History

The year 1944 is considered the beginning of the history of the Institute of International Relations, when, on the basis of the order of the People's Commissar of Education of the Ukrainian SSR dated October 18, 1944, a new faculty of international relations was opened at Kyiv University. The main goal is to train practical employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the first post-war years, the faculty was headed by I.A. Vasylenko and M.P. Ovcharenko.

On May 4, 1988, the Faculty of International Relations and International Law of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv University was reorganized into the Institute of International Relations and International Law, which was renamed the Institute of International Relations in December 1990. Professor VV Pashchuk was appointed director of the institute. In 1994, in connection with the transition of V.V. Pashchuk to diplomatic work, the Institute was headed by the vice-rector of the university, professor L.V. Huberskyi (academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, rector of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University from October 2008 to April 2021). Since 2021, the rector of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University is Professor Volodymyr Bugrov. Specialists were trained in three specialties:

With the declaration of Ukraine’s independence, the Institute turned a qualitatively new page. By the Presidential Decree of 30 May 1995, the Institute of International Relations has designated the main organisation for graduate training of professionals in the field of international relations and foreign policy of Ukraine.

From 1992-1999 the Institute was considerably redesigned.

It launched a new programme of International Information at the respective Chair of the same name. The architect and head of the International Information Chair was Professor V.Hondyul.

That period saw a number of new chairs coming into existence:

  • Comparative Law Studies, reorganized in 2003 in the Chair of Comparative and European Law;
  • International Private and Customs Law;
  • International Organizations and Diplomatic Service;
  • Comparative Political Science and Region Studies (Now Country Studies);
  • International Communications and Public Relations;
  • International Monetary and Credit Relations.


A new phenomenon in the Institute's development was the inauguration of the Department of Post-Diploma Studies, which emerged on the basis of the Faculty of Refresher Training, where a second Master's Programme is offered, the Department is headed by Professor V.Matvienko

Since 2000 the Centre of European Studies has functioned at the Institute (headed by Professor O.Shnyrkov). In cooperation with the Universities of Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Greece, the FRG, France and Sweden it trains Masters majoring in: International Relations, International Law, International Economic Relations, International Information on the programmes of European Policy, European Law, Economics of European Integration, European Information Security and European Communications.

In 2002 the Institute pioneered the programme of International Business (the Chair of International Business).

In 2008, when the then Director of the Institute L.V.Hubersky was appointed Rector of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, the Institute was headed by V.Kopiyka, Doctor of Sciences (Political Science), Professor

In 2012 the Chair of Country Studies launched a new Master's Programme of the same name.

In 2017 the IIR Business School was established as an international educational platform which aims at developing modern practical skills and connections of our clients for their successful business and personal growth.

The school's mission is to exclude from the enormous cloud of information the most essential and useful one and to present it understandably to our students, caring about their comfort, time, personal needs, and, what is more important, their internal development.

It’s important that the IIR Business School graduates should not only gain new skills but also receive a “charge” of energy and inspiration to set and realize new goals in their businesses and personal lives.

Today, the Institute is a modern educational and scientific center with an extensive structure and a flexible system of organizing the educational process, in which 11 special departments and the general department of foreign languages function, which provide training of specialists in the field of knowledge 29 "International relations" in three specialties: 291 International relations , public communications and regional studies, 292 International economic relations, 293 International law. More than 3,000 students, graduate students and interns study at the Institute, almost 250 of them are foreign citizens from more than 50 countries of the world; more than 300 people obtain a second higher education in absentia. The educational process is provided by a highly qualified teaching staff, numbering about 200 people. Among them, 42 are doctors of science, professors, 80 are candidates of science, associate professors. Well-known scientists, teachers and practitioners from university faculties, universities and scientific institutions of Ukraine and foreign countries are involved in the lectures. Responsible employees of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, other ministries and departments of Ukraine, foreign statesmen and diplomats regularly speak before the students. The Institute has a research unit.

