The Ukrainian national state structure of the times of the Ukrainian national democratic revolution and the liberation struggle of 1917–1921. put on the brink of the day the need to address a whole range of socio-political and socio-economic problems, among which one of the most important before the centuries before the enslaved people were cultural and educational issues. In the article the author highlights the broad understanding and significance of culture in state construction in general and the period of the Ukrainian People’s Republic of the times of the Central Rada in particular. It poses the question of the role and responsibility of the intelligentsia for the creation and preservation of spiritual values, the creation of a political and legal paradigm for the social development of Ukraine on the eve and after the overthrow of the autocracy and the proclamation of the UPR. Attention is focused on the connection between the general and legal culture and its manifestation in the days of the UPR, the attempt of the young Ukrainian state to break away from the spiritual and cultural space of the Russian Empire and introduce its own value system is shown. The important role of public organizations in the creation of state bodies for the management of cultural and educational work is proved, as well as in the legislative processes of the Ukrainian People’s Republic.