The modern world community is concerned about the search for humane, non-forceful methods for solving hybrid conflicts that characterize the system of international relations of the 21st century. That is why the concept of preventive diplomacy has become popular and in demand. The conflict in the East of Ukraine has shown that this concept has some flaws in terms of its implementation in practice. Using the historical method, the key means of implementing preventive diplomacy are revealed. The article analyzes examples of the use of preventive diplomacy methods for solving conflicts in Europe by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The authors used the method of comparative analysis to compare examples of implementation of the principles of preventive diplomacy by different international players. Attention is drawn to the fact that excessive caution of the OSCE and unwillingness to call Russia a participant in the conflict and even more, so an aggressor country led to skepticism about the organization itself in Ukraine.

The purpose of the research paper is to highlight the history of repatriation missions and consular institutions of Poland, Albania, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Japan and Spain in Odesa during 1922-1938, analysis of the main areas of activity within the consular district and the consular staff’s characteristics. The scientific novelty. The general picture of the foreign diplomatic presence in Odesa, represented by the repatriation missions of Turkey, Albania and Poland, as well as five consulates, has been reconstructed. Their personnel composition and key areas of activity are shown. Conclusions. With the creation of Soviet Ukraine, Odesa continued to remain a strategically important city for both European and Asian countries, which, having restored diplomatic and consular relations with the USSR, opened their consulates here. During the 1920s and 1930s, the repatriation missions of Poland, Albania, and Turkey operated in the city first (during 1922-1925), and later the consular offices of three European countries – Germany, Italy, Spain, and two Asian countries – Turkey and Japan. The foreign consular institutions’ diplomatic staff consisted exclusively of representatives of the countries they represented and were career diplomats. In turn, among the representatives of the administrative and technical staff were citizens of these countries and Soviet Ukraine, and the service staff consisted with local residents. Since its establishment, foreign consular representatives have contributed to the development of trade, economic, cultural and scientific relations of their countries with the UkrSSR. Important spheres of consulates’ activity were protection of the citizens’ interests of their countries, organization of material assistance for them and promotion of their departure to their homeland. In the process of gathering information about the socio-political situation in the USSR, the consuls recorded the unfolding of the Holodomor, pointing out its culprits, noted the negative consequences of collectivization and industrialization, etc. But, despite the constantly emphasized friendship in relations between the USSR and the countries listed above, their consulates and employees found themselves under the Soviet special services close supervision, which considered any consulates representatives’ actions as espionage. In order to be fully effective, the special services recruited representatives from both consulate employees and persons who were in contact with the consul. And after the consulates were closed, they began the process of “cleaning” them. In 1937-1938, the USSR’s relations with Italy, Germany, Turkey, Japan, and Spain became strained, which led to the closure of the consular network in Odesa.

An integral part of modern Ukrainian historical science is to study consular missions on the territory of modern Ukraine, which, unfortunately, for many years has not caused interest of scholars. This article examines the formation of European states’ consular offices in Mykolayiv and the role of foreign consular representatives in the city during the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Taking care of the interests of their own state and citizens, they simultaneously contributed to the development of trade, commercial activity, the rise of banks and hospitals in the city, made a significant contribution to the progression of education, newspapers, science, art, sports, spiritual life of citizens and, in fact, to the development of southern Ukrainian cities.

This paper focuses on the study of the activity of German consular institutions on the territory of Soviet Ukraine during 1922–1938. German consular representatives operating in Ukrainian cities were career diplomats, who had higher education, a perfect command of foreign languages, and deep knowledge in the fields of history, geography, statistics, political economy, and international law. While operating in Ukraine, German consuls were taking their official duties seriously: normalization of bilateral trade and economic relations, the establishment of cultural ties, as well as protection and assistance to German citizens living within the consular district. One of the important aspects of consular activity was the performance of the “honorary spy” functions.