The Institute is a center for holding numerous national and international scientific conferences, seminars, symposia, "round tables" on a wide range of world problems. In addition, meetings of students with high-ranking foreign guests, ambassadors of foreign countries in Ukraine are organized. Specialized monographic works and scientific collections are published, specialized one-time scientific councils for the defense of PhD theses are functioning. Departments of the Institute work on scientific problems at the request of ministries and departments of Ukraine, participate in numerous international scientific projects under the international programs INTAS, TEMPUS-TASIS, ERASMUS+, Jean Monet, the "Renaissance" charitable foundation, etc. The Institute constantly expands and strengthens contacts with universities and scientific centers of Ukraine and abroad. Within the framework of inter-university agreements, the Institute cooperates with more than 80 higher educational institutions-partners from Great Britain, Belgium, Greece, Egypt, Spain, Canada, China, Germany, Republic of Korea, Poland, USA, France, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Japan, etc.

Among the graduates of the Institute are the 5th President of Ukraine P. Poroshenko, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada D. Razumkov, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine V. Kravets, V. Martynenko, G. Udovenko, A. Zlenko, V. Tarasyuk, D. Kuleba; Minister of Economy of Ukraine S. Teryokhin; Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade of Ukraine S. Osyka; Minister of Justice of Ukraine S. Holovaty; Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine S. Kurykin; deputy ministers A. Buteyko, V. Yelchenko, V. Ignashchenko, V. Lipatov, M. Makarevych, O. Motsyk, V. Nalyvaichenko, V. Ogryzko, B. Sobolev, V. Khandogii, I. Kharchenko, O. Chalyy, ambassadors of Ukraine in foreign countries A. Buteyko (USA, Romania), S. Borovyk (Algeria), V. Vasylenko (Belgium, Great Britain), O. Horin (Singapore), I. Humenniy (Thailand), B. Humenyuk (Cyprus) , R. Demchenko (Serbia), V. Kirik (Croatia), Y. Kochubey (France), Y. Kostenko (Austria, Germany, Japan), I. Lytvyn (Indonesia, China), I. Maidan (Iran), O. Maidannyk (Argentina, Israel, Finland), M. Makarevych (Austria, Estonia), O. Motsyk (Poland, Turkey), Y. Mushka (Hungary), V. Ogryzko (Austria), A. Oliinyk (Iraq, Serbia) , V. Pashchuk (Argentina, Cuba), V. Prymachenko (Yugoslavia, Iran), O. Rybak (Libya), I. Sagach (Norway), I. Turyanskyi (South Africa), V. Khandogii (Canada, Belgium), I. Kharchenko (Romania, Poland, Great Britain), O. Shamshur (USA), O. Shevchenko (Malaysia); consuls general of Ukraine S. Borovyk (Toronto), R. Demchenko (Istanbul), V. Korzachenko (Sydney), M. Kyrychenko (Toronto, Istanbul), O. Novosyolov (Bonn), M. Tochytskyi (San Francisco), O. Tsvetkov (Edinburgh), Y. Yarmilko (Frankfurt); rectors of the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine B. Humenyuk and M. Kulinych; employees of Ukrainian missions to the UN, UNESCO and other international organizations.

Graduates of the Institute were elected to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of various convocations (I. Alekseev, V. Butkevich, S. Holovaty, V. Horbal, K. Zhevago, O. Zadorozhnii, V. Kapustin, V. Lebedivskyi, S. Matvienko, S. Osyka, V. Makeyenko, M. Pylypchuk, P. Doroshenko, P. Ryabikin, L. Tashkovskyi, V. Tropin and others). Graduates of the Institute make up the vast majority of the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, work in other ministries, departments and organizations related to Ukraine's foreign relations.

The Institute is also proud of the large number of its graduates who are citizens of foreign countries, among whom there are many prominent statesmen, influential politicians, diplomats, heads of large enterprises, institutions and organizations, and famous scientists. These are, in particular, the ex-president of Georgia Mykhailo Saakashvili, the President of the National Assembly (Senate) of Nigeria Adolphus Ndunevu Wabara, the Vice-Chairman of the National Assembly of the SRV Nguyen Van Ieu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Magerram oglu Mamedyarov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Gela Bezhuashvili, the Ambassador of the Republic of Bolivia Farel Sobala Dore Patricia, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Deno Ebusi, Ambassador of Sierra Leone Andrew Konteh, Ambassadors of Georgia Valery Chechelashvili and Grigol Katamadze, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic Vasyl Hrivna, Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary Ferenc Kontra, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria Alyosha Nedelchev and many others.

