Ukrainian Diplomatic Archive as a Source of Research on the Activities of the Japanese Consulate in Odessa in the Interwar Period

The purpose of the study is to clarify the source potential of the Ukrainian Diplomatic Archive for studying the specifics of the activities of the Japanese Consulate in Odesa in the interwar period. The research methodology is based on the principles of scientificity, historicism, systematicity and general scientific and special scientific methods, in particular archival heuristics and source criticism. The scientific novelty of the research results lies in the reconstruction of the Ukrainian component of the source base of the activity of the Japanese consulate in Odesa in the interwar period. Conclusions: The main array of documents related to the activities of the Japanese consular institution in Odesa in the interwar period was not preserved in Ukrainian archives. At that time, Ukraine was part of the USSR, was deprived of the right to engage in foreign policy activities and interacted with foreign missions within the framework of all-Union instructions. Soviet special services also supervised foreign missions. The Branch State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine holds a relevant documentary complex, which includes three thematic groups: reports on the results of supervising the heads of the Consulate of Japan in Odesa; reports on the results of supervising consulate staff; copies of intercepted consul reports on the economic and social policy of the USSR, the state of industry and agriculture. The source base for the study of the activities of the Japanese Consulate in Odesa is wider than the documents of the special services and is part of the Ukrainian Diplomatic Archive in the segment of Ukrainian-Japanese relations. Despite the fact that the activity of the consulate can be considered only as a diplomatic presence of Japan on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR, documentary information indicates direct contacts of Japanese diplomats with Ukrainian state bodies, plans to start trade relations with the Ukrainian SSR, etc. Documents on this topic are also in the Central State Archive of Supreme Authorities of Ukraine, state archives of Odesa and Mykolaiv regions. The creation of the Diplomatic e-archive will help expand access to documents about the activities of foreign missions in Ukraine and Ukrainian-Japanese relations