The development of modern historical and legal science requires a new vision of certain stages of state formation in Ukraine, including the period of Ukrainian lands in Austria-Hungary, and an assessment of political and social processes that took place in Galicia in the late nineteenth – early twentieth century. It is necessary to dispel the myth of the liberal nature of Austrian rule in the occupied lands of Galicia and consider the colonial policy of the Austrian government, which was aimed at exploiting natural resources, discrimination of culture, language, restrictions on civil rights of Galicia.

The aim of the article is to consider the law-making activity of K. Levytsky on opposition to the colonial policy of the Austrian authority in Galicia.

The characteristic features of the colonial policy, the consequences of which in Galicia were the inhibition of economic development, restriction of the rights of the local population, including the use of the Ukrainian language, culture, planting foreign culture and religion, barbaric exploitation of natural resources. The colonial policy of the Austrian government also led to large-scale corruption, which manifested itself in lawsuits related to the theft of millions of state loans for the construction of railways in Galicia. It is shown that the Austrian government created a colonial system of government in Galicia and a local system of self-government, where the main role was played by representatives of the Polish aristocracy and foreign capital.

In his parliamentary career in the Austrian parliament, K. Levytsky introduced a number of bills aimed at counteracting the colonial policy to protect the Ukrainian language, economy, prevent barbaric exploitation of natural resources and impoverish agriculture by reducing taxes, allocating loans for agricultural inventory and crops, also free disaster relief. As a member of the Budget Committee of the Austrian Parliament, K. Levytsky supervised the distribution of funds and their spending. At the same time, proposals were made to change the electoral legislation, which provided for the transfer of some powers in the field of governance to the Galician Sejm and local governments.

Bibliography

Authored books

 1. Andrukhiv I ta Svorka V ta Kovalyk V, Kost Levytskyi: polityk, hromadskyi diiach, pravnyk (1859–1941) (Nadvinianska drukarnia 2009) (in Ukrainian).

2. Kulchytskyi V, Derzhavnyi lad i pravo v Halychyni (v druhii polovyni ХІХ – na pochatku ХХ st.): lecture notes (Lvivskyi derzhavnyi universytet 1965) (in Ukrainian).

3. Modrzhinskaya E, Raspad kolonial’noj sistemy i ideologiya imperializma (Nauka 1965) (in Russian).

4. Nepyivoda V, Pravove rehuliuvannia v haluzi lisiv: doba utverdzhennia pidtrymanoho rozvytku (NDI pryvatnoho prava i pidpryiemnytstva, 2004) (in Ukrainian).

5. Vasylyk I, Kost Levytskyi: vid advokata do premiera ZUNR (Zadruha 2013) (in Ukrainian).

 Encyclopaedias

6. Colonialism: An International, Social, Cultural, and Political Encyclopedia, t 1: А–М (Melvin E Page ed, 2003) (in English).

Journal articles

 7. Ziltener Р, Kunzler D, ‘Impacts of Colonialism – A Research Survey’ [2013] 19 (2) Journal of World-Systems Research 290 (in English).

8. Hryhoruk N, ‘Polityka Avstro-Uhorshchyny stosovno ukrainskoho pytannia v Halychyni v kintsi ХІХ – in beginning of ХХ st.’ [2013] 2 (1) Naukovi zapysky Ternopilskoho natsionalnoho pedahohichnoho universytetu imeni Volodymyra Hnatiuka. Seriia: Istoriia 181 (in Ukrainian).

9. Kondratiuk S, ‘Rozvytok doktryny ukrainskoho parlamentaryzmu v Halychyni u skladi Avstro-Uhorshchyny’ (2018) 2 Naukovyi visnyk Lvivskoho derzhavnoho universytetu vnutrishnikh sprav. Ser. Yurydychn 1 (in Ukrainian).

10. Markovskyi V, ‘Pravovyi status ukrainskoi movy u Avstro-Uhorskii imperii’ (2010) 1 Naukovyi visnyk Lvivskoho derzhavnoho universytetu vnutrishnikh sprav Seriia: Yurydychna 48 (in Ukrainian).

11. Matskevych M, ‘Konstytutsiine zakonodavstvo Avstro-Uhorshchyny druhoi polovyny ХІХ st. i pravova platforma ukrainskoho natsionalnoho rukhu’ (2009) 5 Pravo Ukrainy 161 (in Ukrainian).

Dissertations

12. Kulchytskyi V, ‘Politychnyi aparat kolonialnoho upravlinnia Skhidnoiu Halychynoiu (druha polovyna XIX – pochatok XX st.)’ (dys d-ra yuryd nauk, 1969) (in Ukrainian).

13. Stechyshyn A, Pravovi pohliady i derzhavotvorcha diialnist Kostia Levytskoho (dys d-ra yuryd nauk, 2018) (in Ukrainian).