During the period of its operation, the faculty of the Institute trained more than 20,000 international specialists.

 

Additional information:

The history of the Institute of International Relations began in 1944, when based on the Commissariat of Education of the USSR`s decree a new faculty of international relations was opened at the University of Kyiv on October 18, 1944. The main goal was to train practitioners of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I. Vasylenko and N. Ovcharenko headed the faculty in the first postwar years.

The first head of the Department of History of International Relations was Professor O. Kasymenko, director of the Institute of History of the USSR Academy of Sciences. After that, the department was headed by V. Zhebokrytskyi and V. Tarasenko – diplomats who had previously worked at the Soviet Embassy in Washington.

1962. A department of international law was established at the Faculty of Law and Economics. The Department of International Law and Foreign Legislation, headed by Doctor of Juridical Sciences I. Lukashuk, was called upon to provide the educational process at the department.

Since 1971, the training of international specialists has been continued at the restored Faculty of International Relations and International Law. Structurally, the faculty included the Department of History of International Relations and Foreign Policy, the Department of International Law and Foreign Legislation, and the Department of Russian for Foreigners, which had previously been university-wide. The deans of the faculty at that time were well-known specialists, and founders of scientific schools on international relations and international law: Professor H. Tsvietkov, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine A. Chukhno, associate professor O. Yeromenko, professors S. Zabihailo, A. Filipenko, V. Butkevych.

1972. Another speciality was opened at the faculty – “International Economic Relations”. Soon a corresponding graduating department of international economic relations was created (heads – professors V. Budkin, A. Filipenko).

1975. Based on the faculty a correspondence department of advanced training of international lecturers with a two-year term of study was opened (the head of the department is Assoc. Prof. O. Hanusets). Citizens of Ukraine with higher education who were engaged in lecturing, teaching, and research work were enrolled in the department.

1976. The Department of Foreign Languages was established as a structural subdivision of the faculty, which provided training of domestic students for work as translators, taking into account the degree of international specialists. The first head was a well-known linguist, an associate professor I. Borysenko. During the period of its operation (until 1990), the faculty trained more than 3,500 international specialists (mostly foreigners). Graduates of the faculty formed the basis of the initially small diplomatic corps in Ukraine and laid the foundation of pedagogical and scientific schools in the field of international relations and international law.

On May 4, 1988, the Faculty of International Relations and International Law of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv was reorganized into the Institute of International Relations and International Law, which in December 1990 was renamed to the Institute of International Relations. Professor V. Pashchuk was appointed as the director of the institute. In 1994, due to the transition of V. Pashchuk to diplomatic work, the Institute was headed by the Vice-Rector of the University Professor (now – Academician of the NAS of Ukraine, Rector of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv) L. Huberskyi.

The new page in the history of the institute opened with the proclamation of Ukraine's independence. By the Decree of the President of Ukraine, the Institute was determined as the main educational and methodological centre for training specialists for work in the field of international relations and foreign policy of our state since May 30, 1995.

During 1992-1999 there were significant changes in the internal structure of the Institute. The Institute has started training specialists in the speciality of “International Information”. The initiator of its creation and the head of the graduating department was Professor V. Hondiul.

In 2008, due to the appointment of L. Huberskyi as a Rector of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, The Institute was headed by Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor V. Kopiika.

On October 25, 2018, a historic event took place - the Academic Council of the Institute of International Relations headed by director V.V. Kopiyka officially adopted the National Anthem of the students of the Institute of International Relations for the first time. The author of the music and words was Volodymyr Shipko: "Thank you to everyone who helped at various stages on the way to this goal: Director of the IMV V.V. Kopiytsi, Head of the Council of Students of the Institute of Medical Sciences Volodymyr Lyashenko, who really supported this initiative, graduate and postgraduate student Daryna Kyrylko, who not only recorded vocals with me, but also created so much for our Institute that it is difficult to list everything, ex-chair of the Council of Students of the Institute of Medical Sciences Oleksandra Kladkova , who took the initiative and held a competition for the best anthem, ex-head of the IMV Student Council and my friend Oleg Kulik and many others who made a significant contribution to this process. A low bow to you! It's all happening because of you!"