Abstract
The article is aimed study and analyze the practical experience of the activities of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in the field of cooperation with Ukrainian diaspora communities in the period 2001–2005. The methodological basis of the study is the principles of historicism, scientific objectivity and systematicity, which made it possible to impartially determine the logical changes in the historical process. Research methodology are represented by both general scientific (historical, logical) and special (historical-comparative, historical-genetic, subject-chronological, retrospective) methods. The scientific novelty of the article lies in highlighting the peculiarities of the activities of the State bodies of the Migration Service of Ukraine in the field of cooperation with the communities of the Ukrainian diaspora. Conclusions. For the first time, the author systematically analyzes the role and place of the state bodies of the Migration Service of Ukraine in the implementation of the state policy towards the Ukrainian diaspora in the context of the National Program “Ukrainians Abroad” for the period up to 2005. Specific aspects of their activities related to legal protection, information support and facilitation of the return of Ukrainians from abroad, which have not previously been the subject of a separate comprehensive historical study, are identified and systematized. The author outlines the impact of institutional transformations in the system of state migration authorities on the consistency and effectiveness of work with Ukrainian diaspora communities. The key problems and shortcomings in this vector of state policy are identified, which allowed an objective analysis of the practical plane of its formation and implementation. Despite the strategic importance of cooperation with the communities of the Ukrainian diaspora, the activities of the state migration service during this period faced significant institutional challenges that limited their effectiveness, while at the same time the foundation for further development of the state policy towards Ukrainians abroad was laid.