Pidhirna L.M. The activities of the illegal residence ‘Istanbul Platform’ of the UPR Central Committee in exile in (1929-1935) – PhD research paper in manuscript.
Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the speciality 032 History and Archaeology – Kamianets-Podilskyi Ivan Ohiienko National University, Kamianets-Podilskyi, 2025.
The author for the first time comprehensively analyses and highlights the prerequisites for the emergence, political and legal foundations of functioning and peculiarities of the ‘Istanbul Platform's’ activities in the Republic of Türkiye in 1929-1935 in a scientific study; the author substantiates the status of the ‘Istanbul Platform’ as an illegal residence of the Ukrainian special services of the Central Government of the Ukrainian People's Republic in exile, which conducted unofficial representative, educational and intelligence activities, coordinating the work of intelligence centres in the former Soviet territories of Ukraine, Turkestan and the Middle East; the author draws up a prosopographic portrait of the members of the ‘Istanbul Platform’; the reasons for the curtailment of the ‘Istanbul Platform's’ work and the termination of its activities in 1935 are investigated.
The scientific novelty of the research is that for the first time the author of the thesis introduced the concept of the ‘Istanbul Platform’ into scientific circulation, and as well as an array of archival documents of the Branch State Archives of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, Central State Archives of Public Associations and Ukrainian Studies – agent reports of Soviet intelligence agents (including agent ‘Nadiia’ – M. Zabello), which had not been previously published and thanks to which a holistic picture was formed of the ‘Istanbul Platform’s’ activities of the and the Zabello family's agent activities in favour of the USSR. For the first time, the author has studied and analysed translations of V. Murskyi's works and newspaper publications, which gave a holistic understanding of his activities as the head of the illegal residency of the Ukrainian exile special services of the Central Committee of the Ukrainian People's Republic.
The author comprehensively researched and proved the significance of the activities of the illegal residence ‘Istanbul Platform’ of the UPR Central Committee in exile in 1929-1935, highlighted the pro-Ukrainian, educational and propaganda work at the international level and the attempts to obtain autocephaly for the OCU, and showed the confrontation with the Soviet special services. The ways of financing and supporting the ‘Istanbul Platform’ as one of the main factors of the successful functioning of the illegal residency, as well as the reasons for the curtailment of its work, are revealed. Attention is paid to the gender aspect of the ‘Istanbul Platform's’ activities (the thesis focuses on the activities of M. Pchelinska, in particular, on establishing contacts with foreign diplomats in Istanbul, S. Murska and K. Zabello.
The practical impact of this research is undoubtedly in the wide application of the scientific results obtained by the researcher in commemorative practices, pro-Ukrainian educational work and national-patriotic education of school and student youth, as well as the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The results of the study can be used in diplomatic and scientific activities; in the development of various educational programmes, electives and manuals.
The source base of the research is represented by archival materials of the Central State Archives of Public Associations and Ukrainian Studies (Fond 269 ‘Collection of Documents ’Ukrainian Archives in Prague’’), the Branch State Archives of the Foreign Intelligence Service (4878 sheets of documents were processed) and In writing the thesis the author also used memoirs of former employees of the Soviet special services, which made it possible to fill in the factual information gaps.
The methodological basis of the research was a wide range of general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, classification, generalisation, induction, deduction, etc.) and principles of historical knowledge aimed to objectively and comprehensively cover facts, events and phenomena related to the history of Ukrainian-Turkish relations, in particular, the role of Ukrainian diplomatic missions and public organisations in this process. The key principles were historicism, critical approach, comprehensiveness and systematicity, which served to present an objective picture of the reality of the time.
Thus, this thesis is a comprehensive research of the activities of the illegal residency ‘Istanbul Platform’ of the UPR Central Committee in exile in 1929-1935, the historical heritage of which remains relevant both in the scientific, social, political and commemorative aspects. Forming historical continuity, it represents a vivid example of the struggle of the Ukrainian people for their own statehood.
