Archive sources on history of establishment of Presidential Institution in Ukraine: formation and actual research issues

The goal of the work. Elaboration of the source base for the study of the formation of the presidency in Ukraine, in particular, the coverage of archival documents and materials stored in various central and regional state archives of Ukraine. Methodology. Achieving the set goal and solving the specific tasks of this article is based on the general provisions of a comprehensive analysis using elements of general scientific (abstraction, generalization, formalization) and empirical-theoretical (analysis, synthesis) methods. Scientific novelty. For the first time, a variety of complex archival documents highlighting the establishment of the presidency in Ukraine and stored in various archival, library, and museum institutions were systematically examined and included in scientific circulation, and the main scientific works on the study of this issue were outlined. Conclusions. The analysis and study of an array of archival sources on the history of the institution of the presidency in Ukraine, in particular the introduction and first steps of this institution, convinces that, as a whole, the sets of documents provide researchers with basic information about this process, help to trace the role of the president in the complex processes of state-building at the beginning. 90s of the 20th century, the formation and evolution of the institution of the head of state in Ukraine, its continuity, but often lack of consistency, etc. The source base on the problems of the institution of the presidency in Ukraine is quite representative, it allows to objectively investigate the issue of the institutionalization of presidential power, however, it is not sufficiently involved in the scientific circulation due to the dispersion among different foundations and often due to the lack of systematic updating, scientific and informational publications and complex scientific studies. The question of studying the foreign experience of the functioning of presidential archives, libraries and museums in different countries of the world for the implementation of best practices on the territory of Ukraine remains relevant.