of the Ukrainian state. According to the State Archival Service, in 2023, Ukrainian archives produced more than 21 million digital copies of documents, reaching the top positions in the world in terms of digitisation speed.

According to Anatolii Khromov, more than fifty operators are currently working in the system of state archives, each of which makes about 2,000 copies every day. Despite the ongoing war and frequent power outages affecting archival institutions, there are plans to digitise at least 30 million document copies this year.

During the visit, the Estonian delegation had the opportunity to see the originals of unique documents from the collections of the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Kyiv, the Central State Audiovisual and Electronic Archives of Ukraine, and the Central State Archives of Supreme Bodies of Power and Government of Ukraine.

The participants of the meeting noted the important role of digital technologies in providing access to historical documents for future generations.