THE SECRETS OF ОNATSKY PENSION AND THE RUSSIAN FACTOR (based on the documents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Italy, 1930-1941)

Abstract

The article deals with the activities of E.D.Onatsky (Onac’kyj) in the Kingdom of Italy in the early 30s of the XX century. The Ukrainian researcher, journalist and politician came to Italy as the head of the Press-office of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Italy. He carried out scientific, journalistic and politic activities in the interwar period. During this period, Italy changed its foreign strategy: it proposed a Pact of four, became one of the main political players in Europe, signed a cooperation agreement with the USSR. The Ukrainian political activities in this period were under attention of the Italian political police. The active phase of observation was in 1933-1934, when the Soviet authorities openly criticized the development of the Ukrainian activity in Italy. The spies didn’t know the specifics of Ukrainian identity and they usually perceived Onatsky’s figure through the Russian worldview. The economic activity of the Onatskys, who rented rooms to guests arriving from other countries, is becoming another element of suspicion about the figure of the Ukrainian activist. The research is based on the documentation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, on Onatsky’s diaries and on the results of research carried out by other scientists.