Interest in centralized preserving of historically significant scientific-technical publications (STP) goes back to the 1960 s. Decision of Council of Ministers of the USSR, May 21,1964, No. 431 «About cen­tralized preserving of scientific-technical publications and organiz­ing of their wide use» became a stimulus to solve this problem. The decision has charged the ministers and government departments to launch activities in delivering the sci­entific-technical publications devel­oped by scientific/research, design and engineering organizations for state preserving.

The central state archives of sci­entific-technical publications which show historical stages in development of science, engineer­ing and technology in Ukraine were established in conformity with the decision of Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, December 25, 1969, No. 688. According to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, July 21,1992, No. 415 and by order No. 35 of the Main archives administration of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, July 31,1992, the CSAScTP name has been changed for Central State Scientific-Technical Archives of Ukraine (CSSTA of Ukraine).

CSSTA of Ukraine holdings now consist of 259 funds, 636 820 units preserved, 1222 sets of scientific-technical publications, 1891–2016. (as of 01.01.2019)

Scientific-technical publications that provide a retrospective review in history of development of sci­ence, engineering and technology in Ukraine give contemporary researcher/expert a chance for fair historical assessment of standard level in technical development of industry in Ukraine. Most designs and engineering development pre­served in archive have been award­ed state and international prizes, diploma and medals.

Capital construction projects of energy/power complex and heavy industry enterprises take a significant place among branches of industry which documents are pre­served in the archives.

Design documents of DniproHES con­struction, though not numerous, have attracted considerable inter­est. Subsequent development of water resources in Ukraine is pre­sented by projects of Kakhovka, Kremenchuk, Kaniv and other hydroelectric power plants.

The archives preserve the docu­ments of the following vast plants of heat power industry: Zaporizhzhia, Kurakhiv, Myroniv, Pridniprivja, Slovyansk thermoelec­tric plants. Nuclear power industry is presented in archive’s funds by the part of the projects of Kursk, Novovoronizh and South Ukraine nuclear power plant.

The problems of water resources use in Ukraine and environment protection are highly covered by archives documents. Among the most interesting documents are as follows: projects of «Ukrdipro-project» named after S. Ya. Djuk such as «Problems of great Dnipro» (1934–1971), water sup­ply and sewerage systems in Donbass, Makievka industrial region, Kharkiv’s rivers regulation and etc.

Archives of scientific-technical publications (STP) rather fully cover a matter of coal industry recovery.

A project in recovery of the coal­mine named after Gorky in Donbas in post-war years which is one of the oldest in Ukraine (1896) as well as the project of the biggest mine «Velykomostivska» in Western coal basin may serve as an example. Among coal cutter-loaders we may draw attention to the coal-miner «Donbas» which was the most per­fect among all world known coal cutter-loaders of this type at that time.

Mining equipment documents hold the great interest today: the first soviet dewatering pumps (1933–1941) which were as good as the best samples of these items abroad; the first home-produced centrifu­gal mine fans (1929–1937) which manufacture gave a chance to give up import. A project of man-riding cage exhibited in Brussels world fair (1958) has an interesting technical conception; an integrated design in dust removal de-aeration of coal mines has got three prizes at all union competitions.

Design documentation of the main types of steam locomotives and diesel locomotives has been submitted to the CDNTA of Ukraine by Voroshilovgrad’s diesel locomotive manufacturing factory which may form a true historical notion of steam and diesel loco­motive manufacturing industry in Ukraine. The following design publica­tions demonstrate development of automobile transport in Ukraine. Lviv’s (ЛAЗ-695 (LAZ-695), ЛAЗ-697 (LAZ-697)), Kremenchuk’s (KPAЗ-257 (KRAZ-257), KPAЗ-214 (KRAZ-214)), Zaporizhzhia’s «Kommunar» (3A3-956 (ZAZ-956)) automobile factories.

