L’identità degli esuli ucraini nei documenti del Ministero dell’Interno nel periodo interbellico

Abstract

In the Italian collective imagination, Ukraine as a sovereign political entity appears after the First World War, when the Ukrainian People’s Republic was formed after the collapse of the Russian Empire. After the occupation and partition of Ukraine, some exiles (activists, publicists, diplomats) arrive in Italy, including Onàc’kyj, Konovàlec’, Makohìn and some other exponents. The political police service of the Ministry of the Interior organizes the surveillance of the activity of these foreigners, often suspected of subversive activity. During this surveillance several reports are written on Ukrainian exiles, in which there are observations regarding the identity of these foreigners and of Ukraine in general. The present research aims to find and analyze this information, in order to detect how Ukrainian identity was viewed in Italy in this period.