The development of Ukrainian-Turkish relations in the 1920s and 1930s, based on materials from the all-ukrainian central executive committee of the Ukrainian soviet socialist republic

<jats:p>This article examines the development of Ukrainian-Turkish relations in the 1920s and 1930s, drawing on archival materials from the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) – a significant body of source material on the history of international relations during the interwar period, which held at the Central State Archive of the Higher Authorities and Administration of Ukraine. The aim of the study is to conduct a critical analysis of the documents of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee of the Ukrainian SSR as a source for the study of Ukrainian-Turkish relations in the 1920s and 1930s, taking into account the political specificity of Soviet record keeping and the ideological bias of official documents. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity and systematicity, employing historical-comparative, problem-chronological and source-based methods, as well as archival heuristics. The scientific novelty lies in a comprehensive analysis of documents from the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee as a source for studying Ukrainian-Turkish relations, and in highlighting little-researched aspects of cooperation between the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and Turkish Republic during the interwar period. Conclusions. The study found that in the 1920s, Ukrainian-Turkish relations developed against a backdrop of geopolitical transformations following the end of the First World War, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and the establishment of Soviet rule in Ukraine. These relations were characterised by the active development of trade, economic, political and diplomatic ties, whereas in the 1930s, as a result of the centralisation of Soviet power and the strengthening of the Stalinist regime, the role of the Ukrainian SSR in foreign relations was gradually curtailed. The materials of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee (VUTSK) allow for a comprehensive tracing of the process of forming political, economic and diplomatic contacts between Soviet Ukraine and the Republic of Turkey, as well as for determining the place of the Ukrainian factor in the system of international relations in the Black Sea region. An analysis of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee’s documents has shown that in the 1920s, Turkey occupied an important place in the foreign policy and economic interests of Soviet Ukraine. Considerable attention was paid to the development of trade cooperation, the organisation of maritime transport via Black Sea ports, issues relating to the export of agricultural produce, and the strengthening of diplomatic ties. At the same time, the documents show that, despite its formal right to conduct foreign policy, the Ukrainian SSR operated within the framework of the USSR’s overall policy, which limited its autonomy in the international sphere. Archival materials reveal that the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee (VUTSK) not only performed an administrative and coordinating function but also served as a key element in the implementation of Soviet policy towards Turkey. Keywords: Ukrainian-Turkish relations, All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee, Presidium, Central State Archive of the Higher Authorities and Administration of Ukraine, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.</jats:p>