Central Union of Ukrainian Students (1922–1981)
| Name | Central Union of Ukrainian Students (1922–1981) |
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| Catalog Number | T-USUS | |
| Volume | 23 inventory units; 1 box | |
| State of Cataloging | The entire collection has been catalogued and is freely accessible to researchers | |
| Languages of Documents | Mostly Ukrainian |
The Central Union of Ukrainian Students (Tsentral’nyi Soiuz Ukrains’koho Studentstva – TSeSUS, 1922–1981), which was founded in Prague, associated Ukrainian students living outside the USSR. In 1934, its headquarters were moved to Vienna. The chairmen of the organisation until 1945 included Petro Gan, Ihor Fediv, Mykola Masiukevich, Vasyl‘ Orelec‘kyi, Stepan Nyzhankivs‘kyi, Iaroslav Baranovs‘kyi, Dmytro Ravych and Klavdii Bilyns‘kyi.
The TSeSUS represented the interests of Ukrainian students in official and public life and with international entities. Its main task was to establish organisations and institutions as well as to organise cultural events to support students. Already in the first years of its existence, the TSeSUS considerably developed its activities. Whereas in 1924 it associated 18 student societies (with 3,346 members), in 1927 it was an umbrella organisation for already 32 student associations from three continents, specifically from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Germany, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, France, Belgium, the USA, Canada and China. In the interwar period, it was probably the most successful Ukrainian organisation at the international level. Its activities made it possible for the world academic community to learn more about Ukrainian issues and provided Ukrainian students, if they presented their membership card, with access to many foreign student associations and events. The TSeSUS became a member of the International Confederation of Students (Confédération internationale des étudiants – CIE). The activities of the organisation culminated at the end of the 1920s, after which the union became weaker. After the Second World War, the TSeSUS moved to Germany, with its new headquarters being in Munich. At the end of the 1950s, its central office was moved to the USA. In 1977, disputes occurred in its management; four years later, the union ceased to exist.
The collection comprises archival documents from 1922–1939. In the ‘The Basic Documents’ file (inv. no. 1), we can find a contract for leased space in Prague from 1925. The accounting contains only 4 sheets; correspondence is represented by more items. It is worth mentioning correspondence with the CIE (inv. nos. 5 and 19). Some important information is contained also in the file ‘Other’ (inv. nos. 21–22).
Further archival materials concerning the activities of the union may be found in the National Archives in Prague, specifically in the RUESO collection (6 boxes) and in the MZV-RPA 369 box. In Ukraine, documents related to the union are deposited in the 3905 collection in the TsDAVO of Ukraine (Tsentraľnyi derzhavnyi arkhiv vyshchykh orhaniv vlady ta upravlinnia Ukrainy – the Central State Archives of the Higher Organs of Power and Administration in Ukraine) in Kiev.