Ukrainians in Italy fight for ukraine’s participation in the Olympic Games

Abstract

The article analyzes archival funds and primary sources to establish the peculiarities of the activities of the Ukrainian diaspora in Italy on the eve of the 1960 Olympic Games. Correspondence between Osip Zinkevich and Vasyl Fedorovych regarding the participation of Ukrainian athletes separately from the USSR in the Olympic Games in Rome was revealed. It was found that the Ukrainian Olympic Committee was active on the eve and during the Olympic Games, distributing memorandums to the International Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committees, International Sports Federations, etc., printing newsletters, opening an information bureau in Rome. The activities of the information bureau of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee contributed to the distribution in Ukrainian and English of the newsletter «For the participation of Ukraine in the Olympic Games», the organization of a press conference in Rome for the foreign press, the organization of an exhibition of Ukrainian publications in the countries of the free world, the establishment of contacts with Ukrainian (Soviet) athletes , re-presenting the issue of Ukraine's participation in the Olympic Games at the Rome session of the IOC, promoting the Olympic idea among the Ukrainian community in Ukraine and abroad, publishing the book «Ukrainian Olympic Champions» in English. The idea of local participation of the Ukrainian team in the Olympic Games has little global support.