The KGB and its predecessors were one of the key institutions of the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of the Communist Party, they were responsible for controlling society moods, surveillance and repressing dissidents, conducting espionage and disinformation operations, and much more. Virtually all documents created by the Chekists were secret or top secret. The first waves to open the KGB Archives in the early 1990s demonstrated the crucial role of secret services documents in understanding the history of the Soviet Union. After the decommunization reform in 2015, the KGB records in Ukraine are today one of the largest open Archives of the Soviet secret services. The presentation will discuss what KGB Archives in Ukraine preserve, the features of the fоnds and the types of archival files, and what conditions of access are guaranteed by law.

Andriy Kohut is a Director of the Sectoral State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine. SSU Archive stores today the largest collection of the declassified KGB files. He received his Ph.D. in History from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, and his M.A. in History from Ivan Franko Lviv National University. His research and professional interests cover a range of issues related to the Soviet deportation, history of communist secret services in the 20th century, the politics of memory, and cultural diplomacy. He also has professional experience in NGO's (Ukraine, Eastern Partnership and EU).

Former Head of the "Digital Archive of the Ukrainian Liberation Movement" (avr.org.ua) project. 

Author, co-author and co-editor of a series of books. Such as "Chernobyl KGB Dossier", "Crimean Tatar National Movement in 1917–1920 According to the Archives of the Communist Secret Services", "The Great Terror in Ukraine: German Operation 1937–1938. Collection of documents", "KGB Archives for media" handbook.

Recent articles are focused on the Stalinist's deportations from Western Ukraine.