Important traffic routes cross Ukraine. Some design require­ments and specifications are kept in archive (Kharkiv – Kyiv, Kharkiv – Rostov; 1944–1945). Among the documents, in addition to the road layouts, there are geodetic exploration and maps of deposits of local construction materials.

Among the documents showing development of water transport we must draw attention to the design of Odesa seaport buildings, Mariupol ship repairing and ship­building factory, Mariupol seaport, Odesa seaport, Kerch ferry and river passenger terminal in Kyiv.

A collection of design sets of motor-vessels, shalandas, barges (1936–1954) is recognized by the experts as worthy of attention.

The start of development of a new branch of Ukraine economy – pipeline transport – is connect­ed with the construction of Dashava – Kyiv cross-country gas pipeline (1945). Since that time, Ukrainian experts have developed a lot of gas pipeline designs: Center Asia-Center; Urengoy – Pomary – Uzhgorod, Orenburg – West border and etc. These docu­ments are important both from the view-point of engineering history and a practical implementation.

Designs of petroleum and petro­leum product pipelines and oil han­dling terminals developed by the State petroleum pipeline design institute have been also given for State keeping. Among which is the design of «Druzhba» petroleum pipeline crossing the whole territo­ry of Western Ukraine. Ferrous metallurgical works and basic (heavy) engineering plants lie at the basis of Ukraine economy. The archives keep 23 designs of metal­lurgical works. Among them the giant factories of the national met­allurgy industry like «Zaporizhstal», «Kryvorizhstal» and «Azovstal».

Power metallurgy is represented by the design documents of the first specialized powder metallurgi­cal work in Brovary, Ukraine. The archives have documents of the first non-ferrous metallurgical plant Zaporizhzhia integrated titanium magnesium works (1933).

One of the most important industry in Ukraine – tractor indus­try – is fully represented by the archives documents which in addi­tion to production of machinery are specialized in the manufacture of the components: unified diesel engines (for tractors and self-pro­pelled grain harvester (combine); products of Ukraine’s assembly fac­tories (units, parts of hydraulic sys­tem for tractors and combines) and the like. Since Kharkiv’s tractor plant came into service, the evolution of tractor engineering industry practi­cally got under way. Valuable docu­ments in the field of civil engineer­ing and architecture in Ukraine are concentrated in archives. From pre­war period a set of documents of Ukrcivilprojectbud institute (1928–1933) is noteworthy.

Scientific and technical publica­tions of the Kyiv’s branch of «Soyuzdorproject» institute includes design drawings of bridges, bridgeworks, bridge approaches and automobile road bridges.

Significant part of documents takes the designs of high-water bridges across the Dniper river. The scheme for main city road recon­struction and housing construction of the main road in the capital of Ukraine was developed by an archi­tect body of «Kyivproject» insti­tute. The scheme for Khreshchatic road reconstruction contains more than ten thousand units of keep­ing. The archives also keep general layouts of Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv and other cites. Unique plans of Kharkiv city dated 1906, 1909, 1910 years are preserved in the archives. They are perfectly made and have bright colour drawings of historical city trade center, Kharkiv town planning scheme with neigh­bouring villages, restoration design of Archangel Michael Cathedral.

A fund of private origin which was belong to O. Beketov, academi­cian of St. Peterburg’s Academy of Arts, Ukrainian soviet architect, professor, a member of USSR acad­emy of Architecture occupies a prominent place in the archive. Other funds of private origin attract considerable interest: O. Zavarov, state prize-winner of Ukraine, People’s Architect; B. Ostashchenko – Kudryavtzev, Doctor of Science in Physics and Mathematics, Astrometrist and cartographer; Ya. Krantzfeld, designer, inventor and pro­duction-rationalizer in the field of power plant construction; I. Tryshevskyi, scientist in the field of metallurgy industry; Yu. Prokudin, one of the distinguished Ukrainian botanist, professor of Kharkiv State

University and the others.

The archives documental information is widely used to defend human rights and satisfy the pub­lic’s social needs and requirements as well as to realize the reconstruc­tion, repair, restoration and reno­vation works, etc.