Establishment of Ukrainian national legislation in the domain of socioeconomic relations (1917–1921) will always remain a relevant issue, given the everpresent need for historical legitimization of the modern Ukrainian State and the historical continuity between today’s process of Ukrainian State-building and Ukrainian national state formations in the times of the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921. Currently, as well as 100 years ago, the Ukrainian legislator mainly focuses on legislative regulation of the socio-economic domain – land and labor relations.

This article does not claim to be all-embracing in empirical or factual terms. Its main purpose is to examine the specific features of statutory regulation of land and labor relations in the new Ukrainian statehood of the revolutionary era as the process of laying the foundations of national land, labor and social legislation.

It is argued that the real process of developing the legal fundamentals for regulation of socio-economic issues of the new Ukrainian national statehood began immediately after the Third Universal of the Ukrainian Central Rada (UCR). For the first time, it published the UCR’s social program, defined the legal policy waymarks of the proclaimed Ukrainian State, including in the field of legal settlement of land and labor issues. An attempt at legislate settlement of the latter is viewed through the prism of ideological approaches which were demonstrated, on the one part, by both socialist Ukrainian People’s Republics, and, on the other part, by the non-socialist Ukrainian Hetman State. In particular, the land issue is studied from the perspective of the course of legislative measures supporting land allocation and reallocation. As for the domain of land relations, the article analyzes basic land laws of the UCR, the Directorate, and the Hetmanate. The first ones rested upon socialist principles aimed at elimination of private ownership of land, its nationalization, etc., and the second ones detailed the specifics of acquiring title to land for various social strata of the population. The author concludes that by implementing this law, the Hetman’s government intended to resolve the socio-political task of setting up the middle class of peasants – owners who were to become its support. The author notes the controversial nature of the labor factor as one of the socio-economic factors in the process of formulation and evolution of the legal policy of Ukrainian national governments, as well as low efficiency of the “labor” policy proper. The author substantiates the opinion that legislative regulation of labor relations, which was combined with attempts at resolving numerous social problems by statutory means, also laid the foundations of Ukrainian national social legislation. The author believes that the overall situation with legislative resolution of the land problem and underestimation of critical issues relating to efficient legislative settlement of labor relations had a significant impact on the success/failure of Ukrainians in the development of their own national statehood.

                                                     Bibliography

Authored books

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2. Myronenko O, Vytoky ukrainskoho revoliutsiinoho konstytutsionalizmu 1917–1920 rr. Teoretyko-metodolohichnyi aspekt [Origins of Ukrainian Revolutionary Constitutionalism of 1917–1920. Theoretical and Methodological Aspect] (2002) (in Ukrainian).

3. Yanevskyi D, Zahublena istoriia vtrachenoi derzhavy [The Vanished History of the Lost Country] (Folio 2009) (in Ukrainian).

Edited books

4. Doroshenko D, Istoriia Ukrainy, 1917–1923 rr.: dokumentalno-naukove vydannia [History of Ukraine 1917–1923: Documentary and Scientific Publication] (Halushko K uporiad, Tempora, 2002) (in Ukrainian).

5. Dyrektoriia, Rada Narodnykh Ministriv Ukrainskoi Narodnoi Respubliky. Lystopad 1918 lystopad 1920 pp.: dokumenty i materialy [The Directory, the Council of People’s Ministers of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. November 1918 – November 1920: Documents and Materials], t 2 (Verstiuk V vidp red, Vydavnytstvo imeni Oleny Telihy 2006) (in Ukrainian).

6. Konstytutsiini akty Ukrainy. 1917–1920: nevidomi konstytutsii Ukrainy [Constitutional Acts of Ukraine. 1917–1920: Unknown Constitutions of Ukraine] (Pryliuk Yu ta Zhmyr V nauk red, Filos i sots dumka 1992) (in Ukrainian).

7. Ukrainska Derzhava (kviten – hruden 1918 roku). Dokumenty i materialy [Ukrainian State (April – December 1918). Documents and Materials], t 2 (Verstiuk V vidp red, Tempora 2015) (in Ukrainian).

8. Ukrainska revoliutsiia i derzhavnist (1917–1920 rr.): naukovo-bibliohrafichne vydannia [Ukrainian Revolution and Statehood (1917–1920): Scientific and Bibliographical Publication] (Onyshchenko O holova redkol, Parlamentske vydavnytstvo 1998) (in Ukrainian).

9. Ukrainska Tsentralna rada: Dokumenty i materialy [Ukrainian Central Rada: Documents and Materials], t 1: 4 bereznia – 9 hrudnia 1917 r. [March 4 – December 9, 1917] (Smolii V vidp red, Naukova dumka 1996) (in Ukrainian).

10. Ukrainska Tsentralna rada: Dokumenty i materialy [Ukrainian Central Rada: Documents and Materials], t 2: 10 hrudnia 1917 r. – 29 kvitnia 1918 r. [December 10, 1917 – April 29, 1918] (Smolii V vidp red, Naukova dumka 1997) (in Ukrainian).

11. Uriady Ukrainy u XX stolitti: naukovo-dokumentalne vydannia [Governments of Ukraine in the Twentieth Century: Scientific and Documentary Publication] (Naukova dumka 2001) (in Ukrainian).

Journal articles

12. Ivanova A, ‘Evrystychnyi potentsial kontseptsii derzhavy perekhidnoho periodu dlia doslidzhennia derzhavotvorchykh protsesiv doby Ukrainskoi revoliutsii 1917–1921 rr.’ [‘Heuristic Potential Intrinsic in the Concept of the State in the Transition Period for Research of the Processes of the Ukrainian Revolution 1917–1921.’] (2013) 24 Pravova derzhava 64-72 (in Ukrainian).

13. Oliinyk O, ‘Rozvytok robitnychoho zakonodavstva ta orhaniv rehuliuvannia trudovykh vidnosyn u period diialnosti ukrainskykh uriadiv (1917–1920 rr.)’ [‘Development of Workers’ Legislation and Bodies Regulating Labor Relations in the Period of Functioning of Ukrainian Governments (1917–1920)’] [2013] 61(1034) Visnyk NTU “KhPI” 88 (in Ukrainian).

14. Rumjancev V i Strahov N, ‘Pravo v period Ukrainskoj revoljucii (1917–1921)’ [‘Law in the Period of the Ukrainian Revolution (1917–1921)’] (2013) 1 Pravo Ukrainy 282-300. (in Russian).

Thesis

15. Andrusyshyn B, ‘Robitnycha polityka ukrainskykh uriadiv (1917–1920 rr.)’ [‘The Workmen Policy of the Ukrainian Governments (1917–1920)’] (avtoref dys d-ra ist nauk, 1997) 34 (in Ukrainian).